DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 8/9/22

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Pitchers

Carlos Rodón FD 10600 DK 9500
Opponent - OAK (Adam Oller) Park - OAK
FD - 41.24 DK - 23.03

The Giants opted to keep their ace rather than trade him at the deadline and will now focus on the NL wildcard. Rodon enters the second half with an above-average 3.06 ERA but what really stands out for fantasy is the elite 32% K rate and 14% swinging strike rate. On Saturday he faces an A’s team that has been better in the second half but still ranks bottom five overall and bottom three against left-handed pitching. All things considered, Rodon is my top play on the mound tonight, especially on DraftKings where the price remains under $10K.

Nathan Eovaldi FD 8300 DK 7300
Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - KC
FD - 34.19 DK - 18.62

After getting lit up in his final two starts before the break, Eovaldi bounced back in a big way on Monday holding the Astros to four hits and just two unearned runs over 6.1 innings. He will look to carry that over into a terrific matchup against the Royals who have dropped eight of their last 11 games while scoring just 2.8 runs per game and striking out 28% of the time. Despite the matchup and his latest start, Eovaldi comes to us at a season-low price on DraftKings making him our top SP2 on this slate.

Catcher/First Base

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD 4100 DK 5300
Opponent - MIN (Dylan Bundy) Park - MIN
FD - 12.73 DK - 9.59

Vladdy has put his slow start in the rearview and is back to his 2021 MVP-like status as he enters the night with a 16-game hitting streak and is now hitting .318 with an elite .406 wOBA since the start of June. He and the Jays now get a plus matchup against Dylan Bundy who struggled going into the break giving up three or more earned runs in four straight starts in July(6.98 ERA). The price has come back up but Vlad is still only the fifth most expensive play at first base(on DK) tonight. I will have a ton of exposure in all formats.

Brandon Belt FD 2500 DK 3000
Opponent - OAK (Adam Oller) Park - OAK
FD - 10.95 DK - 8.16

There is most certainly a path to paying up for two stud pitchers on this slate and helping that cause are the Giants bats who are in a great spot tonight. They face Adam Oller who has struggled mightily since re-joining the rotation giving up 10 earned runs(five home runs) in his last three starts in July and has given up a .428 wOBA and .627 SLG to left-handed batters. Enter Belt, who may not be as consistent as we would like in 2022 but the price reflects that and the good news is that he is heating up with hits in three straight including doubles in two straight. At these prices, he is one of our top overall PTS/$ plays on this slate.

Second Base

Gleyber Torres FD 3100 DK 4500
Opponent - STL (Jordan Montgomery) Park - STL
FD - 8.14 DK - 6.23

One of the biggest storylines of the night comes in this game as the Yankees, after surprisingly trading away Jordan Montgomery at the deadline, will now face him in his first start with St. Louis. Overall, the numbers have been very good but he really struggled going into the break posting a 5.36 ERA over his final eight starts while giving up eight home runs. Torres has just one hit in 13 August at-bats but provides a ton of opportunity hitting cleanup and appears to have found his 2018/2019 power stroke with 16 home runs to this point in the season. More good news as he has also been much better against lefties with a .394 wOBA/161 wRC+/.340 ISO. Fire up Torres in all formats.

Nolan Gorman FD 2800 DK 3800
Opponent - NYY (Domingo Germán) Park - NYY
FD - 8.77 DK - 6.7

For value, I will be turning to Nolan Gorman who checks a ton of boxes in this one starting with the matchup against Domingo German who has given up 17 hits and four home runs in his first three starts of the season. Gorman is a high-ranking prospect for the Cards who was crushing in AAA(.308/.367/.677) and while he is racking up the K's in the majors(32% K rate) he has provided power(12 HR) and now opportunity as he has moved his way up the lineup and is hitting being Goldy and Arenado. If paying up for pitching, Gorman is a terrific PTS/$ play for any format.

