MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Thursday, August 8th

Happy Thursday! Another great day is in store for us. Yesterday, some of our favorites got multi-homer days with double-homer games from Bobby Witt and Anthony Santander and a 3-homer game from Kyle Schwarber. Some great pitching performances from Tarik Skubal, Cole Ragans, and Erick Fedde, all of whom James Grande highlighted in yesterday’s playbook. We will look to follow that up with some more greatness today and some more winning MLB DFS lineups!

We have a usual travel day today, so a smaller 5-game slate will begin at 7:05 PM ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. A smaller slate means less to choose from, but we still have plenty of great plays to target today, so let’s just get right into today’s playbook and all of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day.

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, August 8

MLB Weather Today, 8/08

• Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees

It is raining all day in New York again today, but not as bad as it has been, so I hope they will get a game in. However, keep a close eye on this one and consider avoiding it. 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

With only a 5-game slate, which could potentially be a 4-game slate if the weather gets to the Angels vs. Yankees game, options for building lineups are limited, especially with pitching. There are not any clear-cut pitching options today, with the top-priced pitcher being a struggling Kevin Gausman against a really good Baltimore Orioles team.

If I were confident the weather would cooperate today, I would have Nestor Cortes as my second favorite behind Bryan Woo. However, I don’t want to recommend a guy who I don’t think will get to pitch a full game (if at all) with the weather. If conditions clear up, he can also be considered among my favorites. 

On the offensive side, options are also limited with a small slate. but the shortage of great pitchers at least gives us some offenses to feel comfortable targeting. My favorites of the day include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays.    

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Kevin Gausman vs. Baltimore Orioles
• Bryan Woo vs. Detroit Tigers
• Nestor Cortes vs. Los Angeles Angels
• Kyle Gibson vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Best Odds For A Win

• Bryan Woo vs. Detroit Tigers
• Nestor Cortes vs. Los Angeles Angels
• Dean Kremer vs. Toronto Blue Jays
• Kyle Gibson vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners

After four straight quality starts earlier in the season, Bryan Woo had gone five straight games without pitching 6 innings until his last outing, when he tossed a gem, putting up 7 shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies with 6 strikeouts. With him getting over 90 pitches, I am hoping he can maintain this longevity and give us at least 6 innings again today against the Tigers.

If he does make it deep into the game, it should be with some quality results. He has decent strikeout upside, especially relative to today’s slate, and the Tigers don’t pose much of a threat, so I think he can give us a good outing and hopefully get some run support to secure the win. 

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays

Shane Baz has looked solid so far in his return. Through his first five starts, he pitched 25 innings with a 3.60 ERA and a 22.2% strikeout rate. That is solid results from a guy returning from TJ, and I think we can expect even more. I think we see the strikeout rate climb closer to the 25%+ range, which we have seen from him in the past, and the walks should get cut down as he regains command as well. 

The Cardinals don’t strike out much, but they aren’t scary either. I trust the talent of Baz in this spot as one of the cheaper options for the day among a very weak pitching slate. 

Kyle Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

Kyle Gibson is normally someone I am looking to stack against, not as my pitcher, but he has been pitching pretty well and is facing a very bad Tampa Bay offense. He still provides some strikeout upside, with at least 6 strikeouts in over half his starts this season, and we have seen 8 or more four times. 

Baz has more talent and is cheaper, but Gibson provides better win equity and has a much better matchup. I am sticking with Woo and either Baz or Gibson for any lineup constructions today.  

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• New York Yankees vs. Tyler Anderson
• Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Koby Allard
• Philadelphia Phillies vs. Jordan Montgomery
• Baltimore Orioles vs. Kevin Gausman

Core MLB DFS Hitters

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

Josh Bell, 1B Arizona Diamondbacks

Josh Bell continues to absolutely crush the ball. He has been batting cleanup for this Diamondbacks team, and over his last 13 games, Bell has 9 homers, including two multi-homer games. He hit another two homers in game 2 of the doubleheader yesterday. 

The Diamondbacks are one of my favorite lineups today against Koby Allard so it is hard not to take a guy hitting this well in the heart of it for this low of a price. 

Ketel Marte, 2B Arizona Diamondbacks

It is Ketel Marte against a lefty. I am not sure if I need to tell you much at this point about why you should be playing Marte against lefties. He is by far the most expensive 2nd base option on the slate, but with a position void of other top plays, I am very happy to pay up for Marte, who is having an incredible season. 

Alec Bohm, 3B Philadelphia Phillies

Alec Bohm’s just continues to be fantastic for this Phillies team. He doesn’t bring the power that a lot of the other top corner infield bats do, with only 12 homers on his season, but with a .297/.352/.482 slash line, you can survive with the lack of homers, and it helps that he leads the league in doubles. 

Jordan Montgomery continues to look bad this season, with a 6.37 ERA through 77.2 innings and a meager 14.6% strikeout rate. There should be no shortage of runs in this game, and I like Bohm and the Phillies to contribute a lot of those against Montgomery.

Kyle Schwarber, OF Philadelphia Phillies

If you are thinking about fading Kyle Schwarber because he is coming off a 3-homer game and is facing a lefty, you should think again. Through 179 plate appearances (no small sample), he is slashing .340/.458/.571, that is good for a 1.030 OPS, which is 7th highest in the majors, not even that far behind the dominance of Ketel Marte. 

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Bryan Woo $9,000	Cal Raleigh $4,700	Vladimir Guerrero $5,200	Ketel Marte $6,000	Alec Bohm $4,800	Gunnar Henderson $6,300	Anthony Santander $5,700
						Trea Turner $5,800	Kyle Schwarber $5,400
Medium	Kyle Gibson $7,900	Mitch Garver $3,200	Ryan O'Hearn $4,200	Brandon Lowe $4,600	Nolan Arenado $4,100	Masyn Winn $4,500	Randy Arozarena $4,900
				Jorge Polanco $4,100			Lourdes Gurriel $4,400
							Colton Cowser $4,400
							Tommy Pham $4,000
Low	Shane Baz $7,600	Alejandro Kirk $2,900	Josh Bell $0	Jackson Holliday $3,200	Eugenio Suárez $3,800	Geraldo Perdomo $2,600	Nick Castellanos $3,800
			Luke Raley $3,700	Davis Schneider $2,800	Ernie Clement $2,500		Daulton Varsho $3,200
							Eloy Jiménez $3,000
							Mitch Haniger $2,800

Stacks

Diamondbacks	Ketel Marte	Lourdes Gurriel	Eugenio Suárez	Josh Bell	Geraldo Perdomo
DraftKings	6000	4400	3800	-	2600
Fanduel	4000	3000	3200	2900	2700

Phillies	Nick Castellanos	Trea Turner	Alec Bohm	Kyle Schwarber	Bryce Harper
DraftKings	3800	5800	4800	5400	5600
Fanduel	3000	3800	3200	3900	3700

Mariners	Jorge Polanco	Luke Raley	Randy Arozarena	Cal Raleigh	Justin Turner
DraftKings	4100	3700	4900	4700	3100
Fanduel	2700	2900	3100	3100	2700

Orioles	Gunnar Henderson	Ryan O'Hearn	Jackson Holliday	Anthony Santander	Colton Cowser
DraftKings	6300	4200	3200	5700	4400
Fanduel	4300	3000	2700	3700	3100

Blue Jays	Daulton Varsho	Alejandro Kirk	Ernie Clement	Davis Schneider	Vladimir Guerrero
DraftKings	3200	2900	2500	2800	5200
Fanduel	2800	2400	2600	2700	3800