Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Friday, August 22nd! 

We have a 13-game main slate in store for us this evening on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:05 PM ET. Today, we have plenty of talent on the diamond and many different ways to build your lineup. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Check out the MLB DFS Show to get an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate to give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

 

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, 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 Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB Weather: Friday, 8/22

New York Mets @ Atlanta Braves

Typical Atlanta in the summertime, where a pop-up storm could cause problems, but the location cannot really be identified. 

St. Louis Cardinals @ Tampa Bay Rays 

Most of the rain should clear by first pitch, but there is a small chance of a delay. 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners 

Woo has been one of the most consistent starters in all of baseball this season. Incredibly, he has lasted at least six innings in ALL of his 24 starts, and he has allowed more than three runs in just six of them. The strikeouts are above average at 25.5% and the walks are elite under 5%. 

The matchup comes at home tonight against an A's offense facing a massive ballpark downgrade for hitters. The A's still pack plenty of power, with a .180 ISO against righties that ranks 6th in baseball, so the matchup is not without risk. 

Woo figures to be the most popular pitcher on a huge slate, and rightfully so, but there are plenty of other options to choose from. 

Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers

Rangers hurler Nathan Eovaldi belongs in the conversation for most consistent starts in the league as well. He owns a sparkling 1.76 ERA on the season and he has allowed more than three runs in just one of his 21 starts this season. That outing came just two starts ago against the Diamondbacks, but Eovaldi rebounded nicely against the best offense in baseball with seven strong innings in Toronto. 

Tonight, Eovaldi faces the Guardians, who are just 3-7 in their last 10 games and have posted a 78 wRC+ since the beginning of August. 

When factoring in matchup and ownership, I've got Eovaldi slightly ahead of Woo for top pitcher on the slate. 

Nolan McLean, New York Mets 

Mets rookie Nolan McLean had a Major League debut he will never forget – shutting down a very good Mariners offense for 5.1 innings and racking up eight strikeouts. The four walks were not ideal and control is going to be a big concern for him while he adjusts to the Majors, but he clearly has excellent stuff. 

Tonight, McLean faces an Atlanta offense that has been average against righties with a 102 wRC+. He is one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, and the hype-train is not going to slow down after his electric debut. 

Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins 

The ultimate boom/bust spot of the pitching slate belongs to Zebby Matthews. The Twins righty has pitched far better than his 5.06 ERA would indicate. Estimators like SIERA and xFIP have his performance nearly two runs better than his ERA. He owns a massive 29.9% strikeout rate and an above average 7.1% walk rate. 

The risk comes in the 41.7% fly-ball rate with 1.50 HR/9 and 10.5% barrel rate allowed. If he misses bats and fly-ball variance is on his side, Matthews could absolutely smash his price tag. If he can't keep the ball in the yard, he could be out of the game before the 5th inning. 

The White Sox have been one of the best offenses in baseball in the second half of the season, but they have fallen off a bit with a 99 wRC+ in August. 

There are some intriguing trends in regards to the leash for Matthews. After averaging just 79 pitches per start through his first seven starts this season, he has averaged 92 pitches in his last three with a low of 86 pitches.  

Ryan Bergert, Kansas City Royals 

Full disclosure, I did not expect to include Ryan Bergert in this section when I began researching this massive 13-game slate, but that is why we do the research. 

An uptick in strikeouts since his arrival in Kansas City warranted further digging. And after doing a deep dive into what's been going on with him, Bergert is officially my favorite tournament play of the slate. 

With the Royals, Bergert has cut the usage of his mediocre four-seam fastball from 46.3% with the Padres to 34.6%. He has leaned more on his best offering – a slider that has generated a 33.3% whiff rate this season. Bergert has bumped his slider usage to a rate of 50.2% with the Royals, up from 39.7% with the Padres. 

It has only been three starts, but the strikeout rate is up to 25.8% and the swinging-strike rate checks-in at 11.9% with the Royals. 

Bergert gets a strong strikeout matchup today against the Tigers, who have posted a below average 97 wRC+ since the All-Star break. They have also struck out at 23.8% against right-handed pitching this season, which is the 3rd-highest mark in the league. Bergert has tremendous upside for the price if he is going to continue deploying his slider 50% of the time. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Brandon Lowe, Junior Caminero and Tampa Bay Rays vs. Miles Mikolas 

The Rays get a great matchup against Miles Mikolas in their Minor League home park. Mikolas is coming to the end of his career and has been in decline for a few years now. He has allowed a .204 ISO and 11.9% barrel rate while managing just a 15.3% strikeout rate.  

