FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks, Advice & Sleepers for 8/4

Here are my top value plays for FanDuel and DFS leagues today. We have a short slate of just seven games today, and all starting pitchers are right-handed, which eliminates a lot of the typical platoon lefty-killers from consideration. Looking back at last week’s picks, I have to apologize for the Madison Bumgarner recommendation; he was uncharacteristically destroyed and would have killed most of my lineups if not for Melky Cabrera’s two home runs.

With limited games and some top pitchers going, today is a little tricky, so I will try to throw out a few players at varying price levels, with an eye toward the value picks that may be overlooked.

Remember, these picks are posted early in the day for your convenience, and without knowledge of the teams’ starting lineups. ALWAYS check starting lineups before finalizing your FanDuel entries. On days like Monday, especially, teams will often give some of their regulars a day off.

STARTING PITCHERS

EXPENSIVE OPTION

Corey Kluber, CLE ($10,200): There are three high-priced pitchers on today’s slate, and I believe that Kluber has the most going for him. Zack Greinke goes against a tough, hot Angels offense. Max Scherzer faces a Yankees team that is tough to strike out, in a park where lefty power can kill you.

Kluber, on the other hand, faces a depleted Reds lineup without Joey Votto or Brandon Phillips that strikes out about 21% of the time against righties. If it weren’t for the Padres, the Reds would be the worst-hitting team against right-handers right now. Kluber is hot, coming off a complete-game shutout. If you want to spend five figures of budget on a starting pitcher, he’d be my recommednation.

MODERATE OPTION

Garrett Richards, LAA ($8,200): Richards is the Rodney Dangerfield of starting pitchers, it seems. He was snubbed for the All-Star team, didn’t survive the final vote and is coming in cheaper than he should be on FanDuel.

All he’s done is rank in the top ten in nearly every pitching category, with a fairly even platoon split. The Dodgers offense has been known to struggle against pitchers of his ilk. The only knock on Richards is his penchant for the base on balls, but the Dodgers are not necessarily a patient team at the plate. He goes against an ace in Greinke, so earning the “W” may be a toss-up, but I’d expect a low-scoring game with lots of strikeouts on both sides.

BUDGET OPTION

Dillon Gee, NYM ($6,400): The Mets and Giants meet in an afternoon game, so Gee won’t be available if you are only playing the late games. But at this price, why not take a chance? Gee goes against a San Francisco offense that struggles to score runs at times, in a pitchers’ park and on a getaway day.

San Fran has to fly to Milwaukee after the game Tuesday matchup against the Brewers. It is not unreasonable to think that the offense, with their bags packed and on the bus, will put up a clunker in the series finale. Gee’s problems have come against left-handed hitters and none on the Giants roster except maybe Sandoval scare me here. If you want to spend on hitters, Gee is a good buy-low option.

CATCHER

Tyler Flowers ($2,900) or Adrian Nieto ($2,300), CHW: The Rangers’ Nick Martinez is an easy target to pick on and I expect the Pale Hose to score some runs tonight. Whoever gets the nod behind the plate should be a nice, cheap option at the position.

Nieto is a left-handed backup option who comes in at the minimum. Martinez allows a .402 wOBA against lefties. He is strictly a matchup play. Flowers, the regular backstop, has been on a bit of a hot streak, hitting in nine of his last eleven games. Again, he comes cheap and could abuse a sub-par starting pitcher.

PRICIER OPTIONS: Derek Norris ($3,100), Yan Gomes ($3,600), Victor Martinez ($4,200).

FIRST BASE

Adam Dunn, CHW ($3,100): Personally, I’m probably going to splurge for his teammate Jose Abreu here, but for the budget-conscious, roll with Dunn. Like I mentioned earlier, there will be a lot of Sox in play today against Nick Martinez.

Dunn’s biggest problem is whiffing too much, which really isn’t a problem against Martinez, who strikes out fewer than four men per nine innings. The White Sox will put balls in play, and when Dunn does that, they often sail over the fence.

PRICIER OPTIONS: Jose Abreu ($4,800), Lucas Duda ($3,700), Carlos Santana ($4,600).

SECOND BASE

Daniel Murphy, NYM ($2,900): Murphy’s price has fallen dramatically over the past month, to the point where this makes a compelling value play. Murphy has multi-hit performances in five of his last eight starts and faces a pitch-to-contact righty in Tim Hudson this afternoon.

Second base is a tough landscape to navigate today, as the best starts are all very expensive. Murphy is the best in the under-$3,000 price range.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS: Ben Zobrist ($4,100), Adam Rosales ($2,400) (if he starts).

THIRD BASE

Conor Gillaspie, CHW ($3,000): I know I am sounding like a broken record, but I can’t get enough White Sox, particularly left-handed hitting White Sox, in my lineup today.

Gillaspie has posted the quietest .315 average in the majors this season, and most of his damage is against right-handed pitching. He is a streaky hitter, mixing in 0-fers with multi-hit games over the course of the past few weeks. I suspect this is a game where he can put up some numbers.

Adrian Beltre, TEX ($3,700): Since I’m bombarding you with White Sox, I make another suggestion at third base. Adrian Beltre, in my opinion, is priced criminally low at $3,700.

I know this is not a traditional cheapie and that the Rangers are really scuffling, but Beltre faces a terrible pitcher in Hector Noesi who has posted a reverse platoon split-- right-handed hitters have compiled a .391 wOBA against Noesi and Beltre is a homer-hitting righty. It seems like a matchup made in heaven.

ALSO CONSIDER: Josh Donaldson ($4,300), though that seems a bit pricy for me.

SHORTSTOP

Alexei Ramirez, CHW ($3,600): SURPRISE! See my comments on every other southsider I've recommended.

Elvis Andrus, TEX ($2,600): He won’t hit the ball out of the park, but in what promises to be a fairly high-scoring matchup, he could find himself on base a bunch, perhaps scoring some runs and stealing a base or two. Shortstop is really a cesspool of options today. At near punt prices, you could do worse than Elvis.

ALSO CONSIDER: Hanley Ramirez ($4,000), Ian Desmond ($3,700).

OUTFIELD

Adam Eaton, CHW ($3,600): Yeah, another White Sox hitter. With so many tough pitchers going, I think you HAVE to pick on Nick Martinez and Hector Noesi. I believe a lot of winning lineups will have a four-player White Sox stack.

Matt Kemp, LAD ($3,600): Kemp is a streaky hitter who's been absolutely on fire since the All-Star break. He has five homers in his last six games and fares better against right-handers this year.

A caveat applies: I recommended Garrett Richards earlier and he has the ability to shut anybody down, but I think that Kemp is so locked in that it shouldn’t matter. We’ve seen him this hot before. It’s fun to watch and can be lucrative in daily games. Ride the wave before his price jumps above $4,000.

David Murphy, CLE ($2,500): My second “Murphy” pick of the day. The Indians outfielder went through a terrible slump for over a month, but seems to have snapped out of it– and you can get him cheap. He had a four-hit night on Thursday and he added another hit, three RBI and a home run yesterday.

The Indians love to face right-handed pitchers at home (remember that tidbit). Randall Simon is not as good as his record suggests. If I need to add a cheap piece to my outfield puzzle (and I always am) I’m looking his way.

ALSO CONSIDER: Yasiel Puig ($4,100), Delmon Young ($2,700), Matt Joyce ($3,000), Moises Sierra ($2,700), Alejandro De Aza ($2,600), and the bat boy who suits up and starts in left field against Nick Martinez.