Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 8/24/16

Happy Hump Day! We are back for another full day of daily fantasy baseball on Wednesday with five early and 10 evening games. Both slates have great options up and down the salary at both the pitching and hitting positions. As always, I only recommend playing cash games for the all day slate on DraftKings where you have the luxury of a late swap.

 

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PITCHER

Early Slate 

Kyle Hendricks FD 9200 DK 12900
Opponent - SD (Clemens) Park - @SD
FD - 37.02 DK - 24.12

No matter if you are playing the early or all day slate Kyle Hendricks is a top options of the day. Despite the average 11-7 record he has been elite in 2016 with a 2.16 ERA in large part because he has only allowed more than two earned runs in a start five times and hasn't allowed more than four once. The K rate for the season is slightly above average(7.83 K/9) but he has shown us a couple times he has double digit K upside. He will receive a park upgrade as the Cubs travel to Petco to face the Padres who rank dead last in wOBA(.292) and 29th in wRC+(82) against right handed pitching. He has a safe floor for cash games and upside for tournaments.
Evening Slate

Jose Fernandez FD 10800 DK 12600 
Opponent - KC (Gee) Park - @MIA
FD - 41.73 DK - 27.12

Looking at the evening slate, Jose Fernandez is the top option on both sites. He is coming off his shortest outing of the season going just four innings vs. the Reds and giving up five earned runs. Never fear though, even the best of them have off days. He comes with the most upside of any pitcher in baseball with an elite 12.96 K/9 rate and 2.36 xFIP on the season. The Royals have had a tough season sitting 3rd in the Central Division and despite playing some good baseball lately still rank 27th in wOBA and 28th in wRC+ vs. right handed pitching. They have also really struggled on the road with a 25-39 record.  Fernandez is a safe option in any format tonight.

 

Yu Darvish FD 10500 DK 12000
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 42.08 DK - 27.72

From a PTS/$ standpoint tonight Darvish actually comes in a little higher than Fernandez right now. Darvish has now made 10 starts in 2016 and has not allowed more than three earned runs in one start and is striking out just over 11.5 batters per nine. That equals a very impressive 2.96 xFIP for a pitcher who is only generating 38.5% ground balls. He lives or dies on his 93 mph fastball and 82 mph slider which have produced a 13.1% swinging strike rate. Great American Smallpark is the only thing keeping me from having Darvish as the top play because I love the matchup as the Reds rank 20th in wOBA vs. right handed pitching with a 21.4% strikeout rate.

 

 

CATCHER

Early Slate

Willson Contreras FD 2900 DK 3800
Opponent - SD (Clemens) Park - @SD
FD - 9.44 DK - 7.45

Contreras struggled a lot out of the All Star break but has started to heat up again in August slashing .275/.351/.431 with two home runs and a 11 wRC+. Since starting this article the Cubs line has already moved up to -250 with a somewhat high 8.5 total in Petco Park. The nice thing about Contreras's struggles is the discount you can get him at now. Be sure to watch the lineups before lock as he has bounced around the lineup and obviously carries more value if he is in the Top five today.

 

Evening Slate 

Victor Martinez FD 3200 DK 3700
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @MIN
FD - 11.2 DK - 8.57

Martinez continues to have a rebound season after a disappointing 2015.  In August he is hitting .284 with five home runs, 11 RBI and nine runs scored for a 135 wRC+. He strikes out just 14% of the time which has produced a nice .350 OBP this season and he hits cleanup right behind Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera. He also gets one of the best matchups on the slate as the Tigers will face Tyler Duffey of the Twins. After a promising start to the season Duffey has given up four or more earned runs in six of his last nine starts with a  20.5% HR/Fb rate. Martinez is a safe option in any format Wednesday night.

 

 

FIRST BASE

Early Slate 

Anthony Rizzo FD 4100 DK 5300
Opponent - SD (Clemens) Park - @SD
FD - 14.18 DK - 10.84

That's right. As you can already tell I am loading up on Cubs in the early slate. According to both FanDuel and DraftKings pricing, Paul Clemens is the worst pitcher on the entire slate Wednesday. In seven starts this season he has yet to record an out in the 6th inning.In those starts mixed in with four relief appearances he has pitched to a 5.72 xFIP and 20% HR/FB rate while striking out just 6.5 batters per nine. No matter the name or team I will target Clemens all day. In this case we get Anthony Rizzo who has bee elite all year with a .301/.399/.566 slash line and 153 wRC+. If you can afford him, he is the top play at the position today.
Evening Slate

Ryan Howard FD 2800 DK 4000
Opponent - CHW (Shields) Park - @CHW
FD - 10.17 DK - 7.7
Tommy Joseph FD 2700 DK 4100
Opponent - CHW (Shields) Park - @CHW
FD - 10.42 DK - 7.99

The projection system has an absolute reverse man crush on James Shields today. Both Ryan Howard and Tommy Joseph come in as top plays from a PTS/$ perspective and it makes perfect sense. Howard has been great in August slashing .375/.425/.838 with five home runs and a 227 wRC+ and in limited action Joseph has also contributed two home runs and 7 RBI in August. With Joseph starting on Tuesday and going 0-4 we will most likely see Howard on Wednesday night. Either way it's a great matchup as Shields has been a disaster lately giving up 27 earned runs(9 HR) in four starts in August. While I can never trust anyone in the Phillies offense in cash games I will most definitely fill up against Shields in tournaments.

