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Welcome to another year of the DFS Army MLB Full Count! You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article out on Twitter as well as inside our coaching forums. With that said, let’s get it started!
Full Slate Breakdown Picks for MLB DFS 8/15:
Aug 14, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts to striking out during the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Chicago Cubs (-141) @ Washington Nationals (+120)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll open up the slate with Marcus Stroman and the Cubs heading into Washington as favorites against the Nats. Stroman has been fine as of late with at least 17.3 DraftKings points in four of his last five games and it’s hard not to like the matchup here. He’s never been a big strikeout guy but is carrying a 22.8% strikeout rate on the season which puts him firmly in play as an SP2 option for me. The Nats will send Josiah Gray to the mound and he’s been in rough form this season with an ERA of 4.81. His xERA is 3.99, so there should be some positive regression coming, but I’d still lean Stroman over him in this one.
CHC 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Willson Contreras, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Patrick Wisdom
GPP Note: The Cubs will be more of a mini-stack team than anything here.
WAS 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Luke Voit, CJ Abrams
GPP Note: I’ll have more interest in Stroman than anything from this Nats team.
Tampa Bay Rays (-) @ New York Yankees (-)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Rays will send Ryan Yarbrough to the mound in a tough matchup against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium. Yarbrough has cooled off as of late after his big start against the Orioles a few starts ago. We can afford to be picky with our pitching on this slate, so no need to get cute with him here. The Yankees will send Gerrit Cole to the mound in what should be a pretty solid matchup. He had a nice bounce-back start last time out against the Mariners. The Rays are actually striking out at a pretty good clip around 24% on the season, if you combine that with Cole’s 32.5% k rate, you’re in good shape.
TBR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Randy Arozarena
GPP Note: I’ll like getting Cole over most of these Rays bats.
NYY 5-star plays: Aaron Judge
4-star plays: DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Donaldson, Gleyber Torres
GPP Note: The Yankees are firmly in play as a stacking option here against a lefty at home.
Baltimore Orioles (+140) @ Toronto Blue Jays (-165)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Orioles will send Kyle Bradish to the mound in a really tough matchup with the Blue Jays in a hitter’s park in Toronto. I don’t see a reason to get to Bradish and his 6.42 ERA on the season on this slate. Baltimore will start Yusei Kikuchi in this spot and is interesting at the very least. He’s been extremely volatile as of late but the price tag is way down. He has a pretty solid 25% strikeout rate on the season but with a 5.13 ERA and an xERA near 6.00, it’s hard to really like him. I don’t have an issue with him as an SP2 in tournaments, but that’s probably as deep as I would get on him.
BAL 5-star plays: Adley Rutschman
4-star plays: Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, Jorge Mateo
GPP Note: I have no issue getting some Baltimore bats here with how volatile Kikuchi can be.
TOR 5-star plays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
4-star plays: Alejandro Kirk, Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman
GPP Note: The Jays look like a nice stack here.
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New York Mets (+128) @ Atlanta Braves (-148)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Carlos Carrasco will start for the Mets in a tough matchup with this Atlanta team on the road. Carrasco has been really good as of late with at least 25.3 DraftKings points in three of his last five games, I’m just not sure I want to target him in this spot. I’ll keep him as more of a tournament option than anything. The Braves will send Spencer Strider to the mound in a similarly tough matchup with the Mets. He’s coming off of a tough start against this Mets team last time out where he gave up four earned runs in just 2.2 innings of work. He’s right there with Carrasco has a GPP option for me, it’s just so hard to overlook his 38% strikeout rate.
NYM 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Starling Marte, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso
GPP Note: Probably just one-offs or a mini-stack against Strider.
ATL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Vaughn Grissom
GPP Note: Same deal here, just one-offs and/or a mini-stack against Carrasco.
Kansas City Royals (+163) @ Minnesota Twins (-195)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Kris Bubic will get the start for Kansas City in this one as they open up a series with the Twins on the road. Bubic hasn’t been terrible as of late with at least 31 FanDuel points in five straight games, however, he’s still sporting an ERA over 5.00 and the strikeout rate isn’t great at just 19%, so I’ll likely avoid him on this slate. The Twins will send Joe Ryan to the mound in a nice matchup with this Royals lineup. Ryan has been volatile as of late with two of his last four starts being over 41 FanDuel points and the other two being held under 15 FanDuel points. He has a 23.4% strikeout rate on the season and would probably be more of an SP2 option on DraftKings than anything else for me on this slate.
