Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Saturday, August 16th!

We’re diving into the action with a 9-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel kicking off at 7:10 PM ET.  With a packed day of baseball ahead, our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether you’re hunting for GPP glory or locking in cash game success, we’ve got tailored insights to help you conquer today’s matchups. Let’s dive 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: Saturday, 8/16

New York Yankees vs St. Louis Cardinals

  • Chance of rain this evening could lead to a potential delay.

Warm temperatures and wind blowing out expected for the following games:

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We have an interesting slate in terms of pitching options.  There is a good mix of aces, solid mid-rotation arms and inexperienced pitchers on today’s slate.  Feel free to get creative today, especially on DraftKings where you need to start 2 pitchers.

High-end options include Max Fried and Blake Snell.  The mid-range include Dylan Cease and Casey Mize.  Paydown options include Adrian Houser, Michael Lorenzen and Jason Alexander.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Max Fried, New York Yankees - DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $9,500

Fried is looking for a bounce back start today.  He enters Saturday with 2.94 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 135 Ks in 144 IP.

Fried enters this matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals with good but limited history against their hitters in the past.  He did not pitch against the Cardinals during the 2024 season.  Look for Max Fried to continue his success against the Cardinals on Saturday.

Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers - DraftKings $9,800 | FanDuel $10,000

Snell has looked excellent since returning from the IL.  He enters Saturday with 2.31 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 22 Ks in 19 IP.  

Snell enters this matchup against the San Diego Padres with decent history against their hitters in the past.  He did not pitch against the Padres during the 2024 season.  Look for Blake Snell to continue his success against the Padres today.

Adrian Houser, Tampa Bay Rays - DraftKings $7,800 | FanDuel $8,300

Houser is my favorite value option for today.  He enters Saturday with 2.84 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 54 Ks in 79.1 IP.

Houser enters this matchup against the San Francisco Giants with good but limited history against their hitters in the past.  He already has one start against the Giants in 2025.  He put up 46 FanDuel points and 26.8 DraftKings points.  He had one start against the Giants during the 2024 season.  He put up 21 FanDuel points and 13.2 DraftKings points.  Look for Adrian Houser to continue his success against the Giants today.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

It is an interesting slate for hitters on Saturday.  We have a few favorable matchups in addition to the Coors Field game.  Feel free to mix and match your hitters across multiple lineups.

Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals should be the front runners in terms of top teams to stack.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians - DraftKings $6,200 | FanDuel $4,200 

Ramirez is putting together another stellar season. He has at least one hit in 3 of his last 4 games.  He has 2 multi hit games and 2 HRs during this stretch.

Ramirez has good history in the past against expected Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Joey Wentz.  He is 4 for 12 with 2 HRs against Wentz in his career.  Look for another strong performance out of Jose Ramirez and the Cleveland Guardians lineup on Saturday.

Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians - DraftKings $4,300 | FanDuel $3,000 (Manzardo is not in the starting lineup do not play him!)

Manzardo has been heating up as of late.  He has at least one hit in 5 of his last 7 games.  He has 2 multi hit games and 3 HRs during this time span. 

Manzardo has good history in the past against Atlanta Braves expected starting pitcher Joey Wentz.  He is 1 for 3 with 1 HR against Wentz in his career.  Kyle Manzardo looks like a solid one-of play or key piece of a Cleveland Guardians stack for today’s slate.

Carlos Correa, Houston Astros - DraftKings $3,800 | FanDuel $2,600 

Correa has been excellent in his return to Houston.  He has at least one hit in 9 of his last 11 games.  He has 6 multi hit games and 2 HRs during that time span.

Correa has good history against Cade Povich, the expected primary pitcher/bulk reliever for the Baltimore Orioles.  He is 2 for 6 with 1 HR against Povich in his career.  Look for another strong performance out of Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros lineup on Saturday.

Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona Diamondbacks - DraftKings $5,800 | FanDuel $4,100 

Perdomo has been on fire as of late.  He has at least one hit in 10 of his last 11 games   He has 5 multi hit games and 2 HRs during this stretch.

Perdomo has good history against Colorado Rockies expected starting pitcher Chase Dollander.  He is 1 for 2 against Dollander in his career.  Geraldo Perdomo looks like a solid one-of play or key piece of a Arizona Diamondbacks stack for today’s slate.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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