 

SECOND BASE

Early Slate 

Robinson Cano FD 3700 DK 4100
Opponent - NYY (Tanaka) Park - @SEA
FD - 10.53 DK - 8.19

After a bit of a slide after the all Star break Cano is starting get back to his early season form. So far in August he has hit five runs and hit .271 which which will get another bump as he picked up another multi hit game on Tuesday night. I would hesitate to use him in tournaments today with the game against the Yankees being a pickem with a low 7.5 total but he makes a very safe cash game option at a very reasonable price, especially on DraftKings where his priced has plummeted lately. Cano also carries strong splits vs. right handed pitching with a .393 wOBA and 153 wRC+ on the season.
Evening Slate 

Brian Dozier FD 3900 DK 5400
Opponent - DET (Boyd) Park - @MIN
FD - 11.36 DK - 8.95

The price has gotten steep on Dozier but he has been red hot since taking over the leadoff spot for the Twins at the end of July. In his last 24 games he is hitting .320 with 11 home runs and a very impressive .370 on base percentage and 197 wRC+. Dozier also gets a good matchup against a southpaw and has very strong splits with a .446 wOBA and 184 wRC+ vs. left handed pitching.

 

SHORTSTOP

Early Slate

Jonathan Villar FD 3800 DK 4900
Opponent - COL (Anderson) Park - @MIL
FD - 9.83 DK - 8.93

He is a 3B on FanDuel and SS on DraftKings and makes a nice GPP play on both today. The Brewers are at home to the Rockies in a game with one of the highest totals of the day. Villar has been terrific all season and has carried it over into August slashing .316/.419/.456 with a 136 wRC+ and 12 stolen bases. He hits lefties a bit better with a .383 wOBA and will face Tyler Anderson who has struggled lately giving up nine earned runs in his last two starts.
Evening Slate 

Tim Anderson FD 2900 DK 3800
Opponent - PHI (Eickhoff) Park - @CHW
FD - 9.3 DK - 8.28

The price is low enough on FanDuel where his spot in the order isn't of much concern but on DraftKings it will be extremely important to his overall value. He has bounced around from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between but one thing has remained constant. His consistent hitting. He has picked up a hit in three straight and 14 of his last 15 games and is hitting .279 in August with a .338 on base percentage.

Erick Aybar FD 2700 DK 3300
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @MIN
FD - 8.96 DK - 7.52

After spending most of August hitting out of the two hole, Aybar got the start in the nine hole on Sunday and impressed going 3 for 4 with two runs scored. He got moved back into the two hole on Tuesday night and again picked up multiple hits. If he is back near the top of the order once again on Wednesday he will be an elite value play on both sites. His recent play has overshadowed the somewhat disappointing season as he is slashing .315/.324/.479 in August with a 111 wRC+.

THIRD BASE

Early Slate

Kris Bryant FD 4200 DK 5400
Opponent - SD (Clemens) Park - @SD
FD - 14.15 DK - 10.87

The last Cub player I bring up today just happens to be the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and leading candidate for this year's MVP award. He became the first player in the majors to reach 100 runs for the season and has also added 32 home runs and 84 RBI to go with his .299/.390/.568 slash line. He has been even more consistent in August with a .427 OBP and 189 wRC+ and can be considered an elite play in any format.

 

Evening Slate

Maikel Franco FD 3100 DK 4800
Opponent - CHW (Shields) Park - @CHW
FD - 11.29 DK - 8.67

When don't hand out Phillies love very often(it's as rare as full size candy bars on Halloween) but tonight is one of those nights. I am pretty sure James Shields said something bad in the media about our projection system cause it sure seems like it's out to get him. Or maybe it's the fact Shields has been a real dumpster fire this season for both the White Sox and Padres with his 5.32 ERA. He is currently going through his worst stretch of the season giving up 27 earned run sin just 14 August innings pitched. Franco has been up and down this season as his drop in average has shown but he possess big power upside and makes a great tournament play tonight whether part of a stack or as a one off play

 

 

 

OUTFIELD

Early Slate 

Carlos Gonzalez FD 3600 DK 4300
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @MIL
FD - 12.15 DK - 9.33
David Dahl FD 3500 DK 4600
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @MIL
FD - 11.91 DK - 9.91

With the Rockies going on the road and away from Coors Field both sites have lowered their salaries for these hitters today. Both Cargo and Dahl make strong plays today in another strong hitters park in Miller Park against a struggling pitcher. Davies is only striking out just above 6 batters per nine innings and has 4.26 xFIP in August and has surrendered 12 earned runs in his last two starts. The Rockies are in a great spot to snap out of their road slump and salvage a game from the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon.

 

 

Evening Slate 

Miguel Sano FD 3100 DK 4100
Opponent - DET (Boyd) Park - @MIN
FD - 11.55 DK - 8.26

His salary on DraftKings has bounced around a ton between the $3K and $5K range as he has been a streaky hitter all year. His price on FanDuel keeps dropping as he is currently ice cold coming off an elbow injury. This is the time to buy on Sano and he makes a great low owned pivot in tournaments with big upside. He has strong splits vs. left handed pitching with a .386 wOBA and 143 wRC+. While Matt Boyd has been pitching well as of late he comes into tonight with a 4.76 xFIP on the season with just an average strikeout rate(7.47 K/9) and below average walk rate(3.00 BB/9).
Jurickson Profar FD 2900 DK 3100
Opponent - CIN (Adleman) Park - @CIN
FD - 11.09 DK - 8.98

Profar is another player who has been cold lately and has seen his price drop considerably opening the door to a buy low value play. He has bounced around the batting order spending a ton of time in the leadoff spot but also seeing tie in the seven and eight hole. At his current salary I think he is a great play in tournaments no matter where he hits but would become cash game viable should he be inserted near the top once again.

 

 

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