Shortstop

Xander Bogaerts FD 3100 DK 4800
Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - KC
FD - 12.16 DK - 9.24
Tim Anderson FD 3200 DK 4900
Opponent - TEX (Dane Dunning) Park - TEX
FD - 9.88 DK - 7.7

I group these two together as they are somehow outside the Top 5 in pricing at the shortstop position which elevates them to elite PTS/$ status. Let's start with Bogaerts who is coming off a four-hit game against the Royals last night and comes in with an elite .403 wOBA/162 wRC+ since the All-Star break. Better yet, he has absolutely crushed left-handed pitching to the tune of an insane .451 wOBA/196 wRC+ this season and faces a below-average lefty in Daniel Lynch. For Anderson, the numbers are similar to Xander in that neither has provided much power this season but Anderson remains one of the best hitters in the league hitting north of .300 for the fourth straight season. For cash games, I slightly lean Bogaerts here but at their current prices, both are top plays at the position and will come down to which colour of Sox you prefer.

Third Base

DJ LeMahieu FD 3600 DK 5100
Opponent - STL (Jordan Montgomery) Park - STL
FD - 9.55 DK - 7.4

There aren't many players on this slate that check as many boxes as LeMahieu who hits leadoff for the powerhouse Yankees lineup. He gives us a ton of options with his multi-position eligibility and has been very consistent lately reaching base in 12 of 13 games since the break with a .289/.392/.427 slash line on the season. He now faces his former teammate Jordan Montgomery which lines up nicely as he has been slightly better against lefties with an elite .393 wOBA/161 wRC+. All things considered, LeMahieu is one of our top overall plays on this slate no matter what positon you decide to use him.

Manny Machado FD 3900 DK 5100
Opponent - LAD (Andrew Heaney) Park - LAD
FD - 10.43 DK - 7.91
Brandon Drury FD 3700 DK 5400
Opponent - LAD (Andrew Heaney) Park - LAD
FD - 6.42 DK - 4.95

If you are going for the big payday tonight in GPP, the Padres may just be that team to take you to the promise land. They draw a tougher matchup against Andrew Heaney who has looked good since returning from injury but both Machado(.382 wOBA/151 wRC+) and Drury(.410 wOBA/162 wRC+) have crushed left-handed pitching this season and both have been consistent all year. I won't be going here for cash games but love the projected low ownership and huge leverage they give us.

Outfield

Alek Thomas FD 2400 DK 3300
Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COL
FD - 10.28 DK - 7.96
Daulton Varsho FD 2900 DK 3700
Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COL
FD - 10.23 DK - 7.79

I will preface by saying that if you can fit Aaron Judge and his ridiculous price(especially on FD) he is easily our top overall play in terms of raw points. You will definitely need some value/punt plays to make it happen and the D-Backs provide just that in a plus matchup against Senzatella who is giving up an average of 7.2 hits per game over his last nine starts. Let's start with Varsho who came up as a catcher but has been almost exclusively used in the outfield this season and is heating up with hits in five of his last seven games with three multi-hit efforts and two home runs. The same can be said for Alek Thomas who has hits in four straight with three extra-base hits and is slightly favoured over Varsho as he hits much closer to the top of the lineup. Arizona is not an overpowering offence but provide cheap PTS/$ value to help us get to the expensive game stack between the Cards and Yankees.

J.D. Martinez FD 3200 DK 3900
Opponent - KC (Daniel Lynch) Park - KC
FD - 11.91 DK - 9.01

Martinez comes in ice cold in the second half which has me hesitant for cash games but we can't ignore the price on DraftKings which has dipped to a season-low in the sub $4K range. He did pick up a double yesterday but what really stands out are the plus matchup against Daniel Lynch and the fact he crushes lefties to the tune of a .411 wOBA/189 wRC+ on the season. Despite the struggles the Red Sox are likely going to be very chalky, at least on DraftKings, putting Martinez in elite PTS/$ value territory.

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