Tuesday, Aug. 24, has 14 games on a frontloaded main slate, and there are a variety of paths that could lead to victory tonight. 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. 24
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at RHP Spenser Watkins — 4.4 implied runs
Rookie Spenser Watkins has had a rough month of August. In his four starts he has lasted just 19.2 inning, posting an 8.24 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and only 11 strikeouts. Shohei Ohtani ($25) seems spendy until combining him with his teammates, who are coming at a solid discount on Yahoo. It is going to be in the upper 80s with nearly 70% humidity in Camden Yards on Tuesday.
In his last 376 lefty/righty matchups, Jared Walsh ($12) has a .403 wOBA, .292 ISO and a 160 wRC+, which is elite production. Justin Upton and David Fletcher are not particularly exciting, but they are $12 each and will be in the top half of the order. The optimal strategy would be to surround Ohtani with two or three of his teammates. If a full stack is desired, then Max Stassi ($15), Jo Adell ($10) and Philip Gosselin ($9) are in play, depending on where they land in the batting order.
Late Slate
Houston Astros vs. RHP Brady Singer — 5.5 implied runs
Tuesday marks the 34th start for Brady Singer. Over his last five starts, Singer has a 7.17 ERA and a 2.01 WHIP across 20.1 innings. On the positive side of things, he has not allowed a home run in these starts. Houston leads the league in wRC+ against both lefties and righties. Yordan Alvarez leads the way in any Astros stack, along with Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel and Michael Brantley. For differentiation, Aledmys Diaz has a long track record of performing well in same-handed matchups, and he is deeply discounted across the DFS sites.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Luis Garcia vs. Kansas City Royals — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $45 | FanDuel $8,300 | DraftKings $9,700
This has been an excellent sophomore campaign for Luis Garcia. After pitching just 12.1 innings in the abbreviated season last year, he has posted an outstanding 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings, a 3.39 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The only concern with Garcia is that he has thrown eight more innings than at any point in his career. While the Royals do not strike out a lot as a team, they do have five projected batters that strike out above league average against right-handed pitchers.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP German Marquez at Chicago Cubs — 4.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $8,200
Chicago has won just four of its last 25 games, scoring more than five runs only five times in this stretch. After trading away most of their starting lineup, the current Cubs roster has a 25.9% strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers, which leads the league. They are in the bottom third of the league from a power perspective and scoring runs 17% less efficiently than league average. Over his last two seasons, across 228.2 innings, German Marquez has a 24.1% strikeout rate and a 3.81 xFIP. While it will be warm and humid with a light breeze out to left field, this is a good matchup and excellent salary for Marquez across the board.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP J.T. Brubaker vs. Arizona Diamondbacks — 4.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $29 | FanDuel $6,800 | DraftKings $6,700
J.T. Brubaker has consistently been a pitcher to target against, but today he stands firmly as a recommended pitcher. This play is not for the faint of heart, as he has allowed the fourth-most home runs in the league. There is no need to look to Brubaker on FanDuel, but as a secondary pitcher on Yahoo and DraftKings, the healthy discount provides salary flexibility. The Diamondbacks strike out 25.1% of the time against right-handed pitchers, and Brubaker has done well in that department himself, with just over one per inning.
Final Thoughts for the Tuesday, Aug. 24 MLB DFS Picks Slate
Tonight is an imbalanced slate, with 10 games going off in the first hour and just three in the second. That should not drive any decisions, though it will make for some wild swings on the tournament leaderboards.
