Welcome to Saturday’s MLB DFS Playbook! Yesterday couldn’t have been better for the Seattle Mariners as they launched themselves into first place, securing the win against the Kansas City Royals while the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers both lost. They will look to keep up that momentum with another win this afternoon, but we are focused on the games happening a few hours later with an 8-game main slate starting at 7:05 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate does include the Texas Rangers game as they look to bounce back against the Minnesota Twins today, as well as a great NL matchup with Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks facing off with both teams fighting to make the postseason. It should be a great day of baseball, and we will be looking to build some more winning MLB DFS lineups, so let’s dive into today’s playbook! Be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS rostership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

 

MLB DFS Playbook August 26

MLB Weather Updates

Looks like we will get a clear day today across the board!

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Today’s slate may not be as stacked with starting pitching as yesterday’s, but we still have some great pitchers to choose from. Outside of my favorites, the top-end pitchers Max Scherzer, Zack Wheeler, and Freddy Peralta are all viable options, with Zack Wheeler being my favorite of the trio. On the cheaper end, I would also consider JP Sears and Chase Silseth as good value options. On the offensive side, some of my favorite offenses to target include the Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers (yes, even against Joe Ryan), Milwaukee Brewers, and (surprising, but it worked out the last time I endorsed them) the Oakland Athletics.

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Max Scherzer vs Minnesota Twins

Freddy Peralta vs San Diego Padres

Zack Wheeler vs St. Louis Cardinals

Kyle Bradish vs Colorado Rockies

Best Odds for a Win

Kyle Bradish vs Colorado Rockies

Zack Wheeler vs St. Louis Cardinals

Zach Davies vs Cincinnati Reds

Javier Assad vs Pittsburgh Pirates

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles

Kyle Bradish continues to dominate for the Baltimore Orioles. He has a 1.08 ERA in his last 3 starts with 20 strikeouts in 16.2 innings, including 8 strikeouts through 6 shutout innings in his last outing against the Oakland Athletics. He gets to face the Colorado Rockies outside of Coors today, and I expect a similar outing to what we just saw against the Athletics. He should put up plenty of strikeouts and should be easily in line to grab the win today. 

Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs

Since getting turned into a starter, he has made 4 starts in which he has posted a 2.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The strikeouts haven’t been great, with no more than 4 in a start so far, but there is a decent chance he finally gets above that today, getting to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Either way, he should provide some solid innings with a great chance at a win coming in at a super low price today if you want to pivot away from the high-end pitching options. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Los Angeles Angels vs Chase Silseth

Chicago Cubs vs Colin Selby – Osvaldo Bido

Philadelphia Phillies vs Dakota Hudson

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Brett Kennedy

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Bryce Harper, 1B Philadelphia Phillies

The power looks to be completely back for Bryce Harper. After only 7 homers through the season so far, he has gone and mashed 5 of them over the last 8 games. Over that stretch, he also has 6 multi-hit games and has slashed .467/.579/1.067 with 11 runs and 9 RBIs. He sure looks back to being the Bryce Harper that won the NL MVP just two years ago. I’m willing to pay the high price for this version of Bryce Harper.

Gunnar Henderson, 3B/SS Baltimore Orioles

Gunnar Henderson is making a push for some AL Rookie of the Year votes. He is now on a 10-game hitting streak over which he has slashed .395/.413/.744 and had another 2 hits with a homer yesterday. I fully expect Gunnar Henderson and the Baltimore Orioles to keep things rolling today against Chris Flexen and the Colorado Rockies. 

Willy Adames, SS Milwaukee Brewers

It hasn’t been a great year for Willy Adames at the plate currently, with a career-low in AVG, OBP, and SLG. He is picking up some steam recently, though, with 12 hits in his last 6 games, including 3 homers. Hopefully, he can keep this up and continue to show the power today against Pedro Avila, and Adames is someone who has historically hit better against right-handed pitching than left-handed.

Brent Rooker, OF Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics offense has been surprisingly decent recently, and Brent Rooker has been a big part of that. Over his last 10 games, he has slashed .333/.366/.615 with 3 homers, 8 runs, and 6 RBIs. Those 8 runs and 6 RBIs may not feel wildly impressive, but on this Oakland team, they are. I really don’t trust Touki Toussaint or the Chicago White Sox right now, so I think this Oakland offense can produce again and provide some solid value.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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