Unlike most Thurday's the vast majority of today's slate will be night games. Given that, rather than prep for an all day slate of games, I set my sights on the main slate only. There are plenty of platoon advantages to take advantage of so it's time to get sharp.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/10/17. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @DanMarcus3.
Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider
Jacob DeGrom, NYM @ PHI (DK - $12,700, FD - $10,600)
DeGrom is the highest priced pitching option on both DK and FanDuel, but for good reason. The Phillies enter Thursday’s contest with an 83 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, second worst in all of baseball. That is paired with a 23.1% strikeout rate, which goes hand in hand to make deGrom an easy cash game play. While he is coming off a poor performance by his standards, there is
Zach Davies, MIL vs MIN (DK - $8,400, FD - $7,800)
Davies has stepped it up in the second half of the season after underwhelming for much of the prior three months. His K-BB% is up to 10.4% in that span and his wOBA has dropped from .354 to .252 from first to second half. The Twins aren’t a cakewalk matchup, but they also aren’t a terribly threatening lineup based on their 98 wRC+ and 22.2% K-rate against right-handed pitching. That makes Davies an appealing mid-priced pitcher.
DFS Infielders to Consider
Brian McCann - C, HOU @ CWS (DK - $3,600, FD - $2,700)
Things haven’t been pretty for McCann of late as he has just ten hits since the All-Star break. The good news is that three of those ten hits have been home runs with two doubles also mixed in. Carlos Rodon has looked better of late but is still a home run machine. Don’t panic about the lefty on lefty matchup as McCann is actually slugging .493 against left-handed pitching this season opposed to .393 against righties.
Ryan Zimmerman - 1B, WAS vs MIA (DK - $4,000, FD - $3,200)
Like McCann, Zimmerman hasn’t exactly been on fire but Dan Straily has been susceptible to the home run ball of late. Of course, the Nationals are one of the best offenses in the league and with the game in D.C., Straily’s home run problem could arise. On the road this season, Straily has allowed 1.88 HR/9 as opposed to just .81 at home. Additionally, he has allowed 1.66 HR/9 to right-handed hitters as opposed to just .98 against lefties.
Neil Walker - 2B, NYM @ PHI (DK - $2,700, FD - $2,600)
This play is a nice way to save some cap space and also pick on one of the more vulnerable pitchers on the slate. Velasquez has gotten torched by lefties and righties alike so playing any Met with a capable bat is a viable play on Thursday’s slate. With the nice salary relief as part of the equation, Walker is a good play despite his recent poor track record.
Justin Turner - 3B, LOS @ ARI (DK - $4,700, FD - $4,000)
Turner obliterates lefties and should have a juicy matchup against Anthony Banda on Thursday night in a great hitting environemnt. There doesn’t need to be a whole lot of other reasons for this play, but salary relief with other picks allows the pay up in this spot.
Didi Gregorius - SS, NYY @ TOR (DK - $4,200, FD - $3,100)
Marco Estrada has turned into a dumpster fire this season allowing 1.47 home runs per nine. Though not drastic in his splits, his home field hasn’t given him any advantage which makes Yankee hitters strong plays tonight. Gregorius has been a terror all season on the road slugging .538 and getting on base at a .374 clip. The Rogers Centre plays up lefty power, so extra base hits should come for Gregorius on Thursday.
DFS Outfielders to Consider
Austin Jackson - OF, CLE @ TAM (DK - $3,100, FD - $2,800)
Jackson is the best Indians’ hitter against lefties as measured by OPS this season. He has just a 8.8% soft contact rate against them on the season, so his .225 ISO is backed up by his batted ball profile. Blake Snell isn’t scaring anyone this season, so Jackson is a nice value play as a part of what should be a popular team stack.
Nicky Delmonico - OF, CHW vs HOU (DK - $2,900, FD - $2,500)
This is a tournament flier only, but Brad Peacock showed some susceptibility to the home run ball in his latest start since coming back from the bullpen. That was especially true when he faced left-handed batters as Kendrys Morales and Ryan Goins took him deep. Delmonico is the only left-handed batter on the White Sox with any modicum of pop, so seeing if the isolated trouble for Peacock turns into a trend is worth the risk.
Melky Cabrera - OF, KC @ATL (DK - $3,500, FD - $3,200)
Lance Lynn has been terrible against left-handed hitters this year, posting an abysmal 5.96 xFIP and allowing a staggering 1.98 HR/9. While Melky Cabrera isn’t exactly known for his power he has done enough from the left side of the plate to be a solid play on Thursday.
DFS Premium Tools & Research
Get a free trial of our powerful MLB Premium Tools. Our famous DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator, daily Matchup Ratings, expert DFS Lineups/Cheat Sheets, and more.
Win more. Try the most advanced lineup optimizer in daily fantasy baseball.