Welcome back for another edition of DraftKings DFS MLB Strategy Advice for Tuesday, August 25th. Following a light featured slate last night, we have a few more games at our disposal with 10 on the docket. Okay, let’s dive in and talk values, studs, and fades!
If you have any questions, reach out to me on Twitter, @RyanWhitfieldNE.
Check out today’s MLB Solo Shot contest at DraftKings 
Value Plays: Pitcher
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Brandon Woodruff (MIL) | vs. CIN | $8,200 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| German Marquez (COL) | @ ARI | $8,000 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Kyle Gibson (TEX) | vs. OAK | $7,000 | ⭐⭐⭐ | High |
Brandon Woodruff is largely a matchup play tonight. He has a fine ERA at 3.23 and is averaging 15.7 FPPG this season, but he is coming off two poor starts in a row. Additionally, through six starts, he has only made it into the sixth inning twice. Tonight, he faces the Reds, who have the league’s worst batting average and are bottom-six in the league in terms of runs per game. Also on his side, Woodruff’s last double-digit performance came against the Reds, and he is 18th in the league in strikeouts per nine.
There are a lot of similarities between Marquez and Woodruff as value plays tonight. First, Marquez also has a favorable matchup, as the Diamondbacks are a bottom-half team in batting average, and they are bottom-third in terms of runs per game. Also, Marquez has been a good a strikeout pitcher, as he ranks 30th in the league in strikeouts per nine. Again, like Woodruff, Marquez is coming off his worst two fantasy performances of the season. Lastly, Marquez should benefit from being on the road tonight, as his home/road performances tell two very different stories this season. On the road, he has a 1.93 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and has held teams to a .179 batting average.
Kyle Gibson is the riskiest play of the three as he enters tonight with a 4.73 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and is averaging just 10.2 FPPG on the season. He also faces the worst matchup of the three — while the Athletics are 24th in team batting average, they do rank 11th in the league in runs per game. The reason to make this play is that Gibson is the sixth-cheapest pitcher tonight, and the last time he faced the A’s, he put 21.9 fantasy points.
Catcher/First Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| James McCann (CWS) | vs. PIT | $4,200 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Paul Goldschmidt (STL) | vs. KC | $4,700 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
James McCann is slashing .340/.404/.532, is on a three-game hitting streak, is averaging 7.5 FPPG, and faces Steven Brault, who has a 1.08 WHIP and has only made it past the third inning in one start. Goldschmidt has a 1.068 OPS, is averaging 8.9 FPPG, and faces Matt Harvey, who has 9.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP after one start this season.
Second Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Wilmer Flores (SF) | vs. LAD | $4,300 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Jonathan Schoop (DET) | vs. CHC | $4,000 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
Wilmer Flores is not a perfect play, and he is hitless in his last two games. Regardless, he is batting .306 with seven home runs and 19 RBI, is averaging 8.5 FPPG, and he faces Julio Urias, who has allowed righties to hit .27o. Schoop has had six multi-hit games in his last 15 and is batting .287. There are 12 second baseman who cost more tonight, and he faces Tyler Chatwood and his 5.40 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.
Third Base
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Yoan Moncada (CWS) | vs. PIT | $4,700 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Kyle Seager (SEA) | @ SD | $3,800 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Brad Miller (STL) | vs. KC | $4,100 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
Moncada and his .250 batting average are not consistently reliable. That said, I love this matchup for him, and Moncada is always capable of big performances, as he has posted 13 or more fantasy points in four of his last 15 games. Seager is batting .291, has driven in 23, is averaging 8.9 FPPG, and faces Chris Paddack, who has a 1.24 WHIP against lefties. To top it all off, he’ll only cost you $3,800 tonight. Miller faces the same great matchup as Goldschmidt, as they face Matt Harvey. On his end, Miller is batting .367 has an OPS of 1.133 and is averaging 9.6 FPPG.
