Friday, Aug. 12, gives us a wild 13-game main slate with a first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET. There are a plethora of potential pitchers, along with several tasty offensive matchups. 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 (8/12)
Main Slate: Padres at RHP Cory Abbott — 5.6 implied runs
On Sunday, 26-year-old Cory Abbott made the 13th appearance of his career, and it did turn out to be an unlucky one. Abbott faced 23 Philadelphia batsmen, issuing five walks and ceding four home runs while lasting only 3.2 innings in what would become a 13-1 Washington loss. Tonight, he will be facing an equally difficult opponent that is anchored by two of his former teammates.
Juan Soto and Josh Bell are very familiar with the hitting environment in Nationals Park, and both are prime candidates in the home run player prop market for those of you feeling frisky and also living in a state where sports wagering is legal. In eight games since being dealt to San Diego, Soto has been stellar, going 10-for-28 with a .357/.471/.607 triple slash line. Bell has been employed as the cleanup hitter in some game with his new squad, and it would not be a surprise to see the switch-hitter in that role again tonight.
Manny Machado, Brandon Drury, Jake Cronenworth and Jurickson Profar continue the hit parade and populate one of a handful of lineups that could keep pace with the Coors Field teams tonight. Just think of how tough this lineup will look when Fernando Tatis Jr. returns. The Padres pulled out of their recent five-game skid in style, with 20 combined runs in their last two opportunities. Once Abbott hits the showers, they will have a chance to pile up more hits and runs against one of the worst bullpens in the league. Enjoy!
Evening Slate: Astros vs. RHP Adam Oller — 4.7 implied runs
Houston is an intriguing countermove against the Coors Field crowd, as it has a nice opportunity tonight against Adam Oller. There is a chance that Oller could actually be the worst starting pitcher in the league right now. The rookie has faced 209 batters this season, with a pathetic 13.9% strikeout rate that is barely above his obscene 11.5% walk rate. The .298 BABIP is unlucky, but things could be worse considering he has a fly ball rate just over 50%. The 7.63 ERA is supported by his 7.11 xFIP, and the most egregious metric of all is his 2.47 HR/9.
Yordan Alvarez is in a prime position for multiple extra-base hits, and we should also give a long look to Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker. Since there are 26 teams in the player pool, it should not be hard to find ways to create lineups that are unique when compared to other Houston supporters.
Late Slate: Giants vs. RHP Bryse Wilson — 4.8 implied runs
Bryse Wilson is b-a-d BAD! Across 188.2 innings in The Show, representing games in five different seasons, Wilson has a 5.67 ERA and 1.55 WHIP for his career, which is basically a mirror image of his back of the baseball card this season. He also has allowed a career high for home runs, and in his last 298 righty/lefty matchups, he has suffered a .242 ISO.
San Francisco will run out a lineup almost entirely filled with lefties. Brandon Belt, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Crawford are the primary targets for the main slate. Salary savings are available courtesy of Tommy La Stella and LaMonte Wade, who are likely to occupy two of the top three slots in the batting order. Of course, they are also likely to be lifted for pinch-hitters if a left-handed reliever comes into the game. It should be noted that Pittsburgh has only two in the bullpen, and one has worked three times in the last five games.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers
Primary Target: RHP Carlos Rodon vs. Pirates — 2.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,600 | FanDuel $10,800
Carlos Rodon is one of the best left-handed hurlers in the game, and the Pirates have one of the worst offenses in the league against southpaws. Friday’s slate is loaded with aces as well as secondary selections in cherry matchups. Rodon checks both boxes against the Pirates. This season Rodon has posted the second-best stat line of his career, behind only his 2021 campaign. The 29-year-old has allowed three or more runs only five times in his 22 starts. In the remaining 17 appearances, he allowed a pair of runs four times, and the other 13 outings were zero- or one-earned-run affairs.
The Pirates are league average when it comes to plating runners against left-handed hurlers, though their 24.7% strikeout rate is the fourth highest in baseball. Tonight’s projected lineup has a two-year-trailing strikeout rate approaching 30%, which bodes well for Rodon recording his third double-digit-whiff game in his last four appearances.
Secondary Target: RHP Mike Clevinger at Nationals — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $7,800 | FanDuel $9,100
After missing 2021 with his second Tommy John surgery, Mike Clevinger has had a solid season. While his fastball is down by 1.5 mph, he has been able to keep his average just above 93 mph in each of his 13 outings this year. The pitch mix has been revamped, with him abandoning his curveball and replacing it with a cutter. Though his 8.6 K/9 rate is the lowest since his rookie season back in 2016, it is still above league average.
Juan Soto and Josh Bell will be taking the field tonight, though it will be in San Diego uniforms, as this duo was dealt at the deadline in one of the biggest talent trades of the last 50 years. The Nationals are 3-11 in their last 14 games while averaging 3.28 runs per contest in this stretch. Their projected lineup does have above-average pop, but the lack plate discipline and plentiful strikeouts are doing them no favors. Clevinger slots in nicely as an SP2 on DraftKings tonight. It is going to be on the cool side with game-time temperatures in the mid-70s, which is significantly lower than normal for August.
Wild Card Target: RHP Austin Voth at Rays — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $6,100 | FanDuel $5,900
Tonight there is a game in Coors Field with a projected run total pushing 13 and game-time temperatures in the low-90s. While the DraftKings algorithm “forgot” to adjust most of the Diamondbacks, rolling with Austin Voth will allow unfettered access to all of the best batsmen appearing for both teams in this game.
Baltimore claimed Voth off of waivers after he was designated for assignment by Washington. The Nationals drafted Voth in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and he had ample chances to prove himself. It never came together with any of his pitches other than an above-average curveball that never quite got over the hump to good, much less great.
Tropicana Field is a nice upgrade for pitchers, though the Rays offense does have plenty of pop from the left side of the plate. The combination of Voth and Rodon on DraftKings leaves $4,162 for each of the hitter slots, which allows for a Coors Field game stack.
Additional Opportunities
Zach Davies is someone to pick on in DFS and also in the player prop market by taking the under on his 3.5 strikeout prop. The Stokastic MLB Player Props Tool has him for 3.2 strikeouts and a 60% chance of staying under this benchmark. There is a strong possibility that he hits the showers before completing the fourth inning, and in his last three starts of between five and six innings, he had eight total strikeouts.
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 Michael Kopech vs. Detroit Tigers (Main)
- RHP Max Scherzer vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Main)
- RHP George Kirby at Texas Rangers (Evening)
- RHP Luis H. Garcia vs. Oakland Athletics (Evening)
- RHP Tyler Mahle at Los Angeles Angels (Late)
Other Hitting Options
- Teoscar Hernandez vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (Main)
- Josh Naylor at RHP Jose Berrios (Main)
- Jesse Winker at RHP Josh Sborz (Evening)
- Chris Taylor at LHP Daniel Lynch (Evening)
- Jose Miranda at LHP Patrick Sandoval (Late)
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Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Friday’s weather should be smooth sailing from a precipitation standpoint. Temperatures are in the 70s and 80s, which is a good 15 degrees cooler than what most Midwest and East Coast venues have been experiencing this month.
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