DraftKings DFS MLB Strategy Advice: Tuesday (8/18)

Happy Tuesday baseball fans, and welcome back to another DraftKings DFS MLB strategy advice piece. Tonight’s featured slate is a good size with 11 games on the docket. Let’s get to our value plays, studs, and our fades for tonight.

If you have any questions, reach out to me on Twitter @RyanWhitfieldNE.

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Value Plays

Pitcher

 
Peterson has a 2.91 ERA, has averaged 16.3 FPPG, and hasn’t scored less than 13 fantasy points in any of his four appearances. Tonight he faces the Marlins who are middle of the pack when it comes to run production and in the bottom third of the league in batting average.

Zach Eflin’s numbers won’t blow you away on the surface through his two starts this season. He enters tonight’s matchup with a 3.6o ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. However, he has 15 strikeouts on the year and is averaging 18.4 FPPG. Tonight he faces the floundering Red Sox who are bottom third in the league in runs per game and are top ten in the league in strikeouts.

Keller has pitched two scoreless outings to start this season, has a 0.91 WHIP, is averaging 23.1 FPPG, and there are still 15 pitchers with higher-priced tags tonight. The Reds rank outside the top half of the league in both runs per game and batting average presenting Keller with another great opportunity.

Catcher/First Base

 
Over his last seven games, Severino is hitting .370 and he is slugging .741 with three home runs and 12 RBI. Tonight he faces Nate Pearson who has a 5.11 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in his three-game old career. We’ll keep it in Baltimore with a guy I wrote about yesterday, Renato Nunez. He went 1-for-4 last night and is now batting .304 and averaging 9.5 FPPG and he faces the same ideal matchup as his teammate.

Second Base

 
Cano is another player I wrote about yesterday who then went 3-for-4 last night and tallied 37 fantasy points. On the season, he is hitting .412 and has an OPS of 1.152. He will face Humberto Mejia tonight who has pitched just 2 1/3 innings in the majors and has a 1.71 WHIP in that time. Phil Gosselin is a rotational player, so make sure that he’s in the lineup tonight. In a limited sample size of 25 at-bats, he has hit .400, has an OPS of 1.203, and he has 8.0 FPPG. Tonight he faces Zack Godley who enters the game with an 8.16 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP.

Third Base

 
Cabrera has an OPS of .927, has driven in 15 RBI, and is averaging 9.1 FPPG. The matchup against Josh Tomlin is less than desirable, but Cabrera’s production at this value makes him worth a look. Everything I said about Nunez above now applies here. Third base is a tough position for value tonight so thanks to Nunez’s 1B/3B designation we can use him here.

Shortstop

 
Anderson is having a great start to the season and he added two home runs on Monday night. Tonight he and his .340 batting average and 1.054 OPS will step in and face Tarik Skubal as he makes his major league debut. David Peterson does not provide the best matchup up for Villar but he does still have a chance to deliver some good value here. Over his last six, he has hit .320 and he has averaged 9.16 FPPG. Dansby Swanson has a five-game hitting streak and during this stretch, he has gone 10-for-23 which is good for a batting average of .434.

Outfield

 
Nick Castellanos does not have a favorable matchup but his eight home runs, 19 RBI, and 11 FPPG give him the opportunity to provide ROI on the swing of a bat. Hernandez is hitting .299 with seven home runs and 14 RBI which has helped him to average 10 FPPG. Tonight he’ll step to the plate against Wade LeBlanc who has a 7.13 ERA and has allowed right-handed batters to hit .300. Robert is batting .286 and averaging 8.9 FPPG and he faces the same ideal matchup as his teammate Anderson. Clint Frazier has been immaculate since returning from his injury slashing .444/.500/.944 and is averaging 14.0 FPPG. Smith has an OPS of 1.133, has 18 RBI, and is averaging 10.2 FPPG.

5 Studs Worth Their Salary

• Mookie Betts, LAD ($6,100): It’s hard to not bet on Mookie Betts right now who has averaged 22.8 FPPG over his last five games in part thanks to five home runs and 11 RBI.
• Bryce Harper, PHI ($5,500): Harper is batting .364, has an OPS of 1.165, and is averaging 11.8 FPPG.
• J.T. Realmuto, PHI ($5,300): Realmuto is batting .300, has eight home runs, 20 RBI, and has a fantastic matchup tonight.
• Yu Darvish, TEX (10,500): The Cardinals are in the bottom third of the league in batting average and runs per game and Darvish has been spectacular with a 1.88 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP.
• Kenta Maeda, MIN ($9,700): Maeda has 2.66 ERA, an 0.72 WHIP, and is 3-and-0 0n the season.

5 Notable Players to Fade

• Carlos Carrasco, CLE ($9,900): Carrasco may have a nice matchup, but he has been too boom or bust this season at this price.
• Blake Snell, TB ($9,500): Snell has made it past three innings in just one out of his four games this season and he faces a top 3 offense in the Yankees tonight.
• Cody Bellinger, LAD ($5,600): Bellinger is just too expensive for a guy who’s been hitless in back to back games and is batting just .181.
• Juan Soto, WAS ($5,900): Josh Tomlin has not allowed a hit to lefties through 5 2/3 innings this season.
• Christian Yelich, MIL ($5,100): Yelich pulls a tough matchup against Maeda and despite being more consistent lately, he is still hitting .194 on the season.

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Ryan Whitfield is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive and follow him @RyanWhitfieldNE.