Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Friday, August 29th! 

We have a 12-game main slate in store for us this evening on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:07 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, 8/29

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Boston Red Sox 

Well, this is not ideal. The riskiest game of the day comes in Boston where we have two of the most interesting pitching options going. Most of the heavy rain will fall prior to the game, but we will have to monitor the timing of the storms right up until first pitch. 

San Diego Padres @ Minnesota Twins

Rain in the area currently looks like it will miss the ballpark. An update closer to roster lock to make sure things are going to plan is a good idea.  

Chicago Cubs @ Colorado Rockies 

Not really worried about a postponement, so an in-game delay is the main concern. Bats should be unaffected, which is mainly what we care about in Coors Field. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates 

We need to monitor the weather here, but Paul Skenes is the clear top pitching option of the slate if there are no issues. The 2023 first overall pick is following up an excellent rookie season with a bid for the NL Cy Young. In fact, he is currently the runaway favorite for the award. Skenes has been every bit as good as advertised and has quickly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. He owns an excellent 28.8% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate. 

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners 

Like most Mariners starters, George Kirby has been better at home than on the road this season. Fortunately, he draws another pitcher-friendly ballpark in Cleveland this evening. The other bad news is Cleveland can go extremely left-handed against him if that is the route they choose. Kirby's splits have not been as drastic this year as they have been in the past, but you would clearly still prefer him to face more righties. The Guardians have been a below average offense (87 wRC+) against righties this season, so there is still upside here. Kirby is a large-field tournament pivot if the weather holds up for Paul Skenes, but I would have no issues getting to him more often if weather in Boston doesn't cooperate. 

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants 

Giants lefty Robbie Ray is in an excellent spot tonight at home against the Orioles. Baltimore has been brutal against southpaws all season, with an 84 wRC+ and the 7th-highest strikeout rate in the league. His strikeouts have dipped to 24.3% this season, but he also has his walk rate (9.4%) in a respectable spot. 

Ray has not pitched quite as well as his 2.93 ERA would indicate, but this is still an elite matchup for him. He currently projects to be the highest rostered pitcher on the slate, and that becomes even more of an issue if we lose pitchers in Boston.  

Jonah Tong, New York Mets 

Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong will make his MLB debut tonight. The righty has posted some absurd numbers in the minors, including a strikeout rate north of 40% and a 1.43 ERA in 22 starts across two levels this season. 

He draws a matchup against the Marlins, who have been an average offense (102 wRC+) against righties this season. However, their best hitter (Kyle Stowers) is on the IL and they traded away another solid bat (Jesus Sanchez) at the deadline. The current version of the Marlins lineup lacks power, with only three hitters in the projected lineup owning an above average ISO against righties. 

Payton Tolle, Boston Red Sox

Another top pitching prospect is hopefully making his MLB debut tonight also. I say hopefully due to the weather concerns in Boston. 

Payton Tolle of the Red Sox was drafted in the 2nd round just last summer, but the lefty has cruised through three levels of the minors this season in dominant fashion. He has posted a strong 3.04 ERA with a 36.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. 

He also gets an elite matchup against the Pirates, who have been one of the worst offenses in baseball against lefties. The Bucs own just a 76 wRC+ against southpaws and have struck out at the 2nd-highest rate in the league. 

MLB debuts can come with all kinds of variance, but this is about as good of a spot as Payton Tollle could hope for.  

 

NOTE: If we can't use pitchers in Boston due to the weather, Blake Snell would be my primary addition in the expensive tier, while Nestor Cortes and Seth Lugo become relevant as value options. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

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

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Struggling Chicago Cubs in Coors Field 

It has been a brutal second half of the season for Cubs offense that rolled into the All-Star break ranked among the top three in most statistical categories. In August, they own a disturbing 79 wRC+ with many key contributors mired in extended slumps. Earlier this week, it looked like they may finally be breaking out of their funk when they put up 12 runs in Anaheim, but they followed that up by getting swept by the Giants and not scoring more than three runs in any of the three games. 

