FanDuel MLB DFS Picks – August 20th

Last evening was a perfect illustration of a night.
I took a risk with rostering left-hander Brendan McKay from a team at the Seattle Mariners that can hit the ball hard but also strikes out a great deal, and the former is what ended up taking place. McKay surrendered seven runs (but only three earned) in two innings of work as he allowed three hits — including 2 home runs — along with three walks with just one strikeout. Thats the worst pitching performance we have seen all year in these types of lineups.
As Ketel Marte continued his breakout season along with his home run, a 23, our four-man D-backs pile did some harm. He also included a walk. David Peralta climbed within a night together with two RBI and Eduardo Escobar felt a run and run. Add a zero out of Christian Walker and the overall outcomes for this high-upsidepile were disappointing to make sure.
As a stroll from Eugenio Suarez and Phillip Ervin was that the contributions wed get from this group, our Reds was brutal.
Finally, we received a few worth from one-off shortstop Wilfredo Tovar who knocked on a set of singles since a minimum cost that was $ 2,000 for us.
Lets put this one behind us now and move forward to tonights jam-packed 15-game major slate!
P — Sonny Gray (CIN) — $10,400 vs. SD
Theres plenty of arms on this slate that draw your attention including Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Shane Bieber and Aaron Nola, but I like Gray because his cost isnt in the level which Kershaw is currently at more than 12K, however the upside may be just as strong as he chooses on the San Diego Padres tonight in the home. The confines of Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati are of those hitter-friendly environment, however that hasnt stopped?? Gray from twirling a 3.15 ERA, 3.23 FIP, 3.48 xFIP plus a big-time 10.62 K/9 in the home. The latter three of those numbers are superior to his figures on the street, as is his 3.86 K/BB at home as he has run into a command problems on the street using a 4.08 BB/9, but owns a pleasant 2.75 markers at home. Gray has been particularly notable of late, entering this 1 tonight riding a three-start scoreless series because he has not allowed a run over his last 18 innings with 24 strikeouts in that period. His final two trips have come at home and he is hurled 11 innings of shutout ball to boot at the time together with 17 strikeouts. The strikeout upside gets a top notch in the ideal direction tonight as the Padres own the leagues second-highest strikeout speed versus right-handed piching with a K-rate of 26.4% from these. Given his latest work and also the strikeout upside in this matchup, Gray appears to be a play on this huge slate.
C/1B — Anthony Rizzo (CHC) — $4,200 vs. SF
I really have not stacked against the Giants far this season because they have a high 10 bullpen to rear their starters, although I think the Cubs have some real nice upside , as do the oddsmakers at theyve a big 5.9 run projection at this point in time. The Cubs will take on right-hander Tyler Beede who has scuffled to the tune of a 5.77 ERA along with 5.42 FIP on the season to go together with a 1.85 HR/9 rate. Hes also been touched to get a 6.23 ERA on the path to go alongside a 5.82 FIP and also 1.89 HR/9 clip. Last, Beede has recently posted a 9.95 ERA around three August begins to this stage using a 2.64 HR/9 against, so there is loads of reason to believe that this Cubs team could put some runs on the board in a big way tonight. Input Rizzo whos once more performing some big-time harm against right-wing pitching using a .240 ISO, .960 OPS, .401 wOBA and also a 148 wRC+ against them for this season. Hes seen his ISO dip to .179 in house versus righties, however his .962 OPS, .407 wOBA along with 152 wRC+ are all superior at house versus his marks on the street versus righties. Rizzo homered against the Pirates, his second long ball on his last four games, in his final game at Williamsport, the house of the Little League World Series. For him to continue to swing a highly effective rod in this 1 16, let us look.
