Young pitchers are beginning to hit the wall, older position players are starting to go on cold streaks and it feels like it is a billion degrees outside. Welcome to the dog days of August.  Below are my DraftKings picks for Wednesday, August 19th, 2015.  As always, remember to check your players to make sure they are in their MLB starting lineups before lineups lock.

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Game Notes

• Arlington may see a short rain shower causing a delay in the Mariners-Rangers start. For Wednesday night, southern Ohio will see a bit of a storm, so the Royals-Reds matchup is in serious danger of a delay or even postponement. Monitor that situation.
• There are five games in the early slate, and every single starting pitcher is a question mark. In fact, the two highest priced pitchers are featured in the same game. It makes a little sense to punt at the second pitcher position (what!?) and stack up on hitters.
• The late slate offers much more serviceable options at the pitcher position, but wait before locking in those aces on your roster. Starters like Dallas Keuchel and Noah Syndergaard are always options to roster, but they have some surprisingly tough matchup problems. Mid-tier pitchers actually have better matchups to exploit.
• The early games should feature plenty of lineups with varying stacks representing most teams. The Yankees, Rangers and Brewers all make for solid stacks, especially the left-handed bats on all of those teams. You know, actually every team is a potential stack in tournament games.
• For late games, it makes sense to target right-handed bats against Pirates starter J.A. Happ. I am rather surprised that Happ and the Pirates are the Vegas favorites, considering that the Diamondbacks have a few guys that can destroy left-handed pitcher. It is important to note that PNC Park plays rather large for right-handed bats.
• Allow this sentence to qualify as the obligatory, “think about stacking Blue Jays and every batter in Colorado.”
• Phillies starter Adam Morgan is a southpaw. There are several Blue Jays hitters that mash lefties. You don’t need Albert Einstein to figure out how most cash game lineups should go tonight.
• Texas starter Derek Holland is averaging -1.0 DraftKings points per game this season. That is a sample size of one start, but still I thought that was kind of funny.
• Daniel Norris’s sexy K rate does intrigue me, but the Cubs are hot right now and do get on base enough to trouble young pitchers like Norris.

 

DFS Pitchers to Consider for DraftKings

Early Slate

Tyson Ross, SD - $11,100

Considering the pitching matchups, there is just no way Ross is not a must play in the early games. He owns by-far the highest K rate on the board at 25.0% and although that also comes with the highest BB rate (10.8%), the Braves own a wOBA of .289, third worst over the last 30 days. There is a strong possibility that the Padres do not give him a ton of run support, but Ross is the safer option to Julio Teheran in cash games.

Alex Wood, LAD - $7,900

As bad as the Braves have been over the last 30 days, the Athletics have been worse. The mighty A’s are sporting a wRC+ of 78, .279 wOBA, and .286 OBOP during that span. The Dodgers should give Wood plenty of run support against messy Jesse Chavez.

Late Games

Jaime Garcia, STL - $10,300

I am not necessarily in love with this pick, but after a little research it is quite clear that Garcia has the potential to be the highest scorer on the board because 1) the Cardinals usually win at home and 2) he has a solid matchup. The Giants overall have been rather ordinary against left-handed pitchers on the season and Garcia has been a force at home with a 19.6% K rate, 0.84 WHIP, and 2.86 FIP in front of the friendly crowd.

Nathan Karns, TB - $7700

Karns will have to limit his walks because the Astros will most likely tag him for a homerun or two. He is averaging just about one strikeout per inning- 8.65/9 to be exact- while Houston has been in the top two or three all season in strikeouts. Whatever Karns gives up in homeruns, he should match and surpass in strikeouts. Let’s just hope those homeruns are solo shots.

Robbie Ray, ARI - $6,600

Ray owns phenomenal talent and tops out at 98 on his four seamer. That being said, he is a young pitcher and does struggle with his command. The Pirates own a 22.7% K rate against left-handed pitchers, but they do enter Wednesday as the Vegas favorite even though Arizona has a solid matchup against Happ. It may be worth it to take a flier on Ray.

 

DFS Catchers to Consider for DraftKings

Early Slate

Brian McCann, NYY - $4,000

Yankee Stadium may arguably have been built for Robinson Cano- you know, before he took the $300 million and across the country- but McCann is the one that has made it home. The veteran owns a .408 wOBA and wRC+ of 163 against righties in Yankee Stadium this season. Do you trust Ervin Santana today?

Late Games

Russell Martin, TOR - $3,600

Martin has been in a funk lately, and his price has dropped considerably since the All Star Break. A guy like Adam Morgan may be just what the doctor ordered. Still, the catcher position in general may not play well tonight, so I like to look for value elsewhere.

Carlos Ruiz, PHI - $2,600

Tonight is a night that I will definitely pay up for at the premium positions so it’s important to find cheaper value at the less glamorous positions. Ruiz is a bit of a wild card and may not even start. Should he see his name on the scorecard tonight, try to plug him in to a few lineups. Ruiz owns a career .352 wOBA against lefties and has seen Jay’s starter Mark Buehrle 15 times in his career. Ruiz is a tournament punt option.

