MLB DFS Playbook August 4: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Aug 04, 2023
Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for August 4! We have a big 11-game slate on both DK and FD on our hands today. We have a 7:05 pm ET start time, so you have plenty of time to get those lineups made! Make sure to check out all of our amazing MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook August 4
MLB Weather Updates
Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees (possible rain)
Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs (possible rain)
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox (possible rain)
Kansas City Royals vs. Philadelphia Phillies (possible rain)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
None.
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
None.
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
This slate is a lot to unpack. For starters, we have 11-games to look at, but with multiple weather concerns, which makes it a bit less fun. Make sure to check the weather reports leading up to first pitch. We also don’t have any clear-cut aces in good spots tonight, so rostership percentages should be spread out. As for offense, we have three teams with implied run totals north of 5.00. Let’s dive in!
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Best Odds for a Win
Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies -241)
Adam Wainwright (St. Louis Cardinals -171)
Logan Allen (Cleveland Guardians -167)
Colin Rea (Milwaukee Brewers -167)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
Nola hasn’t had the best of years but he has pitched pretty well recently (outside of his last start) with a 4.12 ERA and a 21.1 dk ppg average over his last 10 games. He has had an uptick in strikeouts lately too, with 74 across his last 63.1 innings. The Royals offense is bad and Nola has been far better at home this year with a 3.27 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, compared to 5.15 and 1.23 on the road, respectively.
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels
Detmers has been pitched well lately with a 3.88 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over his last 10 games with 69 Ks across 55.2 innings. He now has 127 Ks across 101.1 innings this season, which provides the upside we want to see for DFS. His biggest DFS hindrance this season is the fact that he has just two wins (2-8 record), so he’s not getting those win points. He is averaging 20 dk ppg at home this season (3.63 ERA), compared to 11.1 dk ppg on the road (5.49 ERA).
Jordan Montgomery, Texas Rangers
Monty is slated to make his Rangers debut tonight and it’s in a nice spot against the Marlins. Monty has been locked-in lately with a 2.37 ERA over his last 10 games, despite a stinker against the Cubs two starts ago. His 6-9 record on the year was a product of a bad Cardinals team, but now he is on an elite Rangers offensive team and should have much higher win equity, which is great for DFS.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
5.45 – Boston Red Sox
5.22 – St. Louis Cardinals
5.03 – Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Triston Casas, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Casas’ price is slowly creeping up, but there is simply no reason for him to still be this cheap. He is hitting .382 with a 1.256 OPS and four home runs over his last 10 games. It goes even further back than that though, as he is hitting .393 with a 1.315 OPS and seven home runs over his last 19 games. He has also been better at home this season with a .270 average and .866 OPS, compared to .242 and .810 on the road, respectively. He faces Alek Manoah who has a 5.87 ERA and 1.79 WHIP this season.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets
I have been on Vientos a bit lately, and it hasn’t worked out at a high rate unfortunately, but I like the power upside in good matchups like this for his price tag. To get guys like Yordan, Tucker, Alonso, Schwarber, etc in your lineup, you have to look to some spend-downs, thus here we are. He is hitting .281 over his last 10 games and is facing a pitcher that has a 4.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and has given up 23 home runs this season.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B, Colorado Rockies
Yes, it’s not a Coors Field game, and yes Rodgers hasn’t done much of anything in his first three games since returning to action (2-13 with 1 RBI), but he is almost the minimum price and he is facing Adam Wainwright. Waino has a 7.18 ERA and 1.90 WHIP this year through 62.2 innings of work, making him arguably the worst pitcher in baseball this season. It gets even worse when he’s at home as he has produced an 8.16 ERA and 2.09 WHIP in St. Louis this season.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros
Alvarez is arguably the best pure hitter in baseball right now and he is having another monster year with a .291 average, 19 home runs, and 106 total R/RBI across 64 games. He faces Luis Severino who has been getting absolutely shelled this year with a 7.49 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and 15 home runs against across 57.2 innings. The Astros will likely be a very popular stack tonight.
Kyle Schwarber, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
We know what we are hoping for when we play Schwarbs and that is a home run. He has 27 of them on the year to go along with his unsightly .180 average. What better night to target him though than when he is facing the long ball giving up king in Jordan Lyles. Lyles has a decent WHIP again this year (for how bad his ERA is), but a 6.15 ERA and 22 home runs allowed. He’s been even worse on the road as he has a 7.52 away from Kansas City.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Luis Castillo  $10,700 |  Pete Alonso $4,000 |  Marcus Semien $3,600 |  Rafael Devers $3,500 | Francisco Lindor $3,800 |  Yordan Alvarez $4,300 |
 Aaron Nola $9,900 |  Ha-Seong Kim $3,500 |  Nolan Arenado $3,400 | Kyle Schwarber $3,800 | |||
| Medium |  Jordan Montgomery $9,500 | Bryce Harper $3,400 | Bryson Stott $3,100 | Josh Jung $3,100 |  Willy Adames $3,000 | Jarren Duran $3,300 |
 Reid Detmers $9,000 | Triston Casas $3,400 |  Sal Frelick $3,000 | ||||
| Low |  Mike Clevinger $8,200 |  Michael Toglia $2,500 | Brendan Rodgers $2,400 |  Ke'Bryan Hayes $2,700 | Tim Anderson $2,700 | Jordan Walker $2,900 |
| Mark Vientos $2,400 |  Anthony Volpe $2,600 | Brandon Marsh $2,700 |
Stacks
| Astros | Alex Bregman | Yainer Diaz | Kyle Tucker | Yordan Alvarez |
 DraftKings | 5300 | 3800 | 5700 | 6000 |
| Fanduel | 3200 | 2800 | 3600 | 4300 |
| Phillies | Alec Bohm | Bryson Stott | Kyle Schwarber | Brandon Marsh | Bryce Harper |
| DraftKings | 4000 | 4200 | 4600 | 2900 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | 3300 | 3100 | 3800 | 2700 | 3400 |
| Mets | Francisco Alvarez | Mark Vientos | Francisco Lindor | Pete Alonso |
| DraftKings | 4000 | 2300 | 5200 | 5600 |
| Fanduel | 3200 | 2400 | 3800 | 4000 |
| Cardinals | Jordan Walker | Alec Burleson | Lars Nootbaar | Nolan Arenado |
| DraftKings | 2800 | 2700 | 4400 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | 2900 | 2400 | 3500 | 3400 |
| Red Sox | Triston Casas | Jarren Duran | Connor Wong | Rafael Devers |
| DraftKings | 3700 | 4400 | 2400 | 5100 |
| Fanduel | 3400 | 3300 | 2700 | 3500 |
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.