DFS MLB Lineups for August 8, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this daily fantasy baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster. And if you’re looking for new ways to play DFS, be sure and give BOOM Fantasy and DRAFT a try!
A quick reminder while playing DFS MLB, don’t forget baseball is a game of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even Clayton Kershaw can get lit up, and Mike Trout can still go 0 for 4. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.
Another thing to remember outside of making sure your player is in the lineup, is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!
8/8/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Full Count: $55 buy-in, $500k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $130k guaranteed
FanDuel Papa Squeeze: $9 buy-in, $125k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $66 buy-in, $175k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $777 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for August 8, 2017
Chris Sale @ TB ($12.6k DraftKings, $11.4k FanDuel)
Sale is certainly allowed one bad outing during a CY Young-worthy campaign and you can take advantage of his somewhat discounted price tag after getting touched up by the Indians last week. He’s more than capable of bouncing back in a prime matchup against a Rays team that ranks 23rd in collective batting average (.241) with the third-highest K-Rate (25.6%) in the Majors against LHP this year. Sale’s absolutely dominated current Rays with 53 K’s over 145 career at-bats (36.5% K-Rate) and he’s been absolutely elite with a 1.75 FIP and 13.45 K/9 ratio on the road this season.
Zack Godley vs. LAD ($7.6k DraftKings, $8.9 FanDuel)
Godley just passed one of the toughest tests of his young career by spinning a 6-inning shutout of the Cubs at Wrigley Field and his price tag on DK has dropped dramatically ahead of another tough matchup against the red-hot Dodgers. Yet the sophomore RHP has been extremely steady with Quality Starts in 12 of his 15 outings this year and he’s avoided major damage at Chase Field (3.02 ERA) by simply avoiding hard contact as indicated by his .140 BAA at home. He already handled the Dodgers on the road last month and should be up to the challenge again tonight.
Jeremy Hellickson @ LAA ($7.7k DraftKings, $6.9k FanDuel)
A little change of scenery might’ve fixed what ails Hellickson, as the former Philadelphia RHP spun a 7-inning gem in his Orioles debut. He held the red-hot Royals offense to 5 hits with just one walk in that start and should be able to contain an Angels lineup that ranks 29th in collective wOBA (.292) on the year. While Anaheim’s batters don’t strike out very often, Hellickson’s evolved into less of a strikeout pitcher and that makes him a solid- if unspectacular- cash game play tonight.
Other pitchers to consider: Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, Jason Vargas, J.A. Happ, German Marquez, Parker Bridwell, Kenta Maeda
Best DFS MLB Hitters for August 8, 2017
Jose Altuve @ CWS ($5.4k DraftKings, $4.2k FanDuel)
Houston boasts the second-highest collective wOBA (.352) with the lowest K-Rate (17%) in the Majors against LHP this season, so a vulnerable southpaw in Derek Holland stands little chance of navigating this lineup. Holland is in the midst of a nightmarish year with a 6.18 FIP and 2.08 HR/9 ratio, while Altuve is having an historic campaign and with an unconscious .430 batting average and 1.198 OPS on the road this season. He’s still hitting .357 off lefties and has flashed pop with 4 XBH and a HR over 28 career at-bats (.286 average) against Holland.
Nelson Cruz @ OAK ($4.5k DraftKings, $4.5k FanDuel)
Some BvP splits are simply too notable to ignore, and that’s the case with Cruz tonight. The Mariners slugger is 11-for-17 with 2 doubles a HR and 3 walks off A’s young hurler Kendall Graveman, stealing a base off the young RHP just for posterity. Cruz has been up-and-down this year with a modest .279 batting average, but flashed his incredible upside with a 2-HR game in Kansas City on Sunday and will have little trouble finding the strength to drive a ball out of massive Oakland Coliseum, where he’s 30-for-89 (.337) with 6 HRs over the past 4 seasons.
Ryan Braun @ MIN ($3.9k DraftKings, $4.1k FanDuel)
Braun’s been slumping badly over the last couple of weeks, but all-stars tend to figure things out sooner or later and tonight’s matchup is ideal for him to get off the schneid. The Twins are starting young LHP Adalberto Mejia, who is giving up a 1.46 HR/9 ratio with a 5.20 ERA over 55.1 IP at Target Field this season. Braun is a career .334 hitter against the platoon and despite his modest production in 2017, he’s still rocking a .426 wOBA on the road against lefties and DK is disrespecting his upside with this price tag.
Other hitters to consider: Joey Votto, Aaron Judge, Eduardo Nunez, Rajai Davis, Xander Bogaerts, Starling Marte, Nomar Mazara, Buster Posey, Freddy Galvis, Marwin Gonzalez
8/8/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Rangers vs Chris Flexen
Poor young Flexen is getting a harsh education on what it means to pitch in the big leagues, as he’s been tagged for 8 ER on 13 hits while failing to make it through the fourth inning in either of his first 2 MLB starts. Now he’ll face a surging Rangers offense that’s rocking the sixth-highest collective wOBA (.341) over the last 14 days and contains a number of dangerous lefties, which is important because he’s given up a 50% Hard Contact Rate over a tiny sample (10 at-bats) against LHB in the Majors and was vulnerable against the platoon in the minors. Adrian Beltre might serve as the heart of this stack, but LHBs Nomar Mazara, Shin-Soo Choo and Rougned Odor could fill create a dangerous combination.
Red Sox vs Austin Pruitt
While they leave the friendly confines of Fenway, Boston’s bats are more than capable of staying hot in a plus matchup against rookie RHP Austin Pruitt. The Rays former ninth-round pick is giving up a 1.44 HR/9 ratio and posting an ugly 1.76 WHIP so far against RHB, so give Eduardo Nunez a long look as the hottest right in the Red Sox lineup. Mookie Betts is more of a tournament play right now, while Christian Vazquez has emerged as an elite option at catcher and a great value on FanDuel. You can also certainly consider lefties in this matchup, such as the suddenly hot Andrew Benintendi and cheaper options in Rafael Devers or Brock Holt depending on their placement within the lineup.
Other Stacks to consider:
Astros vs. Derek Holland
Phillies vs. Julio Teheran
Nationals vs. Vance Worley
