RADIO
Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 8/30/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Happy Friday, my fellow Rotoballers. We've made it to the long holiday weekend. The Cubs are on the road today and we all know what that means - a 15 game Main slate tonight. And there are a plethora of strong pitchers and offenses to target - there's much to discuss.
Let's gander at a few interesting Vegas lines before we dive into player selection and analysis. Starting with moneyline favorites, the Yankees are an enormous -350 favorite over the Tigers, followed by the Indians (-208), Cardinals (-199), Astros (-194), and the Red Sox at -157. As for implied run totals, the Rangers are leading the pack with a 5.9, followed by the Yankees (5.4), Rangers (5.3), Twins (5.3), Red Sox (5.1), Cardinals (5.1), and the Astros at 5 runs.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 8/31/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Luis Severino - SP, vs DET ($10,600)
I was beginning to think I wasn't going to be able to target Severino for the rest of the year with all the hiccups he had in late July and into August, but he seems to have fixed what's been ailing him. His two most recent starts give me confidence he can get the job done here, and the matchup is a great one with good strikeout upside, too. In those last two starts, he limited hard hit contact to just 30% and kept the fly balls to a relative minimum (34%). Severino and his 1.1 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 will face a Tigers team that has been dreadful offensively over the past month, posting the 5th lowest wOBA and 4th lowest ISO against righties in that time frame. He and the Yankees also happen to be the biggest moneyline favorites of the night, and with the strong run prevention projection (Tigers implied for only 2.9 runs) and good strikeout outlook, he profiles as a cash and GPP play tonight.
Nathan Eovaldi - SP, at CWS ($7,400)
It's going to be tough to face some of the top cash options in Severino, Zack Wheeler and Corey Kluber tonight because they have such strong strikeout projections, and as such, when looking for a GPP play outside of that trio, I'm trying to target those with a significant enough price discrepancy so that I can really pay up for the bats. Eovaldi fits the description for me, and while he brings just an average 7.6 K/9, he has a beautiful matchup as far as strikeout outlooks go. The White Sox have one of the highest K% rates in the majors, and their projected lineup tonight owns a 28% K rate against right-handed pitching this season. Eovaldi's a risk for sure, but the cost savings and above-average strikeout outlook are enough to warrant a few shares in tournaments tonight.
Also Consider for Cash or Tournaments: Zack Wheeler - SP, at SFG ($10,000)
Also Consider for Tournaments Only: Mike Fiers - SP, vs SEA ($8,300); Nick Pivetta - SP, vs CHC ($8,000)
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Joe Mauer - 1B, at TEX ($2,800)
Mauer profiles as a really strong cash option tonight and he's a great value at this price point. Mauer will be hitting leadoff for a team with a top-three implied run total this evening (5.3) and will have the platoon advantage while getting a major park upgrade as well. Mauer also boasts a 40% hard hit rate in his last 11 games.
Rougned Odor -2B, vs MIN ($4,000)
Now that he's hitting higher in this Texas order and showing a little more consistency and upside, Odor becomes a much more attractive play. He plays in a great hitters park - where its supposed to be 91 degrees at first pitch tonight - and draws a good macthup. He'll also have the platoon advantage and owns a .334 wOBA against southpaws this season. His batted ball profile is really attractive too, as he's been crushing the ball to the tune of a 66% hard hit rate over the past two weeks of play.
Miguel Sano - 3B, at TEX ($2,600)
It's a little peculiar that players like Sano and Mauer can be had for this cheap tonight considering the matchup, but as it makes rostering top-end pitching with a solid lineup possible, I wont be writing in any complaints to FanDuel. Sano will have good lineup context this evening and he brings upside with his .204 ISO split.
Carlos Correa - SS, vs LAA ($3,600)
With guys like Francisco Lindor and Elvis Andrus in good situations, I can't suggest a guy like Correa as a cash game play, but the matchup has my interest piqued for tournament play. Correa has no doubt been a little cold in August, but he's facing a below average pitcher in Jamie Barria, one that has really, really struggled with right-handed power this season. He's allowed a .392 wOBA, a .542 slugging percentage and 2.1 HR/9 to righties in 2018.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Giancarlo Stanton - OF, vs DET ($4,500)
Giancarlo finally rewarded those that stuck with him all week despite going homer-less until last night. I like his chances to repeat the damage tonight in a good matchup against Jordan Zimmerman at home in Yankee Stadium. Stanton brings a .210 ISO split to the dish and also has a 48% hard hit rate over the past two weeks.
Joey Gallo - OF, vs MIN ($3,700)
Speaking of home run chances, we have Joey Gallo in a really nice spot tonight. He brings big power upside to the dish (.292 ISO split) and has been continually hitting the ball a country mile. He owns a 48% hard hit rate with an average batted ball disance of 250 feet over the past two weeks.
Joc Pederson - OF, vs ARI ($2,800)
I've got big interested in Young Joc tonight as a contrarian tournament option. The leadoff man is priced incredibly low and has been strong against right-handed pitching all season, posting a .278 ISO. The matchup is certainly tough, but not one that isn't winnable and the ownership percentage should be really low.
