Saturday, Aug. 6, kicks the weekend off with half a dozen afternoon games leading to a 10-game main slate with a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (8/6)
Main Slate: Toronto Blue Jays at RHP Dylan Bundy — 4.9 implied runs
If the weather holds, the Stokastic Top Stacks Tool is giving the Blue Jays high marks in several stacking categories. Dylan Bundy was off to a strong start to the season closing the book on April with a 3-1 record, 2.95 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning. Fast forward to August and the wheels have come off the wagon. July was a debacle with a 5.92 ERA and it could have been much worse as Bundy was saved by several long flyball outs. Only twice this season has the 29-year-old averaged more than 90 mph on his fastball and each of his pitch types is down 1-2 mph from last season.
There are no holes in the Toronto batting order and their last two hitters are Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio. George Springer profiles well against Bundy and it is not hard to envision an extra-base hit or two in his future. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Lordes Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez are building blocks in any stack and whomever draws catching duties should be on the short list as well.
Late Slate: Los Angles Dodgers vs. RHP Mike Clevinger — 4.7 implied runs
Sometimes it pays off to just take the best team on the slate, even in a difficult matchup. There is an argument to be made if the top offense belongs to the Padres or the Dodgers, but we will grant the tiebreaker to the host. Mike Clevinger is a good pitcher, though he can be susceptible to opposite-handed batsmen with power. So far this season he has allowed a .200 ISO to lefties, which is where we will want to start.
Freddie Freeman is going to sneak by exactly nobody, however, gamers are still loathe to look at the bottom of the order, even on short slates. Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo have all been in season long slumps, but we know that just one swing of the bat can leave their supporters grinning from ear to ear. On the flipside, Gavin Lux has been raking and he has quietly put together six multi-hit performances in his last 11 starts. Let other gamers pile up inferior bats against Chris Flexen in Seattle tonight and take the pedigreed team in the late-slate tournaments.
Afternoon Slate: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals — 5.7 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Batters Tool is once again is urging us to pick on Patrick Corbin. This has been far and away the worst season of Corbin’s career and that includes last year when he allowed the second most home runs in the league. While looking at batter versus pitcher stats is typically folly, it is nice to see that Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto all have strong histories against Corbin. Over his last five starts, the 33-year-old southpaw has been saddled with a 10.29 ERA, across 21 innings. His 23 strikeouts in this span have helped him manage positive fantasy points in four of these five outings, but that is a major stretch to find a silver lining. Buck up Nats fans, after this season there are still two more years on this albatross of a contract for another $59 million dollars.
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Best MLB DFS Pitchers
Primary Target: LHP Carlos Rodon at Oakland Athletics — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,500 | FanDuel $10,600
Carlos Rodon should be able to cruise through the A’s lineup without much effort in a late-afternoon start in Oakland. Though the Athletics are better against southpaws than righties, they still are a bottom six squad based on scoring efficiency. Other than Sean Murphy and Ramon Laureano, there are no particularly threatening hitters.
Secondary Target: LHP Aaron Ashby vs. Cincinnati Reds — 3.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,000 | FanDuel $8,400
Aaron Ashby has been stellar in his sophomore campaign with 98 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. Since fully converting to a starter, he has 64 strikeouts in 52.1 innings across 11 appearances. He is not afraid to challenge hitters and while that does end up with the occasional longball, his strikeouts more than offset those moments from a fantasy perspective.
Afternoon Target: LHP Shane McClanahan — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,100 | FanDuel $11,000
This has been a stupendous season for Shane McClanahan and he leads the league with an 0.83 WHIP and his 2.07 ERA ranks fourth. The only knock against him is that Tampa Bay tends to limit their starters to around 90-95 pitches or two times through the order. Though the Tigers are a mess against right-handed pitching, they are at least within hailing distance of league average against lefties. That said, they still offer up enough strikeouts to leave a little room for “profit” on McClanahan’s lofty five figure salary.
Additional Opportunities
George Kirby looks like a talented pitcher, though it feels like he is getting a little too much credit with his 6.5 over/under strikeout prop. The Stokastic MLB Projections have him with 5.9 strikeouts and a 67% probability of failing to record the seven required strikeouts to reach the over. Seattle is looking to manage his workload and they would also like to have his arm available if they make it into the postseason for the first time since 2001. The Angels projected lineup has a 22.7% strikeout rate over the last two seasons against right-handed pitching and Kirby himself has a 23.6% strikeout rate. A lot of things will need break in his favor if he is going to get to seven strikeouts tonight.
If this wager feels a bit risky, you can still navigate things at an advantage with a RISK FREE BET up to $1,000 on BetMGM.
Other Pitching Options
- RHP Pablo Lopez at Chicago Cubs (Early)
- LHP Ranger Suarez vs. Washington Nationals (Afternoon)
- RHP Max Scherzer vs. Atlanta Braves (Main)
- LHP Nick Lodolo at Milwaukee Brewers (Main SP2)
- LHP Reid Detmers at Seattle Mariners (Late)
Other Hitting Options
- Jesus Aguilar at LHP Drew Smyly (Early)
- David Peralta at RHP Garrett Hill (Afternoon)
- Joc Pederson at RHP Adam Oller (Main)
- J.D. Martinez at LHP Daniel Lynch (Main)
- Josh Bell at LHP Andrew Heaney (Late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Ugh. There are half a dozen forecasts to monitor across the Midwest and East Coast on Saturday. Fortunately, Minnesota looks to be the only game with above average risk of being postponed, however, Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis all have varying chances of in-game precipitation.
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