Happy Thursday, and welcome to August! The trade deadline has passed, and we are now in a race to the postseason. A lot of teams are off today, but that won’t keep us from still building some winning MLB DFS lineups for this evening and starting off the month strong!

 

 

 

Today, we have a short five-game slate that will begin at 6:40 PM ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. With a shorter slate, we will have less to choose from, but we still have some great pitchers taking the mound and some strong offenses to choose from. There is plenty to go over for this small slate, so let’s jump right into today’s playbook and all of my favorite MLB DFS picks.

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, August 1

MLB Weather Today, 8/01

Some serious thunderstorms in the area for this one; I would consider avoiding it completely. 

There seems to be some rain rolling in tonight, but it shouldn’t get bad until after the game ends. 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

We have a small slate today with only 5 games, and with the weather issues at Wrigley Field this could turn into a 4-game slate very easily, and I am likely avoiding that game altogether with how the weather is looking. Sonny Gray and Shota Imanaga would both be great options and likely on my favorites if the weather was clear, but I don’t trust that game to play right now. 

The only other pitcher I find worth mentioning today is Ben Lively, who has been pitching very well, coming off a solid start against the Phillies, but I am too much in on the Oriole's offense, and they scare me too much for him to make it on my favorites list. 

On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Atlanta Braves. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

 

 

 

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals

Seth Lugo got beat up a bit by the Cubs in his last outing, giving up 6 earned runs with only 2 strikeouts, but that was after throwing a complete game against the White Sox. Seth Lugo has been consistently awesome this season, with one of the league's lowest ERAs and plenty of huge strikeout games.

He faces the Detroit Tigers today, which should be an easy matchup for him to continue his dominance. In his other start against the Tigers this season, he had 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts, and with Sonny Gray and Shota Imanaga potentially rained out, he is the best pitcher on this slate.      

Charlie Morton, Atlanta Braves

Charlie Morton hasn’t been great this season, but he hasn’t been terrible either and has still had plenty of solid outings. He is coming off a rough start where he only made it 2.2 innings, giving up 5 earned runs off 3 homers and striking out 2, but that was against the Mets. 

He gets to pivot from the Mets, who have a solid offense, to the Marlins, who just shipped out everyone at the trade deadline. He will be facing what is essentially a AAA team at the moment and should have no issue shutting them down with plenty of strikeouts and a great chance at a win. 

Carson Fulmer, Los Angeles Angels

Carson Fulmer has been fine since being turned into a starter. He has a 3.60 ERA, a very good 0.87 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts through 15 innings through his first three starts. We saw the strikeout upside with 7 against the Mariners (granted, the Mariners show everyone strikeout upside). 

In a good matchup against the Rockies on the road and as he continues to get stretched out more (he made it 5.2 innings in his last outing), we have a great chance for a good number of strikeouts and potentially can get his first win as a starter today. With limited pitching options today, getting Fulmer as a cheap option in this matchup seems like a solid option. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

*Note: Will Be Updated As Official Starting Lineups Are Released

Matt Olson, 1B Atlanta Braves

Matt Olson might finally be coming alive. He had himself a nice 2-homer game yesterday and now has 4 homers in his last 5 games. Matt Olson was one of baseball's best hitters last season and has prolific power. I am willing to bet he is better over these final two months of the season, and we see his homer total climb quickly. 

Max Meyer is a decent pitching prospect, and I still believe in him long-term, but I’m trusting the Braves offense to be able to get to him today in just his second start back to the majors after a long stint down in AAA. 

Jackson Holliday, 2B Baltimore Orioles

After a terrible first stint in the majors, Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam as his first major league homer in his first game back on the team. His first cup of coffee was really bad, but it was a whopping 36 plate appearances, and I am not holding that against him even a little bit. 

Holliday is basically certain to be a great hitter in the majors. I am willing to take this discount on him right now on one of the best teams in all of baseball, and I hope others want to fade him because of his weak first look in the majors. 

Jose Ramirez, 3B Cleveland Guardians

I think Trevor Rogers was a decent add for the Baltimore Orioles as someone who can eat innings in the back end of their rotation, and I do think he can be better than he has been, but I am not expecting him to turn things around in his first start for them here in Cleveland. 

Jose Ramirez has 3 homers and a double in his last two games. He also has absolutely decimated lefties all season long. He has a 1.125 OPS against lefties, second only to Aaron Judge. Third base is a position that doesn’t have a ton of depth today, and Jose Ramirez is my favorite big spend for the day. 

Colton Cowser, OF Baltimore Orioles

Colton Cowser is back on a hot streak right now. He was amazing at the beginning of the season and, at one point, was an over $5,000 outfielder every day. He then cooled off a a long stretch but is starting to heat up once again, so jump in now while the price is still at a pretty good spot. 

He has gotten a hit in every single game since the all-star break, which is now a 13-game hitting streak. Over that stretch he has slashed .380/.429/.660. He has also batted leadoff for 5 straight games, which I imagine will continue today, and in his last 3 starts has 6 hits, including 2 homers. 

 

 

 

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