KCR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: MJ Melendez, Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Vincent Pasquantino
GPP Note: I do like the top of this lineup, so I don’t hate a secondary or mini-stack with them.
MIN 5-star plays: Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa
4-star plays: Luis Arraez, Jose Miranda, Jorge Polanco, Gary Sanchez
GPP Note: The Twins look pretty good here against a below-average lefty.
Oakland Athletics (+140) @ Texas Rangers (-165)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Athletics will send James Kaprielian to the mound in a solid enough matchup with the Rangers. Kaprielian has really struggled this season but has been good as of late and has dropped his ERA a good amount. He has just a 16.3% strikeout rate on the season, so not a guy I want to get to at this point, but he’s worth keeping an eye on. The Rangers will start Glenn Otto who is in a similar boat, I don’t think we need to get cute with either of these pitchers… even in a great matchup with this Athletics lineup.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ramon Laureano
GPP Note: I don’t think I’ve stacked the A’s all season and that won’t change here.
TEX 5-star plays: Corey Seager
4-star plays: Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, Nate Lowe
GPP Note: I would be okay with a Rangers stack against Kaprielian here.
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Houston Astros (-129) @ Chicago White Sox (+110)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Jose Urquidy will get the start for Houston here as they head into Chicago. He’s coming off of a rough start with the Rangers last time out but had a 10-strikeout game before that, so the upside is certainly there with him. He’s another guy who has a lower strikeout rate on the season at just 18.9%, he’d be more of a secondary play for me. Chicago will start Johnny Cueto who has been pretty solid this season with a 2.91 ERA. He’s a better real-life pitcher than a DFS guy due to his strikeout stuff, so I’ll probably be off of him as well here.
HOU 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman
GPP Note: I don’t really want to stack against Cueto right now.
CHW 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Eloy Jimenez, Jose Abreu, Andrew Vaughn
GPP Note: Same deal here, I’m not all that thrilled to stack against Urquidy.
Los Angeles Dodgers (-177) @ Milwaukee Brewers (+150)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Dodgers will start Julio Urias in this one as they head into Milwaukee to face off with the Brewers. Urias has a quality start and a win in five straight games which is pretty hard to ignore and this Brewers lineup doesn’t scare me all that much, so he’ll look like a solid option in all formats here. Speaking of the Brewers, they’ll send Freddy Peralta to the mound in a tougher matchup with this Dodgers team. It seems like the Brewers are playing it really slow with Peralta as he comes back from injury, he has been held under 70 pitches in back-to-back games. I would imagine he gets over that mark here if he’s pitching well, but it’s pretty obvious they don’t want to push him right now. He’d be more of a GPP option than anything.
LAD 5-star plays: Freddie Freeman
4-star plays: Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Max Muncy
GPP Note: More of a secondary stack for me here.
MIL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Christian Yelich, Rowdy Tellez
GPP Note: I don’t really want to stack against Urias.
Seattle Mariners (+102) @ Los Angeles Angels (-118)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Mariners will send Luis Castillo to the mound against a bad Angels offense in this one. Castillo has been great as of late with at least 24.2 DraftKings points in five straight games and will be a guy I have a good amount of interest in here. I’ll have a good amount of exposure to the pitcher on the other side of this one as well as Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for the Angels. He has a 35.2% strikeout rate on the season and this Mariners lineup doesn’t scare me all that much. Both of these pitchers look like great matchups in this one in what should be a pitcher’s duel.
SEA 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: I don’t want to be targeting Ohtani with bats.
LAA 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: None
GPP Note: Same deal here, just pitchers in this one.
Arizona Diamondbacks (-) @ San Francisco Giants (-)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the slate with Madison Bumgarner getting a revenge game against his old squad against the Giants. He’s struggled to put up decent fantasy scores this season, so I think we can safely fade him on this slate. Then the Giants will be starting Alex Cobb who has been somewhat serviceable as of late with at least 20.1 DraftKings points in three of his last five games. I have no issue if you want to get to him as an SP2, but not a guy that I would prioritize by any means.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Josh Rojas, Ketel Marte, Emmanuel Rivera, Christian Walker
GPP Note: This Dbacks lineup has some nice hitters in it, so I like getting to them if you’re not going with Cobb.
SFG 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: JD Davis, Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Crawford
GPP Note: It’s just so hard to stack the Giants due to the amount of pinch-hitting they do.