DraftKings MLB Daily Fantasy Picks 8/23/19
Contents
Top Pitchers
Eduardo Rodriguez ($9,200) vs Padres– Eduardo Rodriguez has been shaky for the Red Sox this season either dominating opponents or struggling to limit baserunners at all. He is coming off of a 7.1 inning shutout vs the Orioles and I think he will be able to carry that over into tonight’s game vs the Padres. The Padres are one of the most strikeout prone teams in all of baseball and there have been numerous times that Rodriguez has rung up a lot of hitters. The Padres bats are also not the hottest right now so I think all things are aligning for Eduardo Rodriguez to have a good night on the hill.
Andrew DeSclafani ($6,800) vs Pirates– DeSclafani is a lot like Eduardo Rodriguez with his inconsistencies but he is average more than a strikeout an inning and will be up against a Pirates team that has not been good at all post all-star break. He did well in his last start only allowing 1 ER in 5 innings vs the Cardinals. I like him in this spot because he is pitching away from hitter friendly Cincinnati and despite him allowing a lot of baserunners he has done somewhat decent at limiting the damage. The $6,800 price is respectable for a guy of his caliber but I think he will exceed that value tonight.
Top Hitters
Francisco Lindor ($5,000) vs Royals– Lindor is one of the brightest young players in the game and he is playing some good baseball for the Indians. Coming into tonight’s game he has a hit in 14 of his last 15 games and has been scoring some useful runs. He hasn’t been producing with homers or RBIs but I believe that could come tonight. He will be up against Royals SP Jakob Junis who Lindor has dominated in 30 career PAs hitting .517 with 3 2Bs, 1 3B, and 3 HRs. Seeing those types of numbers vs pitcher with a hitter of Lindor’s caliber is a must roster for me.
Jose Abreu ($4,500) vs Rangers– Jose Abreu is now up to 96 RBIs on the season and has been putting in some work producing runs for the White Sox as of late. In his last 4 games Abreu has 6 hits 2 HRs and 8 RBIs. With Tim Anderson back in the lineup it seems like Abreu has a lot more chances to do damage and his fantasy numbers have risen because of it. Lance Lynn has been good this year but he has had some control issues and if Tim Anderson or anybody can get on ahead of Abreu I trust he will be able to knock them in.
Tyler Naquin ($3,500) vs Royals– Naquin has 3 hits in his last two games coming into tonight and he, like Lindor, has had a lot of positives to take from at-bats against Royals SP Jakob Junis. In 16 career PAs Naquin is hitting .400 with 1 homer. His playing time has been sporadic lately so I would double check the lineup but even with that limited action he is hitting .280+ on the season so I trust he will be able to get it done at this very good price tonight.
Wellington Castillo ($3,200) vs Rangers– So we are digging really deep here for a catcher who hasn’t been playing a lot and is hitting .202 on the year so that may sound scary but there is one reason I like this pick. He has dominated Rangers SP Lance Lynn is his career hitting .600 with 3 HRs in 17 career PAs. Also, Castillo hasn’t played a lot but in his last 7 starts he has racked up 7 hits so taking a flyer on him here doesn’t seem like a terrible idea if you want to save on a catcher.