Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel - August 5
Welcome back to another crazy weekend in daily fantasy sports, at least for me. I am prepping for the PGA Championship and season's final major next week, getting ready for the craziness that is "same day qualifying" in NASCAR, prepping for the upcoming NFL season, and of course getting ready for some weekend baseball.
Today we have three early games scattered between start times(2:20, 4:10, & 6:10 et) so I will be concentrating on the 12-game main slate starting at 7 et tonight. Let's jump in and take a look at my top pitchers and stacks.
PITCHERS
Gerrit Cole (DK-$11,000 / FD-$9,600)
There have been some hiccups along the road this season but Cole has been tremendous lately. He has held opponents to two or less earned runs in five straight and eight of his last nine starts. In that time, he has recorded 15+ DK/25+ FD points in eight of those nine starts. The price has reached a season high but that is greatly helped by the lack of options tonight. He gets an elite matchup vs. the Padres who rank 28th in wOBA, 26th in wRC+, and K 25.53% of the time vs. right-handed pitching. I will be using Cole in all formats.
Drew Pomeranz (DK-$9,000 / FD-$8,600)
If paying over $10K for Cole make you uncomfortable, consider Pomeranz who comes in at $9K or under tonight on both sites. He and the Red Sox are huge favorites(-285) once again as they face the lowly White Sox who sit at the bottom of the league in hitting in the second half and have been striking out over 25% of the time. The Boston offense has also been on fire recently which helps boost the win potential and Pomeranz has been very consistent this season with a 3.46 ERA, 3.89 xFIP and 9.4 K/9 rate. He makes an excellent play in all formats on both sites tonight.
STACKS
Baltimore Orioles vs. Drew VerHagen (DET)
The Orioles have dropped the first two games to the Tigers but are in a great spot to put up runs tonight. With Michael Fulmer going on the disabled list, the Tigers are forced to turn to their young Drew VerHagen. He struggled in AAA this season in 19 starts with a 4.90 ERA and 4.68 xFIP and struck out less than league average batters per nine(6.38 K/9). He has made two relief appearances for the Tigers in July and both didn't end well as he has given up three home runs in just four innings pitched with a 64% hard contact rate. The O's lineup is full of pop despite missing Mark Trumbo. The good news is they are likely to be lower owned than the Red Sox tonight in tournaments making them my top stack of the night.
Top Hitters to Stack: Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis
Texas Rangers vs. Kyle Gibson (MIN)
The Rangers are my next favorite stack tonight as they face off with Kyle Gibson. While he hasn't allowed a home run in his last two starts, he still sits with an ugly 19% HR/FB rate for the season. The key for him is to keep the ball down as he doesn't allow a ton of fly balls but allows 37% hard contact against. The Rangers have been inconsistent ranking in the middle of the pack in hitting in the second half but have the third most home runs(33) in that time giving them a ton of upside.
Top Hitters to Stack: Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus, Nomar Mazara, Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor
Don't forget to grab a copy of my DFS MLB STARTING PITCHER CHEATSHEET.
