Friday, Aug. 6, brings a robust 14-game main slate with aces and a Coors Field game. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Friday, Aug. 6
Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Yankees vs. LHP Marco Gonzales — 6.0 implied runs
The Yankees lineup is loaded with the additions of Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo. Marco Gonzales had a nice get-right start in his last outing, going six strong innings and allowing just one home run against the Rangers. His four July starts were a much different story, as he tallied only 19.2 innings and 14 strikeouts while allowing seven home runs on his way to a 6.41 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. On the season Gonzales has been well below average with an 18.4% strikeout rate and allowing nearly 80% contact.
D.J. LeMahieu ($12) and Giancarlo Stanton ($14) are at laughably reduced salaries. While LeMahieu has struggled this season, he is still a two-time batting champion with above-average power. Stanton is entering the downside of his career, but he still has mammoth power.
Aaron Judge ($18) will be popular, but the other Yankees will not be because DFS gamers still tend to shy away from lefty/lefty matchups, even with all the available data. This season Anthony Rizzo ($19) has a .227 ISO in same-handed matchups, Joey Gallo ($15) is at .266 ISO, and Rougned Odor ($14) tops everyone with a lofty .299 ISO.
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Houston Astros vs. RHP Bailey Ober — 5.3 implied runs
While rookie Bailey Ober has shown glimpses of upside with just over a strikeout per inning, the learning curve is proving to be steep, as he has ceded 14 home runs in just 47.1 innings. It seems that the Twins will be content to limit his workload and are more interested in him taking the ball every five days and keeping him in the 70-pitch range. He has not thrown more than 80 innings since college in 2016, and it would not be a surprise for Minnesota to shut him down around Labor Day. The Twins bullpen has been getting work, with five pitchers going last night and three on both Tuesday and Wednesday. While nobody has been overworked, only recent acquisition John Gant has not pitched in the last 48 hours.
After being a late scratch on Tuesday with a sore neck, Yuli Gurriel has not taken the field. His absence alongside Alex Bregman was really brought into focus on Thursday when Carlos Correa also received a day off. This has been a tough stretch for Houston, as they have now lost four of their last five games and Oakland has closed the gap to just four games for the American League West lead.
Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley are the core four in all formats against any pitcher. Kyle Tucker is interesting and available at a discount tonight, and he can be the anchor for a bottom-of-the-order stack. Aledmys Diaz excels in same-handed matchups, and Chas McCormick is another option coming at a significant discount. On the main slate focus on the big boppers, though on the evening slate there are some savings and synergy with the back half of the Houston lineup to work in some Rockies or the heart of the Cardinals order.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics vs. RHP Mike Foltynewicz — 5.1 implied runs
In a unique twist, Mike Foltynewicz did not allow a home run in his last start. That ended his ignominious streak of 10 straight games allowing at least one. However, he still leads MLB with 31 home runs surrendered on the season, and the Athletics will likely add to that mark. On the season Foltynewicz has a paltry 16.2% strikeout rate while allowing 81.5% contact. Target him with batters from both sides of the plate in Oakland tonight.
Matt Olson’s 28 home runs rank fourth in MLB, and his 72 RBIs are top 10. Starling Marte is an excellent fit for the A’s, and he makes for a nice one-two punch at the top of the lineup with Mark Canha. Mitch Moreland can be used as a differentiation play since he qualifies at first base and most sites will only allow for one between him and Olson. Ramon Laureano and Jed Lowrie are better against lefties, but they will be just fine tonight against arguably the worst starter in the league.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top Target: RHP Corbin Burnes vs. San Francisco Giants — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $10,000
While he disappointed his backers the last time out, Corbin Burnes’ 2.46 ERA and 0.97 WHIP would both be in the top 10 among starters if he had enough innings to qualify. The 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings would be top three. While the Giants did get Brandon Belt back in the lineup, Mike Yastrzemski has missed the last couple games with a hamstring issue. San Francisco is getting by on offense with smoke and mirrors this season, and at some point the music is going to stop.
Secondary Target: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. Texas Rangers — 2.9 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $9,600
On FanDuel Chris Bassitt gets the nod over Burnes with a $1,200 discount, but on DraftKings and Yahoo the strikeouts keep him as the second option. Texas has an abysmal lineup without Joey Gallo, and the 2.9 implied run total is pathetic, especially since this game is in an American League park with the designated hitter in play. The Rangers are going to be targets by default for the rest of the season, so having them face a top-shelf option in Bassitt makes the decision quite easy tonight.
Wild Card: RHP Cal Quantrill vs. Detroit Tigers — 4.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $34 | FanDuel $6,700 | DraftKings $6,800
This is mostly a recommendation for DraftKings and Yahoo with their two-pitcher requirements. The salary is reasonable, as is the matchup, but the upside is lacking with Cal Quantrill. Over the last three seasons Quantrill has an 19.3% strikeout rate, though that has slipped down to just 16.8% this year. The Tigers will put out just enough lefties to make this a bit of a dicey situation, but there are enough holes in the Detroit lineup that Quantrill should survive. The key to this equation is, what sort of upgrade on offense will this minimal salary cap hit provide?
Final Thoughts for the Friday, Aug. 6 MLB DFS Slate
Weather is looking green across the main slate, so that is one less variable to worry about. There are 28 teams in the player pool tonight, so do not feel forced into any particular roster construction strategy. Also, with two solid pitchers in Denver, it will be interesting to see how much of the field heads in that direction.
