Friday, Aug. 26, brings a frontloaded featured slate with a dozen games that will be underway within 75 minutes of the standard 7:05 p.m. ET start time. 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 (8/26)
Main Slate: Mets vs. RHP Chad Kuhl — 4.9 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Stacks Tool would like you to know that we should all go right back to the Mets against Chad Kuhl. Yes, New York did not quite have the fantasy production that was projected last night. In a fun baseball twist, Kuhl has posted better numbers in his Coors Field action this season than his career numbers while toeing the rubber for Pittsburgh across four seasons. Targeting Kuhl is a savvy strategy, which should not be influenced one iota by his hilariously bad road splits this season. Across 53.1 innings away from the thin Denver air, he has struggled to a 6.08 ERA, courtesy of an ungodly 31 walks. Kuhl has missed the last three weeks with a hip-flexor injury, though he did log 86 pitches across five innings in his lone rehabilitation start on the road against the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
Friday looks like the perfect bounce-back situation, which saw a paltry three runs crossing the plate wearing blue and orange last night. In three of his last five games prior to his injury respite, Kuhl coughed up at least two home runs. This is right in line with his career average, with the last four seasons seeing half of his starts coming in pitching-friendly PNC Park.
The most effective way to target Kuhl is with batters swinging the stick from the left side of the plate. Switch-hitter Francisco Lindor and leadoff man Brandon Nimmo easily top the list. Daniel Vogelbach continues to be in a prime lineup slot when the Mets are facing right-handed pitching; just be aware that he is a pinch-hit risk while also managing a tender hamstring that has him tentative on the base path. Rookie Bret Baty has an excellent power profile, though he has only been in The Show for a limited time. Enjoy the twin $2,400 salaries on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. Finally, slugger Pete Alonso can be employed against all pitchers with his light-tower power.
Late Slate: Astros vs. RHP Kyle Bradish — 5.2 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Batters Tool likes several of the right-handed hitters going against rookie Kyle Bradish tonight. The road has been a rocky one for Bradish, who continues to hand out free passes like it is his job. In four August appearances, he has nine walks in 20.2 innings. Additionally, this inefficiency impacts his innings, and despite 85.3 pitches, this translates into just under five innings per start. To his credit, the kid does have around a strikeout per inning, though disciplined hitters have found success. Of his 15 home runs, an even dozen can be attributed to same-handed batsmen.
It is still a small sample size of only 202 batters faced. However, Bradish has allowed a .425 wOBA and .247 ISO to fellow righties. This bodes well for Jose Altuve (.201 ISO, 827 PAs) and Alex Bregman (.197 ISO, 608 PAs) in the extra-base hit department. Of course, sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker can be used to target any pitcher, while rookie Jeremy Pena and recent acquisition Trey Mancini can be included in the mix when rounding out full stacks.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers
Primary Target: RHP Gerrit Cole at Athletics — 2.8 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,700 | FanDuel $11,000
There are several excellent pitching options on Friday, headlined by Gerrit Cole with a matchup in Oakland. The Athletics have scored the second-fewest runs in the league this season at a paltry 3.36 per game. In their last 27 tilts, they have scored more than five runs three times and five runs four times. Cole has returned to form on the strikeout front, and he is second with 189 whiffs, while his 11.3 per nine innings rank third among qualified pitchers.
Secondary Target: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. Rockies — 2.9 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,900 | FanDuel $10,400
Chris Bassitt is nowhere near as good as Cole when it comes to strikeouts, but he too has a delightful matchup tonight. Colorado has an 85 wRC+ against right-handed hurlers, which resides in the bottom five of the league. The projected lineup for the Rockies has a low 18.8% strikeout rate this season against righties, but they also have an anemic .113 ISO. Bassitt has a 49% ground ball rate this year, which is a career high, and his 8.8 strikeouts per nine are only two ticks below his career best set last year.
Wild Card Target: RHP Spencer Strider at Cardinals — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,500 | FanDuel $10,000
There is no discount tonight for Spencer Strider, even with a tricky road matchup in St. Louis. The major upside for the 23-year-old comes from his ability to generate strikeouts at an absurd rate. Though he does not have enough innings to qualify for the leaderboard, his 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings would easily lead the league. In his last nine starts, Strider has 72 strikeouts in 47 innings while allowing only a trio of round-trippers. The Cardinals are a tough squad, particularly at home, but when Strider squared off against them in early July, he rolled up 12 strikeouts and six scoreless innings. That by no means guarantees success tonight, but it does demonstrate the tremendous upside Strider brings every time he toes the rubber.
Additional Opportunities
Kris Bubic currently has a 3.5 strikeout prop for his matchup with the Padres tonight. The Stokastic MLB Player Props Tool has him for 4.4 strikeouts and a 60% chance of reaching the four whiffs needed to surpass the over. While there is risk that San Diego sends Bubic to the showers early, it should be noted that the southpaw has six or more strikeouts in three of his last four starts, plus in his last 15 appearances he is averaging 91.3 pitches.
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 Joe Musgrove at Kansas City Royals (Main, Evening)
- RHP Freddy Peralta vs. Chicago Cubs (Main, Evening)
- RHP Joe Ryan vs. San Francisco Giants (Main, Evening)
- RHP Glenn Otto vs. Detroit Tigers (Evening)
- RHP Johnny Cueto vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Evening SP2)
Other Hitting Options
- Freddie Freeman at RHP Bryan Hoeing (Early)
- Nelson Cruz vs. LHP Mike Minor (Main)
- Juan Soto at LHP Kris Bubic (Evening)
- Hunter Renfroe vs. LHP Justin Steele (Evening)
- Josh Naylor at RHP Logan Gilbert (Late)
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Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
The only trouble spot on Friday appears to be Boston, which is definitely going to see some rain today. However, there could be a window where this game plays. There are 13 other games to choose from, so it is easy to avoid any heartburn caused by an uncertain forecast.
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