FanDuel MLB Daily Fantasy Picks 8/1/19
Contents
MLB DFS is a high variance game, but one of the more fun fantasy sports to play. Cash games you want to find consistent high floor pitchers, and the same goes for hitters. Tournaments you want to find lower owned bats and pitchers that carry huge upside. This article will point you in the direction of both.
Pitchers
Gerrit Cole ($11,700) – Houston comes in as massive road favorites, sitting at -190. The Astros will face Danny Salazar, and it is hard to expect him to be anything but rusty after a long absence from being on a big league mound. The Indians have just a 3.6 implied total, and Cole continues to be one of the more consistent arms out there. Cole has a 37% strikeout rate this season, and 2.66 xFIP. He is tremendous against both sides of the plate. This Indians offense got a whole lot better landing Puig, and Reyes, but they also carry bigger strikeout rates against left-handed pitching. Cole and Kershaw both headline the slate, with the Cubs-Cardinals bringing in tournament arms at a cheaper price.
Cash Hitters
Cavan Biggio ($3,300) – The luck is turning around for Cavan Biggio, who has a .355 wOBA and .246 ISO off right-handers. His hard-contact is 49% and contact rates are at 79%. He is going to be a stud, and he is in a terrific spot. Asher Wojciechowski has allowed a .395 wOBA and .360 ISO to lefties in a limited span this season. Toronto has an implied total of five, and Biggio, Bichette, and Vlad all standout as terrific options. Justin Smoak is also a power bat to consider from the left side. There are a lot of mid-range to cheap bats in this game with upside. They make perfect pairings with Cole.
Ender Inciarte ($2,700) – Anthony DeSclafani has allowed a .398 wOBA and .265 ISO to lefties, and just a .254 wOBA and .126 ISO to right-handers. There is an advantage here for the lefties, and Ender Inciarte is a cheap outfield option. He is a solid contact bat, and has a .172 ISO off right-handers on the year. Inciarte will likely be at the bottom of the order hitting 6th or 7th, but he is a cheap bat that can open up some salary. Brian McCann, Ozzie Albies, and a pay up option of Freddie Freeman are all worth a look.
Justin Turner ($3,300) – Both Justin Turner and A.J. Pollock are both worth a look for the Dodgers. They are at the same price, and mash left-handed pitching. Joey Lucchesi isn’t a bad southpaw, allowing a .300 wOBA and .172 ISO to right-handers, but both these names hit sinkers well. They have over a .400 ISO against the pitch and over a .250 ISO. These numbers are off sinkers thrown by lefties. Overall against lefties this season, Turner has a .369 wOBA and .252 ISO. Pollock we will pull back to last year with a .346 wOBA and .234 ISO.
Tournament Hitters
Jonathan Villar ($3,000) – Trent Thornton is on the hill tonight, and while I like his stuff, he hasn’t been great this year. He is allowing a .358 wOBA and .240 ISO to left-handed hitters. Jonathan Villar has been on a tear the last week, and is a cheap shortstop option with upside. The Orioles have a sneaky 5.1 implied total, and are all on the cheaper side. Villar has some pop, but also stolen base upside. Villar has 13 hits in the last six games, and five multi-hit games. For $3,000, I like him a lot in tournaments.
Michael Chavis (2,900) – Michael Chavis cooled off in a big way, and the strikeout rate is now north of 30%. A lot of boom or bust risk here, but he has a .261 ISO off southpaws. Brendan McKay is an above average southpaw who is getting used to life in the bigs. He has been solid so far, but has allowed a .177 ISO to right-handers in a small sample size. The groundball rate is at 35%, which is not a great number. Chavis is a roll of the dice play with homer upside, and his price is now below the $3,000 mark.