2B — Cesar Hernandez (PHI) — $2,500 vs. BOS
After selecting Gray as my pitcher along with a four-man Cubs stack to lead the Warriors in this lineup, I needed to be discerning with all the rest of my picks from a salary perspective since there was not a ton to invest on every player at that point. Ive found a low-owned mini-stack which will pay some big dividends in a matchup tonight. Hernandezs Phillies take on the Red Sox along with left-hander Brian Johnson within this 1 tonight, so he of a grisly 6.45 ERA, 5.95 FIP and 5.99 xFIP around the season to go along with a large 2.01 HR/9 against also. Hes been struck hard by right-handed bats in his short time in the bigs this year, and also the switch-hitting Hernandez will swing from the right side against him. The energy is improved from the left side of the plate, though he is smacked eight of his 23 doubles right into a lefty and hes hit eight overall home runs and discharged seven overall foundations to give us some power/speed upside . Usually I just use him righties, however given how poor Johnson has been right-handed nerves and the simple fact hes likely to become a part of a mini-stack in low ownership, Ill roll the dice onto the Phillies second baseman tonight.
3B — Sean Rodriguez (PHI) — $2,200 vs. BOS
Well complete the Phillies mini-stack as Rodriguez seems to provide us some worth tonight against the Johnson. Rodriguez has always left his big league money hitting left handed pitching for notable power. With this year, hes hitting .267 using a .222 ISO, .842 OPS, .356 wOBA and 119 wRC+ from left-handed pitching. When we compare this to his .154 average, .059 ISO, .437 OPS, .201 wOBA and 18 wRC+ versus righties, we could see why Rodriguez starts almost entirely against left-wing pitching as he has done during his lengthy major league tenure. Rodriguez has smacked all three of his homers from lefties in 45. Even the 34-year-old also posted a huge .356 ISO in Triple-A this year in limited action with an 1.000 OPS versus left-handed pitching. He seldom plays an entire match as he is largely replaced when a noodle that is right-handed is summoned to face him, but the second-last time hed get four at-bats at a match, Rodriguez knocked three hits including a home run. Hes struggled in mostly duty since, but I am still digging the upside were getting at a price versus a tonight for a lefty-masher.
SS — Javier Baez (CHC) — $4,100 vs. SF
Next guy up in our Cubs heap is but I very much want him within this heap versus a right-hander in addition to he is mashed them. He does own a .333 ISO and also .998 OPS versus pitching, but Baez sports a .240 ISO, .824 OPS, .337 wOBA and 106 wRC+ vs pitching. Hes hit 20 of his 28 homers versus righties in addition to 30 of his 34 doubles, however for some reason the Cubs have faced so few left-handers this year that the eight homers and four doubles hes submitted versus lefties have his figures soaring from them. The stolen base upside down is there also with 10 steals on the season, but interestingly only three of these have arrived at the cost of a right-handed pitcher. Having said that, Baez has fared considerably better in the home versus throwing to the famous jet stream that blows out in Wrigley Field in Chicago — to left area — the pull area of Baez. Baez possesses a .302 ISO, .961 OPS, .392 wOBA and 142 wRC+ versus pitching at home that year. Baez went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored on the game in Williamsport on Sunday night, so let us look for him to build on that attempt in this one tonight.
OF — Kyle Schwarber (CHC) — $3,300 vs. SF
Ongoing our four-man Cubs stack is Schwarber who simply loves himself some pitching. The 28 long balls on the season of schwarber are merely two shy of tying his career-high of 30 place in the 2017 year, and 24 of those 28 balls come from a pitcher just as tonight will be faced by him in the Giants Tyler Beede. Schwarber doesnt hit for much average at all which drags down his OPS and wOBA despite a few strong walk numbers, however the raw power is that which we are here for as he possesses a .276 ISO versus righties to go along with an .835 OPS, .342 wOBA and 109 wRC+ versus opposite-handed pitching. Despite Wrigley Field perhaps not being the most hitter-friendly place for left-handed hitters like Schwarber, he still loves mashing righties at home because he sports a .296 ISO, .918 OPS, .373 wOBA and 129 wRC+ vs righties in the home in comparison to a .257 ISO, .760 OPS, .315 wOBA and 91 wRC+ on the street versus righties. As we have seen earlier with him schwarber has taken off at the next half of this season. Since returning in the fracture, Schwarber has posted a .344 ISO, .900 OPS, .368 wOBA and 126 wRC+. In a fantastic example of a low average but lots of power, three of Schwarbers last five strikes have left the yard. Start looking contrary to a right-handed pitcher allowing his share of home runs.