Shortstop
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Jake Cronenworth (SD) | vs. SEA | $3,500 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Dansby Swanson (ATL) | vs. NYY | $4,500 | ⭐⭐ | High |
Cronenworth is a medium-risk play as Marco Gonzales is not an ideal matchup, especially for lefties. However, a guy with a .347 batting average and an OPS of 1.036 at this price tag against a guy who has pitched 29 and 2/3 innings in his MLB career is a hard play to pass up. This play is a high-risk one, but there are a couple of factors that make it appealing.
Shortstop is tough tonight, and Swanson is priced behind eight other guys. For his part, he is batting .319, is on a nine-game hitting streak, and is averaging 9.2 FPPG. Gerrit Cole is obviously a tough matchup, however, and he has been particularly dominant against right-handed hitters. That said, this matchup is strength-on-strength, as Swanson has slashed .348/.381/.543 against right-handed pitchers.
Outfield
| NAME (TEAM) | OPPONENT | PRICE | MATCHUP | RISK |
| Eloy Jimenez (CWS) | vs. PIT | $4,900 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Mark Canha (OAK) | @ TEX | $4,600 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| AJ Pollock (LAD) | @ SF | $4,300 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium |
| Kyle Lewis (SEA) | @ SD | $4,200 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
| Brad Miller (STL) | vs. KC | $4,100 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low |
I’m again looking at the matchup against Steven Brault, and Jimenez makes a lot of sense. He’s batting .298, averaging 8.8 FPPG, and is on a five-game hitting streak. When I recommended Kyle Gibson earlier, I noted that he was a high-risk play. On the other side of that play, betting on Canha, who is batting .290, averaging 9.1 FPPG, and is budget-friendly, is worth consideration.
Pollock has hit safely in eight out of his last ten games and faces Johnny Cueto, who has a 4.35 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Lewis has an OPS of 1.041 and is on an eight-game hitting streak. Brad Miller carries the 3B/OF designation, so all of the reasons above apply here too. With him facing Matt Harvey at this price point, find a way to work him into your lineup.
5 Studs Worth Their Salary
- Mookie Betts (LAD) $6,200: Mookie Betts is having a monster year with a 1.032 OPS and averaging 12.0 FPPG. I’ll keep playing him at whatever price, especially in a good matchup against Johnny Cueto.
- Cody Bellinger (LAD) $5,700: Bellinger is hot as of late. He owns a five-game hitting streak in which he has posted 12 or more fantasy points in each one of those games.
- Fernando Tatis Jr (SD) 5,600: Tatis Jr. has 12 home runs, 29 RBI, is averaging 12.9 FPPG, and is facing a guy who has pitched less than 30 total innings in the majors.
- Trevor Story (COL) $5,200: Story is on a five-game hitting streak, has tallied double-digit fantasy points in four straight games, and has a good matchup against Alex Young tonight.
- Gerrit Cole (NYY) $10,600: Gerrit Cole has been dominant this year and has posted 19-plus fantasy points in all six of his starts. I’m riding that until the bubble bursts.
5 Notable Players to Fade
- Luis Castillo (CIN) $9,600: Castillo has a favorable matchup tonight, but his 4.44 ERA and 1.52 WHIP combined with being the fourth-highest priced pitcher tonight has me looking elsewhere.
- Matt Olson (OAK) $5,300: Olson is three for his last 29 and is the third most expensive first baseman tonight.
- Nelson Cruz (MIN) $5,900: Cruz is the second most expensive outfielder tonight, and Shane Bieber has been too dominant to pay that kind of salary.
- Tyler Chatwood (CHC) $9,100: Chatwood is coming off the injured list, and his stat line is not one worth sixth-highest salary for pitchers tonight.
- Gary Sanchez (NYY) $4,800: Sanchez is the third highest-priced catcher tonight, and he is batting .132 and is just two for his last 12.
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Ryan Whitfield is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive and follow him @RyanWhitfieldNE.
