Welcome to Tuesday! We have a great day of baseball in store for us today. We have a bunch of great pitchers, great offenses, and plenty of different ways for us to build some winning MLB DFS lineups. The only games not on today’s main slate are the Diamondbacks vs. Marlins and Rockies vs. Nationals, which means we have a lot of players to choose from today.

 

 

 

We have a 13-game slate today that will be getting underway at 7:05 PM ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. These 13-game slates are exciting but can be a little overwhelming in your number of choices regarding MLB DFS projections, so let’s not waste any more time and dive right into today’s playbook and my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, August 20

We have some great pitching options today, but some of them have tough matchups as well. Outside of my three favorites, some pitchers worth considering today include Luis Gil, Ronel Blanco, Bryce Miller, Cody Bradford, Jose Berrios, and Nick Pivetta. 

On the offensive side, even with many good pitchers today, we also have no shortage of good lineups to stack. Some of my favorite lineups to target today include the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. 

 

 

 

MLB Weather Today, 8/20

It looks like all 13 games should be full go with no real weather concerns!

MLB DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator Today

This Playbook is your ultimate resource for crafting elite MLB DFS picks. Dive into our expert insights and recommendations, and don’t miss out on today’s MLB DFS projections, MLB DFS ownership projections, and our specialized MLB lineups page!

Effortlessly integrate all this information using the MLB DFS Lineup Generator, which helps you lock in your Core Plays and build winning lineups in just moments! Check out a sample lineup for today:

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

Even as the second highest-priced pitcher today, this feels like a price that is too low for Zack Wheeler. This guy is an ace and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He continues to have a fantastic season with a 2.72 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 27.5 K%. 

The Brave's offense can still crush you with the long ball, but they aren’t one you are scared of right now. They hold a 24.9% strikeout rate since the all-star break, and especially with a pitcher like Zack Wheeler, I have no doubts that he will go out there and shut them down with plenty of strikeouts and a solid chance at a win today. 

Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals

I prefer Wheeler in my MLB DFS picks today because he is slightly cheaper and a guy I trust a little more, but come on, it’s Cole Ragans. Ragains has 6 strikeouts or more in 14 of his last 16 starts. Over that stretch, he has a 2.65 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 29.7 K%. It looks pretty similar to the numbers I mentioned for Wheeler. 

The Angels are a pretty good team against lefties with a sub-20% strikeout rate and a 110 wRC+ since the All-Star break against them, but with a guy like Ragans, that doesn’t worry me. I think Ragans will still have no issue getting to at least the 6-strikeout mark with the possibility for more, and with a good offense behind him a really good chance for the win (he has won 5 of his last 6 starts).

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants

So far, in his first 5 starts, he has shown you exactly what you should expect with a star returning from Tommy John surgery. There have been three great starts over which he has 24 strikeouts in 16 innings and giving up 2 earned runs or less in each start. The other two starts have not been so great, with his main issue being control (which is always the main thing you expect TJ returners to struggle with), giving up 12 walks through his first 21 innings. 

Robbie Ray will still have the risk of walking too many guys and getting his start cut short again today if he is struggling, but if he is pitching well, you should easily get 7+ strikeouts against this White Sox team. So, if you are willing to stomach the risk, the upside is high enough to be worth going for. 

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays

If you are looking for a cheaper pitching option today, Shane Baz is the clear guy for me. While Oakland has been a much better offense lately, and they can certainly get you with the long ball, they don’t necessarily scare me, and they have better MLB DFS projections against lefties. Shane Baz had a solid outing in his last start against the Astros, making it 7 innings with 6 strikeouts. He did give up 3 runs off 7 hits, including 2 homers, but it was still a quality start and 7 innings against a solid offense.

Baz has some real strikeout upside compared to most other cheap options. We have already seen 3 starts this season with 6 strikeouts or more despite his strikeout rate being far lower than what he showed in the past. I think we will see the strikeout rate climb as we get further into his season, and I trust him today against the Athletics to provide some good value. 

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters

Alec Burleson, 1B/OF St. Louis Cardinals

With a 13-game slate, there are so many big names that a guy like Alec Burleson will easily get overlooked, but I love him in this matchup today. Alec Burleson is batting in the heart of a pretty solid Cardinals offense. Against righties this season, he is slashing .306/.341/.532, and he is facing Montas, who struggles against lefties with a .287/.378/.511 slashline against him by lefties this season. 

The Cardinals could be a sneaky stack for MLB DFS picks today against Montas, but either way, I think that fitting Burleson in your lineups, whether at first or in the outfield, is a great move, and I will be surprised if he doesn’t return solid value today at this price.  

Gavin Lux, 2B Los Angeles Dodgers

I told you before I refuse to quit talking about Gavin Lux until he gets more respect from an MLB DFS projections standpoint. Granted, his price is starting to rise quite a bit. This $3,900 price tag is the highest we have seen yet, but it is still too low, even against a pitcher I like in Bryce Miller.

Gavin Lux is slashing .378/.447/.689, along with 6 homers over the last month. He is batting 5th or higher every day in this improved Dodgers lineup. I don’t see a world where I am not trying to fit Lux into my lineups right now, even if I am not wanting to stack other Dodgers around him. 

Gunnar Henderson, SS Baltimore Orioles

Gunnar Henderson continues to be just incredible. He just had a stretch of 4 homers in 5 games and continues to crush baseballs for the Orioles. You might have people shy away from him at this price in the lefty-lefty matchup, but I am jumping on it. 

He has been almost as great against lefties as righties this season, and Quintana has struggled against lefties more than righties this season, with a 2.03 HR/9 against lefties this season. I will bet that Gunnar wins this matchup and can do some lefty-lefty crime and potentially add to his homer count again. 

Ian Happ, OF Chicago Cubs

Bryan Sammons is getting his first true start today against the Cubs. He has looked pretty good in his last two outings, but they were both against Seattle. I will be surprised if he fares as well against the Cubs here today. 

Ian Happ just ended his 8-game hitting streak in his last game. Over that 8-game hitting streak, he had 10 total hits, 5 homers, and 2 steals. He has been a bit of a better hitter from the right side of the plate this season, and I think we will see him continue this stretch of excellent production in today's MLB DFS picks against Sammons. 

 

 

 

Player Pool

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