OF — Ian Happ (CHC) — $3,100 vs. SF
Person up in our Cubs heap is Happ who has plenty of pop into that bat. Happ has spent most of the season at the Triple-A degree for a casualty of a numbers game in the Cubs outfield, but despite not just ripping it up in Triple-A with a .189 ISO and 96 wRC+, Happ has posted big-time amounts inside his big league tenure this year around hi 62 plate looks. He owns a .291 ISO and 133 wRC+ in the big league level this season with four balls into his name. The utility man owns a .278 ISO, .937 OPS, .390 wOBA and 140 wRC+ in his big league time this year versus right-handed pitching. He burst onto the scene in 2017 with 24 home runs after a mid-season promotion, and switch-hitter possesses excellent career numbers versus righties with a .242 ISO, .845 OPS, .355 wOBA plus a 120 wRC+ vs righties compared to a .171 ISO, .713 OPS, .303 wOBA along with 86 wRC+ vs lefties. Hes yet to swipe at a base in the big leagues this year, however did have nine stelas at 99 Triple-A games this year and has 16 stolen bases in 279 large league games for his career, therefore we do have a touch of stolen base upside as well. I will take the upside down here in order to anchor our tonight.
OF — Lane Thomas (STL) — $2,300 vs. MIL
I will be completing this lineup with a set of outfielders that are one-of-a-kind, starting here with Thomas who takes on left-hander Gio Gonzalez along with the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. Gonzalez isnt a pitcher and Thomas has numbers against lefties equally at the big leagues and minor league level this year although I aim frequently, but almost all of the harm against him stems from right-handed and continues to be fine this season. Thomas is 4 with a homer and a triple versus pitching at a league sample this season. In addition, he tried a steal versus a lefty, albeit an effort that was unsuccessful, but does have a sneak from a righty. The 23-year-old failed post an .826 OPS versus lefties from the minors this year where he found success on the basepaths with 11 steals to improve his 10 home runs. Two of the 11 steals in the minors were off of pitching. Thomas does have a record of this valuable power/speed combination in his minor league career as he homered 27 occasions and stole 17 bases across two levels last season and has double-digit steals in the minors in each of his two years. I believe well get him and I am excited to see if he can provide some value against a southpaw pitcher.
UTIL — Joc Pederson (LAD) — $2,900 vs. TOR
Completing our lineup is Pederson who takes a lot of value. The Dodgers have been set to carry on right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, a beginner for the Blue Jays who possesses a 3.00 ERA in six starts and eight appearances at the big league level, but also a 4.88 FIP and massive 6.18 xFIP to go together with a huge 5.70 BB/9 rate as well. Whats more, Reid-Foley was brutalized at the Triple-A level using a 6.26 ERA, 5.53 FIP and 5.31 xFIP to go together with a massive 6.80 BB/9 speed too. Clearly, hes due for some regression in the big leagues after being roughed up in the minors that season. As is the case from a right-handed starter, Pederson is projected to hit yelling. He loves himself a few right-handed pitching as he owns a .272 ISO, .851 OPS, .354 wOBA and 121 wRC+ versus righties over the season while most of his 24 balls come against a righty. Hes a lot like Schwarber in the feeling he doesnt hit for a average but rather power. He is also like Schwarber at the feeling he mashes righties at home with Pederson possessing an eye-popping .381 ISO, 1.026 OPS, .416 wOBA and 161 wRC+ in home versus righties this season. I think I will take that form of production out of the leadoff spot tonight.