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Fantasy Baseball Picks: Top DraftKings MLB DFS Targets, Values for August 31

Steve Buchanan gives his top studs and value plays for Thursday’s fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings, which starts at 7:05 p.m. ET.

MLB: Game One-Atlanta Braves at New York Mets Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Only three games are on the baseball schedule tonight starting at 7:05 p.m. E.T. We’ll go over the different targets and values you can use to build your DFS lineups for tonight.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]


PITCHER

Stud

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers, $12,500 - Strider sticks out like a sore thumb on this short slate. He’s $3,700 more than the next pitcher available, Lance Lynn ($8,800). To be fair, this isn’t the easiest matchup either, as this will be the second time that Strider faces the Dodgers. In his first game, he went six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and 11 strikeouts, good for 26.7 DKFP. Nonetheless, he by far has the highest ceiling over anyone else available. If you’re okay with eating the chalk, Strider is certainly your guy.

Value

Pedro Avila, San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants, $6,300 - Avila is a way to offset the large chunk of salary that will be taken up by Strider. Normally a reliever, Avila will be making his third start of the season. He’s been stretched out, logging 4.1 innings on August 26 against the Brewers. To be fair, it wasn’t a good start, as he allowed five runs on five hits with four strikeouts. The appeal here with Avila is his strikeout upside, as he owns a 10.5 K/9 through 27.1 innings. Against a Giants team that has one of the highest K% against righties at 25.5%, I’m willing to take a chance on him tonight.


INFIELD

Stud

Luis Arraez, Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals, $4,600 - The Marlins are my favorite stack on this short three-game slate. Specifically, we’ll be targeting the left-handed bats on this team. They’ll be facing Joan Adon ($5,400), who owns a .332 wOBA and just a 20.8% K% against lefties. He hasn’t pitched much last year, so if you go back to last year, he also struggled in this with a .377 wOBA against lefties as well. Arraez won’t provide much power at all but he consistently makes contact and rarely strikes out. He owns a .376 wOBA against righties with a ridiculous 4% K%. Hitting leadoff, he should be one of the first hitters in your lineup.

Stud

Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers, $6,300 - It still feels like the Braves are priced as if they’re playing in Coors Field. At $6,300, Olson is the third-most expensive hitter on this slate. Although he’s cooled off a bit lately, he’s still in a fantastic matchup against Dodgers starter Lance Lynn ($8,800). To Lynn’s credit, he’s been fantastic since moving on from the White Sox, posting a 2.03 ERA with a .292 wOBA and a 7.5 K/9. What’s been the biggest difference? The Dodgers have essentially made him a fastball pitcher, throwing it 38% of the time in July to a season-high 53% in August. That’s great and all but Olson is hitting .297 with a .424 wOBA and 24 home runs against fastballs. I’ll side with Olson in this matchup.

Value

Josh Bell, Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals, $3,600 - Bell has found his power swing since being traded to Miami. After hitting 11 home runs between April and July, Bell has clubbed eight through 25 games as a Marlin. He’s added on three doubles and knocked in 13, which ties his current season-high. A switch-hitter, Bell will get Adon from the left side of the plate, which as we mentioned, is where you want to stack those hitters against him.


OUTFIELD

Stud

Jazz Chisholm Jr, Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals, $5,200 - We’ll throw one more Marlin on the list for tonight. Chisholm Jr has some of the best numbers against righties on the team, owner of a .363 wOBA with a .230 ISO and an average of 8.5 DKFP against righties. Adon allows a ton of fly balls, currently giving up a 39% rate to lefties. As mentioned, I love the Marlins stack tonight and think they’ll put up some crooked numbers early against the Nationals starter.

Stud

Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins, $4,900 - Thomas has quietly put together a really strong season for the Nationals, slashing .279/.329/.466 with 20 home runs, 69 RBI, and 88 runs scored. He has really strong numbers against lefties as well, boasting a .424 wOBA with a .245 ISO and an average of 7 DKFP against them. He did exit yesterday’s game with some back tightness but it’s said to not be a serious issue. Keep an eye on if he’s in the lineup or not but if he is, he’s a great player to use against the lefty Braxton Garrett ($8,200).

Value

Jason Heyward, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves, $2,700 - If you want to go off the board tonight, I do like Heyward for the Dodgers. Targeting against Strider is not necessarily something I want to do but on a three-game slate, you need to get creative. Heyward has been hitting really well lately, collecting eight hits, including three for extra bases, over his last five games. Despite that, he’s still dirt cheap and is only $2,700. It won’t take much for him to pay off his salary, so taking a flier on someone that’s been so hot at the plate is worth the risk.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]


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