FanDuel MLB Daily Fantasy Picks 8/14/19
Contents
MLB DFS is full on in the dog days of summer. 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
Clayton Kershaw ($12,000) – Clayton Kershaw is expensive, but worth it tonight on a smaller slate. He is a -294 road favorite against the marlins, who have the lowest implied total on the slate at 2.9. I am going with balanced approach even though there are enticing options outside of this one. Kershaw has 25.4% strikeout rate this season, and 3.58 xFIP. He is holding right-handers to a .281 wOBA and .147 ISO. This is a great spot for Kershaw in a big pitchers park, although he really doesn’t need much more help.
Cash Hitters
J.D. Davis ($3,200) – Amed Rosario leading off is a cheap SS option, but J.D. Davis has been on a heater of late and mashes left-handed pitching. Davis has a .224 ISO and .394 wOBA off left-handed pitching. Dallas Keuchel has struggled for the most part this season, and is allowing a .364 wOBA and .200 ISO to right-handers. The home runs will come back down to life, but this is a game where I want to target the right-handed bats. It is a great spot for Davis, and he is on the cheaper side of things.
Mallex Smith ($3,300) – You could toss in any Seattle Mariner tonight and feel good about things. Edwin Jackson is on the hill, with over an eight ERA this season. He has a 13.6% strikeout rate and 6.34 xFIP. Jackson is allowing a .395 wOBA and .269 ISO to lefties in a limited sample this season. Smith doesn’t have great numbers of the year, but has shown upside at times. He is also a nice mid-range price on this slate. I like the upside also leading off for an implied total near 5.5, and also against Jackson.
J.P Crawford ($3,200) – J.P Crawford has finally emerged after struggling to breakout after being a top prospect. He has a .352 wOBA and .207 ISO against right-handed pitching this season, and a 78% contact rate. Continuing the trend of attacking Jackson, Crawford is well worth a look at shortstop. I did mention if you need a cheaper option, Amed Rosario is leading off for the Mets. But, going with the Mariners guys, it is tough to get away from them facing Jackson. Allowing a .395 wOBA and .269 ISO, Crawford is in a great spot.
Tournament Hitters
Ryan O’Hearn ($2,500) – This game should go overlooked in tournaments, and Dakota Hudson has shown major weaknesses against left-handers this season. If you need a punt first base option, I don’t mind Ryan O’Hearn. Hudson has allowed a .401 wOBA and .223 ISO to lefties this season, with just a 17.1% strikeout rate. He throws mostly a sinker to lefties, which is getting hit for a .401 wOBA and .197 ISO. O’Hearn has sneaky good numbers against sinkers, with a .413 wOBA and .185 ISO in his career.
Matt Carpenter (3,000) – Matt Carpenter is hitting towards the bottom of the order after a tough 2019 season, but I like the way he matches up with Brad Keller‘s pitch mix. Keller has allowed a casual .326 wOBA to left-handers, and doesn’t have much strikeout upside. If you date back to last year, Matt Carpenter, has a .363 wOBA and .231 ISO off right-handers. Overall Carpenter will go overlooked, but is in a good RBI spot with the names he is hitting in back of. He also brings some value to the table.