There are two obvious standout bats in the Rays lineup in Junior Caminero (.270 ISO vs. RHP) and Brandon Lowe (.255 ISO vs. RHP). Chandler Simpson should it lead-off again – he has stolen 36 bases and scored 40 runs in 79 games. Bob Seymour swatted 30 home runs at Triple-A prior to his recall, and his strikeout problem is unlikely to be exposed by Mikolas. Josh Lowe is having a disappointing season, but he makes a fine addition to a Rays stack.  

Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and New York Yankees vs. Brayan Bello 

Brayan Bello is a decent real-life pitcher who is having a solid season, but he relies on groundballs to get outs and the Yankees just don't hit many of those. Their entire lineup is packed full of powerful fly-ball hitters that have the potential to give Bello fits. When facing righties, the only hitters in the projected lineup that have a fly-ball rate below 32.9% are Ben Rice and Jasson Dominguez, and Rice is still above average at 27%. Bello owns just an 18% strikeout rate, so if he is unable to generate groundballs there is going to be a ton of loud contact in the air this evening. Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm lead the way, but every hitter in the projected lineup aside from Dominguez owns an ISO of at least .198 against right-handed pitching. 

Byron Buxton and Minnesota Twins vs. Aaron Civale 

The Twins were hot immediately following the trade deadline despite trading nearly half their active roster. They have fallen on hard times since then, but a matchup against Aaron Civale may be just what the doctor ordered. Civale has pitched to a 4.88 ERA while seeing his fly-ball rate creep all the way up to 47.7%. His strikeout rate is a career-low 19.1% and his walk rate is a career-high 8.2%. 

Byron Buxton is one of the top bats on the entire slate. He has posted a .256 ISO against righties in a season where he has racked up 25 home runs and added 18 stolen bases. Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, and Matt Wallner all boast an ISO of at least .220 vs. right-handed pitching this season, while Trever Larnach is at .189 ISO. 

Corey Seager and Texas Rangers vs. Slade Cecconi 

The Rangers will square off against righty Slade Cecconi who has seen his season ERA balloon to 4.50 after allowing a combined 13 runs in his last two starts. Outside of a 6.5% walk rate, there isn't a single standout skill to be found. He has allowed a .205 ISO and 12.9% barrel rate with lefties doing slightly more damage than righties. 

Texas is loaded with left-handed bats including the elite Corey Seager. Wyatt Langford is the top righty option with a .184 ISO and stolen base upside. Rowdy Tellez has enjoyed a fantastic season with a .229 ISO against righties, and Josh Smith has been above average across the board. Joc Pederson has endured a horrendous season, but there have been signs of life as he has posted 135 wRC+ and .233 ISO in August. 

Seiya Suzuki, Matt Shaw and Chicago Cubs vs. Tyler Anderson 

As a real-life Cubs fan, it absolutely pains me to have to highlight them in this space today. To say the offense has fallen off in the 2nd half would be an all-time understatement. 

In fact, in August, they have been the absolute worst offense in baseball with an abysmal 72 wRC+ after being a top-3 offense in the first half of the season… Ouch. 

But facts are facts, and the Cubs have the highest implied team total on this massive slate. They get a matchup against lefty Tyler Anderson – who owns a 4.77 ERA with a paltry 17.6% strikeout rate. The lefty has allowed a whopping 1.92 HR/9 and a .227 ISO this season. 

If we were going by season-long numbers, the Cubs would easily be the top offense of the day, but they are down the list today due to their extreme struggles over the past two months. The good news is the Cubs are cheap because of those struggles. 

The lone bright spot in the lineup the second half of the season has been Matt Shaw, who was basically the only hitter on the team to struggle in the first half. Shaw's numbers in the second half have been absolutely ridiculous: 188 wRC+, .439 wOBA, .419 ISO. Seiya Suzuki still owns elite numbers against lefties despite being mired in a prolonged slump. Dansby Swanson has borderline elite numbers against lefties, while Carson Kelly and Nico Hoerner are both above average. Kyle Tucker has been playing with a fractured hand and hasn't had an extra-base hit in what feels like a month, so avoid him if he is in the lineup.  

Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Zack Littell

The D-backs rank top-2 in wRC+, wOBA, and ISO against right-pitching this season. Tonight, they get a matchup with Zack Littell, who has posted a solid 3.52 ERA this season. However, the peripherals tell a different story. His xERA is nearly a full run higher, and he has allowed a .189 ISO and 1.61 HR/9 this season. 

Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte are both elite options with absurd numbers against righties this season. Geraldo Perdomo and Pavin Smith have both been above average against righties, as have Adrian Del Castillo and Blaze Alexander in smaller samples. 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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