A trip to Coors Field can cure a lot of offensive woes, and that is exactly what the Cubs have on deck. They draw German Marquez in the first game, who owns a 5.67 ERA and 16.1% strikeout rate. Lefties have torched him for a .215 ISO and the Cubs have a trio of lefties with elite numbers this season. Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch, and Pete Crow-Armstrong all own an ISO of at least .210 against RH pitching this season. Unfortunately, they are three bats that have contributed significantly to the second-half offensive slump. At least Tucker does have a three home runs this week and appears to be past the hand injury that seemingly tanked his numbers for two months. Seiya Suzuki also has an excellent .226 ISO against righties, but is another bat that has been struggling mightily. Ian Happ (.177 ISO vs. RHP) and Matt Shaw (.165) also have above average power, and they have been the Cubs best hitters in the second half. 

Aaron Judge and New York Yankees vs. Yoendrys Gomez

The Yankees draw a great matchup against an inexperienced Yoendrys Gomez, who was DFA'd by them earlier this season. He landed in Chicago after bouncing around on waivers and has made three starts since joining the team. Gomez has had some success in those three starts, but this is his toughest test yet. Lefties have touched him up for a .197 ISO in limited action this season, and the Yankees are going to throw a whole lot of left-handed power at him. The righties he will have to deal with include MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge and former MVP Giancarlo Stanton, who is suddenly back in MVP form. Jazz Chisholm leads the lefties with a .312 ISO against RHP, while Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger all check-in with at least a .210 ISO.  

Yordan Alvarez and Houston Astros vs. Tyler Anderson 

The Astros draw a matchup against lefty Tyler Anderson, who has had a massive home run problem this season. Anderson has long been a fly-ball pitcher that survived on barely keeping those fly balls in the yard. Well, this season the fly-ball variance has finally caught up to him and he has allowed 1.92 HR/9. His strikeout rate is below 18% and walks a few too many hitters as well, which puts the Astros among the top stacks of the day. 

Yordan Alvarez is finally back for the 'Stros and makes this a much more dangerous offense. He has crushed lefties in his career and Anderson has reverse splits, so this spot sets up extremely well for him. Carlos Correa has been far more powerful against lefties this season with a .198 ISO, while Jeremy Pena and Jose Altuve also check-in with above average ISO. Christian Walker does not have good numbers against lefties this season, but he just launched two homers yesterday that both came off lefties. Yanier Diaz and Cam Smith are both in their stronger splits as well. 

Cal Raleigh and Seattle Mariners vs. Logan Allen 

Cal Raleigh has firmly joined Aaron Judge at the top of the AL MVP race, and he is doing historically unprecedent things as both a catcher and a switch-hitter. He has posted an absurd .420 ISO as a right-handed batter, which is the side he will swing from against Logan Allen. Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez all also own excellent numbers against lefties, which makes the top of this Mariners lineup a daunting task for Allen. Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco add depth with above average numbers against lefties as well. 

Nick Kurtz and Athletics vs. Jack Leiter 

The Athletics are at home in their hitter-friendly ballpark for a matchup with rookie Jack Leiter. The righty has posted a strong 3.81 ERA this season, but there is a decent amount of good fortune in the underlying numbers that could come crashing down in this environment. Leiter owns a lofty 46.2% fly-ball rate but has only seen 9.3% of his fly balls leave the yard. Also, he owns an average 22.3% strikeout rate but has also walked 11.5% of batters, which means he is likely to have to deal with traffic on the bases. 

The A's are an extremely powerful offense that is well positioned to take advantage of Leiter's weaknesses. Nick Kurtz leads the way with a ridiculous .377 ISO versus RHP, while Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom all sit above .215 ISO against righties. Jacob Wilson has two homers in five games since returning from an IL stint and Lawrence Buler has also been above average against righties. 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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