Welcome to another great Tuesday full of baseball! No day baseball again today, but that means we get a nice full 13-game slate with only the Cleveland Guardians vs Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros vs Miami Marlins games not being on the main slate. This 13-game main slate will get started at 7:05 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Some exciting matchups taking place with some top offenses matched up with the Philadelphia Phillies facing the Toronto Blue Jays, the Seattle Mariners trying to bounce back after two straight losses following their winning streak taking on the Kansas City Royals who walked them off last night, and the Crosstown Series with the Chicago White Sox playing the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley. Plenty of great pitchers and hitters to look at today with endless ways to build a winning lineup whether you are playing gpp tournaments or cash games, so let’s dive into today’s playbook! 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 Playbook August 15

MLB Weather Updates

Boston Red Sox vs Washington Nationals: Some scattered thunderstorms could cause delays, but doesn’t look too bad. 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets: Light thunderstorms here too. They look like they shouldn’t cause any problems but keep an eye on them as we approach game time. 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There isn’t a lot of top-end pitching today. Zack Wheeler highlights the top end, and it gets worse quickly after him. There are a few cheaper plays, though, that I like today, highlighted below. The rough pitching gives plenty of great offenses to target in favorable matchups today. My favorite offenses to target today include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Colorado Rockies. 

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Zack Wheeler vs Toronto Blue Jays

Nick Pivetta vs Washington Nationals

Lucas Giolito vs Texas Rangers

Jordan Montgomery vs Los Angeles Angels

Best Odds for a Win

Dakota Hudson vs Oakland Athletics

Bryce Elder vs New York Yankees

Bobby Miller vs Milwaukee Brewers

Bailey Ober vs Detroit Tigers

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox

Just look at what Nick Pivetta has done since July. 53 strikeouts in 37.1 innings with a 2.65 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP including two double-digit strikeout games. A solid matchup today against the Washington Nationals should be a great place for Pivetta to continue this fantastic stretch for the Boston Red Sox. The Nationals may not strike out a ton, but with Pivetta’s 37.1% strikeout rate, I think he should still get plenty of punchouts today along with a great chance at a win. 

Emerson Hancock, Seattle Mariners

Emerson Hancock is getting his second start today against the Kansas City Royals. He is incredibly cheap thanks to this only being his second major league start, and I think the price is way too low for what his skills are and having this good of a match-up. I will be shocked if he is a bottom-half pitcher today, and will not be at all surprised if he could have top-10 to top-5 upside in this matchup so at this price I will be putting him in every lineup. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Ty Blach

Atlanta Braves vs Luis Severino

Colorado Rockies vs Joe Mantiply

St. Louis Cardinals vs Oakland Athletics

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Matt Olson, 1B Atlanta Braves

Matt Olson leads the league in homers. He has 14 homers since the all-star break and may be on his best streak of hitting yet. Over his last 10 games, he has slashed .432/.571/.865 with 5 homers 11 runs and 13 RBIs. He is the best power hitter in the game right now on the best lineup in the league, so I don’t care what his price is, he is enough of a difference maker to find a way to pay up for. 

Trevor Story, 2B Boston Red Sox

Trevor Story didn’t get a hit in his first two games returning from the IL for the Boston Red Sox, but he has 7 hits in his last 3 games including 4 doubles and 3 steals. With him looking comfortable at the plate and healthy enough to be stealing bases I am ready to jump in on Boston’s second baseman. Trevor Story could easily be one of the best-hitting second basemen in the league for the rest of the season, and I am certainly willing to bet on him today against Josiah Gray. 

Francisco Lindor, SS New York Mets

In his last 15 games, Lindor has an OPS of 1.053 along with 3 homers and 3 steals. He also has 6 multi-hit games and continues to generate great value for the continuously struggling Mets team. He has a good matchup today facing Bailey Falter and the Pittsburgh Pirates and should continue to be a value for both the Mets and our fantasy lineups for the foreseeable future.

Bryan Reynolds, OF Pittsburgh Pirates

Bryan Reynolds just continues to produce for the Pirates. Over his last 18 games, he has put up 7 homers with a slash line of .338/.405/.662 and continues to be the Pirate's best hitter. He had a two-homer game just two days ago and provides great power and speed upside while coming at a reasonable price. I think we will see his price climb back up soon if he keeps hitting this well, so I want to take advantage now while he is hitting well and still remains fairly priced.  

Player Pool

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Stacks

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