Tuesday, Aug. 3, brings a robust main slate with every team in action, including a game at Coors Field. 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, Tuesday, Aug. 3
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Boston Red Sox at RHP Wily Peralta — 5.4 implied runs
Regression has come hard for Wily Peralta over his last two starts. Across nine innings he allowed 11 earned runs, four home runs and 1.78 base runners per inning while striking out just four. After a five-start stretch where he allowed only one earned run against Houston, Cleveland, Texas and Minnesota twice, the clock finally struck midnight.
The Boston power trio of Rafael Devers ($22), J.D. Martinez ($15) and Xander Bogaerts ($15) is not going to break the bank. Even better, it seems that lefties Alex Verdugo ($11), Franchy Cordero ($10) and Jarren Duran ($7) were overlooked by the Yahoo salary algorithm. Among those three at least one should be in a prominent slot in the batting order. Choose whoever is closest to middle of the order for some discounted synergy.
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at RHP Jordan Lyles — 4.7 implied runs
This has been a rough season for Jordan Lyles, who has allowed the second-most home runs in MLB with 25 this season. In his last three starts Toronto got to him for four home runs, Detroit three and Arizona one. While Lyles is striking out just over a batter per inning, he is not doing himself any favors with his 1.40 WHIP.
Shohei Ohtani is a bargain on FanDuel ($4,500) and Yahoo ($23) on Tuesday, and he is likely to be quite popular even with every team in action. Fortunately, there is also a game in Coors Field that should draw some attention away from Ohtani. Though they are not exactly household names, the discounted salaries for Phil Gosselin, Max Stassi and Brandon Marsh are quite appealing in this plus matchup. The non-Ohtani Angels will provide plenty of salary cap flexibility on a slate with plenty of places to spend.
Late Slate
San Francisco Giants at LHP Madison Bumgarner — 5.4 implied runs
Madison Bumgarner has been serviceable in his three starts after missing six weeks with a sore shoulder, allowing just one home run and two walks and striking out 11 in 18 innings. But considering two of those three games were against the Rangers and Pirates, he has his work cut out tonight.
San Francisco is without Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria, though it did pick up Kris Bryant at the trade deadline. In his last 126 plate appearances against lefties Bryant has an eye-popping .299 ISO. Buster Posey lucked out and avoided the concussion protocol after taking a ball off his mask on Wednesday. He is in great form and producing almost as well as he did in his 2012 MVP season. Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson are solid in lefty/lefty matchups, as is Brandon Crawford, who has been on a tear over the last month. Finally, look to righties Darren Ruf and Wilmer Flores if they are in the lineup. Flores has been dealing with a sore back, though as a noted lefty masher he is worthy of consideration if his name is on the lineup card Tuesday night.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top Target: RHP Zack Wheeler at Washington Nationals — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $10,700 | DraftKings $9,700
Whoever faces the Nationals will be a frequent target in the Pitchers section for the remainder of the season. However, there will also be places to target the Washington hitters and leverage the discounted salaries. Today’s matchup with Zack Wheeler falls into the first category.
Wheeler has top-10 marks across the board, with his 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Juan Soto is a budding superstar and Josh Bell is having a resurgent season, though the rest of the lineup is filled with minor leaguers and understudies who have a lot to prove. Wheeler should be wildly popular today with his reasonable salary across the DFS sites and the absence of Gerrit Cole, who just entered the COVID-19 protocol.
Secondary Target: RHP Johnny Cueto at Arizona Diamondbacks — 4.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $33 | FanDuel $8,100 | DraftKings $7,000
While there may not be a lot of upside with Johnny Cueto, there is some safety in this matchup. Arizona has Ketel Marte back in the lineup, but they shipped out Eduardo Escobar at the trade deadline. Marte missed the last five weeks with a strained hamstring, and he may get frequent off days down the stretch with the Diamondbacks’ postseason hopes long gone. This year Arizona has been anemic against righties, with bottom-five marks in most traditional and advanced metrics. While the Diamondbacks are middle of the pack in strikeouts, the lack of power and an 81 wRC+ make them a team to target against. On FanDuel the pivot will be to Tyler Mahle, who is $200 less than Cueto. It is also doable to find the $5 on Yahoo by downgrading one hitter to make the pivot. However, on DraftKings there is a $3,000 salary difference between the two pitchers, and with a Coors Field game on the slate, those extra funds can go a long way towards offensive upgrades.
Wild Card: RHP Luis Patino vs. Seattle Mariners — 4.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $34 | FanDuel $6,800 | DraftKings $7,400
Somehow the Seattle offense keeps chugging along and scoring runs when it is least expected. They are battling for the final wild card slot in the American League and are seven games above .500 despite a negative-50 run differential. Its 25.3% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers is the third highest in the league, while its power and run creation marks are barely above the bottom third. Timely hitting has kept them in the postseason hunt.
Luis Patino has been stretched out and has thrown 94 to 97 pitches in each of his last three starts. While his walks are a little higher than Tampa Bay would like to see, there is no doubt that he is going to be a key in their playoff run. Patino has a strikeout per inning in his last three starts, along with just two home runs allowed in 16.2 innings. Considering two of those starts were against the Blue Jays and Yankees, he has clearly made the next step on the ladder to becoming a star.
Final Thoughts for the Tuesday, Aug. 3 MLB DFS Slate
Tuesday has six games in covered stadiums and decent weather in most other locations. Colorado is the lone holdout, as there is the potential for scattered thunderstorms throughout the late afternoon into the evening hours. Keep an eye on the weather up until first pitch, and while a postponement is unlikely, it cannot be ruled out at this time.