 

DFS Infielders to Consider for DraftKings

FIRST BASE – Early Slate

Mark Teixeria, NYY - $4,500

Big Tex continues to have himself a big year, especially at Yankee Stadium. Look for a big game against Santana should he start. Of course, he is dealing with a big injury, so make sure to monitor the starting lineup.

Mike Napoli, TEX - $3,700

Chances are that Big Tex will sit another day, so it will be easier to spend less at the first base position. Why not Napoli? With the Rangers facing a left-handed pitcher in Mike Montgomery that has been torched over his last few starts, it seems pretty clear that Napoli, who owns a .360 wOBA against southpaws, should get a start somewhere.

Late Games

Paul Goldschmidt, ARI - $5,400

Pay up when facing a lefty.

 

SECOND BASE – Early Slate

Brian Dozier, MIN - $4,700

I tried to think of a reason to not include Dozier in this list, but the guy is just a stud. He is a solid hitter against right-handed pitchers, and he typically comes up big in day games.

Late Games

Logan Forsythe, TB - $3,300

I keep beating on the Forsythe horse, and he keeps coming through. If you haven’t jumped on this bandwagon by now, you have probably missed out on some cheap DFS help throughout the year. Forsythe owns a .362/.581/.944 slash line with a .396 wOBA and 160 wRC+ against lefties on the year. And he’s cheap.

 

SHORTSTOP – Early Slate

Ketel Marte, SEA - $3,100

Over the last week, Marte has been about as smooth as the vodka that shares his first name. He owns a .425 wOBA and 181 wRC+ in his last 25 plate appearances. He was out of the lineup on Tuesday, but he seems to be platooning against lefties. Look for him to exploit against a hittable Derek Holland.

Late Games

Asdrubal Cabrera, TB - $3,500

It seems idiotic to stack more than one player against Keuchel, but I just really like where Cabrera is right now. Over the last week, Cabrera has a .435 AVG and 1.049 OPS. He is also a slightly better hitter against lefties than righties for his career and on the season.

 

THIRD BASE – Early Slate

Adrian Beltre, TEX - $4,500

This is the safest pick of the early lot. Beltre is clearly a much better hitter when facing lefties and is much more patient as well. Montgomery is good for giving up at least one homerun and at least two walks on the afternoon. Maybe he gives up one of each to Beltre.

Late Games

Josh Donaldson, TOR - $5,900

See what was put for Goldschmidt? Enter that here.

 

CORNER INFIELD POSITION DISCLAIMER FOR LATE GAMES

Travis Shaw, BOS - $3,500

Shaw was my absolute gem of the weekend. Coming in mostly at about $2,200 on DraftKings, Shaw put up multiple multi-hit games and has gotten on base in nearly every (it seems) plate appearance since Friday. That being said, his price has jumped nearly $1,300 overnight. Literally, overnight. He was $2,200 in my lineups last night. He will get a tough Corey Kluber on Wednesday night.

 

DFS Outfielders to Consider for DraftKings

Early Slate

Nelson Cruz, SEA - $5,600

Like Goldschmidt and Donaldson, Cruz absolutely destroys left-handed pitchers. The only problem is trying to fit him in with his hefty price tag.

Jacoby Ellsbury, NYY - $4,300

It’s no coincidence that the Yankees have started to pick it back up offensively as soon as Ellsbury starts to get hot. He is a better alternative to Cruz, as he is a bit cheaper and offers more value in terms of scoring points multiple ways. If you can fit both Cruz and Ellsbury, more power to you.

Matt Kemp, SD - $3,900

The only player I truly trust in this game is Kemp. Kemp has recently been seeing the ball well as evidenced by his wRC+ of 289 and .584 wOBA over the last week. His price is still relative low as compared to this recent production. Love the upside.

Enrique (Kike) Hernandez, LAD - $2,900

Eligible at multiple positions, if you need a solid punt play to fit in some bigger names in the lineup, Hernandez makes for a solid pick. He will face a hittable Jesse Chavez and has the speed and gap power to grab a couple extra-base hits in cavernous O.co Coliseum.

 

Late Games

Jose Bautista, TOR - $5,500

Chris Colabello, TOR - $3,600

Is there anything better than a Toronto mini-stack that hits? Bautista and especially Colabello have been down a bit recently, but their career numbers against lefties, especially Colabello’s, are just way too hard to pass up. There’s nothing quite like a nice dose of Adam Morgan to raise those recently down numbers. If you can fit only one guy in, go with Colabello. I have a feeling he is due.

A.J. Pollock, ARI - $5,200

Much like Toronto, Arizona owns a few guys that are great against left-handed pitching. Pollock’s career numbers against southpaws look a little something like this: .340/.503/.843 slash line, .362 wOBA and 127 wRC+.

Jayson Werth, WAS - $3,300

Leadoff hitters in Coors Field should never be this low. Ever. He will get the maximum number of plate appearances and a great chance to see some added help in the stadium environment. If there were ever a guy that needs any added help, it is Werth.

There are a ton of cheap guys that make for great plays as well, so make sure to subscribe to Rotoballer's premium service to see all the top DFS plays!

 

DFS Q&A with Max Petrie @ 6 PM on 8/19

Leave your question here and then come back at 6 PM when Max answers everything. For our regular MLB & Fantasy Baseball Chat, click here.