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We head into Thursday night with a 6 game slate on tap. The slate starts slightly earlier at 6:37 pmEST and will now not include the SF/LAD game, so be careful. Be prepared for players sitting, games maybe not playing, and more as there are many more important things taking place in this country.
When looking at the slate there are two aces taking the mound with Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. After the top targets, things get very tricky in the midtier, but there are a couple of interesting punt options down below. When it comes to bats there are a lot of options to target. With such bad pitching overall, there will be many directions to take in building your lineups.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/27/2020. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Hyun Jin Ryu - P, TOR vs BOS ($9,700)
Well, this was supposed to be Clayton Kershaw and that has now been erased as the game is no longer on the slate. Now we pivot to Ryu to save some cash instead of pay up for Scherzer (who is in play as well). Ryu struggled out the gate but has really come on strong over his last four starts. He has thrown at least five innings in the last four starts while giving up one run or less in each start and striking out at least six in three of four starts. He has a 1.23 ERA and a 2.28 xFIP over that stretch as well to go with a 30.8% strikeout rate. He is limiting the damage in a big way as well, only getting barreled 2% of the time over the last four games with a 20.4% hard-hit rate. He should come in low owned tonight since he is pitching in Coors East, facing the Red Sox and a slight chance of rain.
Chris Bassitt - P, OAK at TEX ($8,200)
Chris Bassitt comes into tonight's matchup with the Rangers coming off a nice 5.2 innings two earned run and six strikeout performance against the Angels. It has been an up and down season for Bassitt, but for the most part, has been on the upside of things. He has scored 13.8 DK points or more in five of six starts this season. He is only allowing an 8% barrel rate and a 37% hard-hit rate this season. He will be facing a Rangers team that strikes out 22.7% of the time vs RHP with a .201 average and a .126 ISO. Bassitt brings a nice floor to tonight's matchup and is a nice SP2 option.
Other Options: Max Scherzer (WAS vs Phi) $10,900, Kevin Gausman (SF vs LAD) $6,400, Sixto Sanchez (MIA at NYM) $5,100
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Vladimir Guerrero Jr - 1B, TOR vs Chris Mazza ($4,300)
It took a while to get going, but Vladito is finally feeling it at the plate. He is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak where he is hitting .333 with a .242 ISO. More impressively he is walking 13.2% of the time while only striking out 10.5% of the time. Over his nine-game hitting streak he is also barreling the ball 10.3% of the time with a 58.6% hard-hit rate. Vlad is feeling it at the plate and gets a great matchup vs Mazza today as they play in wonderful Coors East. You should be stacking the Jays and Vlad should be apart of that stack.
Other Options: Matt Olson (OAK at TEX) $5,300, Miguel Sano (MIN at DET) $4,900, Renato Nunez (BAL at TB) $3,800, Rowdy Tellez (TOR vs BOS) $2,900
Luis Garcia - 2B, WAS vs Spencer Howard ($2,500)
It has been a while since we had the Nationals on the main slate and that means we get our punt second baseman, Luis Garcia back. After all this time he is still extremely cheap even though he keeps hitting. He has hit safely in his last four games and eight of his first eleven games. He is hitting .317 on the season and hits in the middle of the Nats lineup. He will be facing Howard tonight who has not made it through four innings in his last two starts and that just means more Phillies bullpen. Enjoy Garcia as a punt in cash and GPPs.
Other Options: Cavan Biggio (TOR vs BOS) $5,100, Robinson Cano (NYM vs MIA) $4,000
Isaac Paredes - 3B, DET vs Randy Dobnak ($2,300)
When looking for another value tonight, then look no further than Paredes. He has now hit safely in three of his last five games, including two multi-hit games. He has upped his average to .269 on the season. He will be facing Dobnak tonight who has been using smoke and mirrors to get things done this season. He has a 1.78 ERA, yet a 4.08 xFIP. He only has a 13.5% strikeout rate, meaning a lot of balls are being put in play, yet only a .226 BABIP. The regression monster will hit Dobnak soon, meaning a value with Paredes and a lot of other Tigers could be in store tonight at low ownership.
Other Options: Yandy Diaz (TB vs BAL) $3,500
Willy Adames - SS, TB vs John Means ($3,900)
Adames has quietly been on quite the heater lately. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games, good for a .333 average. Over that stretch, he also has a .333 ISO to go with 10 extra-base hits and a 12.1% walk rate. He is barreling the ball 11.8% of the time over those 16 games with a very nice 52.9% hard-hit rate. He has even been hitting cleanup at times vs LHP. That last part is really nice as he is having Means tonight who has not looked like his all-star self. So far this season lefties are hitting .278 with a .611 SLG and they have already hit four home runs off Means in only nine innings.
Other Options: Trea Turner (WAS vs PHI) $5,200, Niko Goodrum (DET vs MIN) $4,200, John Berti (MIA at NYM) $3,700
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Nelson Cruz - OF, MIN at Matt Boyd ($5,700)
Well, look what we have here. Cruz vs a lefty that loves to give up the long ball. Cruz is having another strong season with 11 home runs, barreling the ball 16.7% of the time with a 44.9% hard-hit rate. When facing lefties this season he is hitting .440 with a .520 ISO and a 47.6% hard-hit rate. He will be facing Boyd who is allowing LHH to hit .333 this season with a .647 SLG and has allowed seven home runs over 22.2 innings this season.
Teoscar Hernandez - OF, TOR vs Chris Mazza ($4,300)
I mentioned the Jays are a great stack tonight and that means the outfielders, all of them are in play. Teoscar is the main one, but not by much as they are all hitting. He is on an eight-game hitting streak entering tonight's game with a .346 average over that stretch. In those eight games, he also has a .462 ISO, 21.2% walk rate, 31.3% barrel rate, and 56.3% hard-hit rate. To put it simply, Teoscar is smoking hot and gets a great matchup tonight at home.
Manuel Margot - OF, TB vs John Means ($3,100)
The Rays are in a strong spot tonight and especially the Rays right-handed hitters. Most will look at Renfroe as a cheap outfield option, but don't forget about Margot. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games for a .333 average. He is walking 12.1% of the time while only striking out 16.7% of the time over those seven games. What's more impressive is an 11.8% barrel rate and a 41.2% hard-hit rate over those seven games. Last year he hit .333 vs LHP with a .383 wOBA and he will go overlooked as a strong value play tonight vs Means.
Other Options: Juan Soto (WAS vs PHI) $5,900, Austin Meadows (TB vs BAL) $5,200, Anthony Santander (BAL at TB) $4,700, Robbie Grossman (OAK at TEX) $4,100, Lourdes Gurriel Jr (TOR vs BOS) $4,000, Randal Grichuk (TOR vs BOS) $3,900, Hunter Renfroe (TB vs BAL) $3,800, Stephen Piscotty (OAK at TEX) $3,500, Victor Reyes (DET vs MIN) $2,900
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox (Chris Mazza, LHP)
- Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers (Matt Boyd, LHP)
- Tampa Bay Rays vs Baltimore Orioles (John Means, LHP)
- Sneaky Stack- Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins (Randy Dobnak, RHP)
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