RADIO
Jesse Borek highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/20/20, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
It's Friday which means we have a jam-packed MLB slate to sort out. It's not as big as it once was as we lost the Yankees/Mets game after a Mets player tested positive for COVID-19. We also have a couple of games with earlier start times leaving us with a 12-game main slate.
As with all big slates, there are a number of ways to go about filling out lineups. Below are some of my favorite picks for the night and all have standalone value in cash-games, however, many of these players are on teams with high implied run totals and have teammates they can be stacked with to try and take down larger contests.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 8/21/2020. Be sure also to check out all the MLB player news including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports too.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Walker Buehler - LAD vs. COL ($8,500)
Buehler has gotten off to a slow start in 2020 with a 5.21 ERA through his first 19 innings. That being said, his stuff seems to be just fine as his whiff% on his fastball and curveball are above his marks from last season and he hasn't lost velocity on his fastball. If we dig deeper than Buehler's ugly numbers, we can see signs he may be turning the corner after the Dodgers eased him into the season. Buehler recorded 19 swinging-strikes two starts ago and had more than a strikeout-per-inning in each of his last two starts. A matchup with the Rockies, who have a league-worst .609 team-OPS away from Coors Field, may just be the elixir Buehler needs to have a big night.
Adrian Houser - MIL @ PIT ($7,400)
Houser is nothing special, but he's lasted five innings in all four of his starts and has a nice matchup with an anemic Pirates offense. Pittsburgh has the lowest team OPS by a full 37 points, and got shut out again on Thursday. Houser has a 3.27 ERA with an above-average 3.90 xFIP thanks to his ability to keep the ball on the ground ball (61.2 percent ground-ball rate). He's a high-floor play to save some money for the big bats available in good hitting situations.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Jose Abreu - 1B CWS @ CHC ($3,100)
Abreu has been heating up and has scored 22-plus FanDuel points in three-straight games and is riding a five-game hit-streak overall. Now he gets a positive park-shift to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field on a hot-Chicago evening which should help the hitters. His opponent, Jon Lester, is more name than game at this point in his career as he already has a ghastly 5.36 xFIP on the season. Abreu mashes left-handed pitching with a .927 career OPS against southpaws compared to .841 vs righties.
Tommy La Stella, 2B - LAA @ OAK ($2,700)
There are several exploitable pitchers to target and one of my favorites is Mike Fiers vs the Angels. La Stella has been batting second for the Halos right in front of the big bats in the order so he has been getting plenty of pitches to hit. This is great news for a strong contact hitter like La Stella who had a 91.5 percent zone-contact rate last season and is above 92 percent so far this year. Fiers, on the other hand, is in the bottom fifth percentile in baseball in both whiff rate and strikeout rate. La Stella at this price is critical to fit bats like Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon into Angels stacks.
Xander Bogaerts, SS - BOS @ BAL ($3,400)
If the Angels are my favorite team to stack, the Red Sox righties will be a close second at Camden Yards vs John Means. Not to be mean, but the Orioles left-hander is yet to complete the fifth inning in three starts this season and is unlikely to do so vs a Boston lineup that has shown signs of life recently. Bogaerts also has great career numbers vs southpaws batting .305 with a .855 OPS vs lefties.
Dylan Moore, SS - SEA vs. TEX ($3,000)
There are plenty of elite third basemen that will cost a pretty penny to acquire and most of the high-priced options should mash on Friday. Jose Ramirez, Matt Chapman, and Rendon all have good matchups and are fine options. A cheaper and more contrarian play, however, is Seattle's Dylan Moore who quietly finds himself in the top 15th percentile in baseball in hard-hit rate, xwOBA, average exit velocity, and several other impressive stats. He'll have the platoon advantage over lefty Kolby Allard who is yet to pitch past the fifth inning. Moore has five homers and six steals on the season so he can rack up fantasy points in a number of ways making him a safe play for a low price.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
J.D. Martinez, OF - BOS @ BAL ($3,600)
Like with Bogaerts, Martinez will have the pleasure of facing Means and his .319 career wOBA allowed to right-handed hitters. Martinez historically crushes left-handed pitching with an absurd .990 OPS when he has the platoon advantage. Martinez is as likely as anyone to homer on Friday but is just the 14th most-expensive outfielder. I know Anthony Santander is hot - and I've played plenty of him in DFS lately - but given his hitting situation give me the brand name player in Martinez for $200 cheaper.
Jesse Winker, OF - CIN @ STL ($3,000)
Winker's price finally went up for Friday's matchups, but at 3k there's still no reason to fade baseball's hottest hitter. I was tempted to make this section a link to his game log and let that speak for itself. The season is inherently a small sample size, but some of Winker's numbers are comical such as his .703 expected slugging or a .616 xwOBA on contact. Now he's facing Dakota Hudson who has given up a 56 percent hard-hit rate and a 94.5 average exit velocity so far this season. Take the free space until he cools off or his price jumps again.
Kevin Pillar, OF - BOS @ BAL ($2,700)
The last piece of our Boston stack will hopefully be leading off for the Red Sox vs a lefty. The righty Pillar has better career numbers vs left-handers and has been getting on-base at a .349 rate so far this season. He's a decent salary relief option even if he bats down in the order again, but it's likely he'll be leading off for a team with a high implied run total.
