MLB DFS Slate Preview: Friday, August 25th
Erik Wardenburg previews the Friday, August 25th slate, breaking down his favorite MLB DFS picks, the top stacks, and some optimizer values at DraftKings & FanDuel. Sign up for MLB Premium to build DFS lineups like a pro!
Huge 12-game main slate to close out the week, with a great matchup between Strider and Webb in the final game of the night. LAD/BOS is a narrative dream matchup today, as Betts, Hernandez, Verdugo, and Turner are all out for some revenge against their former teams, and Max Muncy will be looking to repeat what Hernandez did yesterday and have a big game on his birthday.
The Angels continue to struggle keeping players healthy, as Mike Trout is going back on the IL with a hand injury. Shohei Ohtani has a torn UCL and won’t pitch again this season, but he’s expected to continue batting as long as he can manage any pain.
Lots to get to so let’s check out some MLB DFS picks after looking at the weather and some lineup news/notes!
Let’s check out today’s news, notes, and some MLB DFS picks!
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel & DraftKings
This daily article highlights some of RG’s most helpful MLB DFS tools, including our industry-leading MLB DFS projections and MLB DFS optimizer, with some picks and analysis along the way. I will focus on the main slate of the day, but you can still find plenty of other tools, content, and analysis on RG for other slates.
MLB DFS Weather Check
Before we look at the projected lineups and MLB DFS picks for the day, it’s crucial to understand how the weather will impact the slate. Then we can better understand if we want to target certain games with ideal hitting conditions, for example, and possibly avoid games at risk of delay or postponement. Two tools to use are the MLB Weather Report and MLB WeatherEdge, which are both managed by RG’s Chief Meteorologist, Kevin Roth. You should also be following Roth on Twitter for his important weather news and updates.
- LAD/BOS will have scattered showers and storms in the area, so we’ll need to see if any of them end up over the park closer to lock time. This is definitely the riskiest game of the day, so tread carefully if the forecast gets worse later.
- COL/BAL may require a late start or delay with some showers, but with temps in the 80s and 70-80% humidity, I’m happy to target BAL bats here as the game should play. STL/PHI will also see some scattered showers in the area, but it should be light enough to play through. LAA/NYM is very similar with a few showers in the general area, but the chance of one ending over the park is fairly low right now.
- CHC/PIT will be the high 70s with 10mph wind out to center. OAK/CHW in the low 70s with a slight breeze in from left. TEX/MIN in the 70s with 10-13mph wind out to right. ATL/SFG in the low 60s with the usual high wind out to center in a park that minimizes wind impact.
- Dome games today include KCR/SEA, CIN/ARI, SDP/MIL, and CLE/TOR.
MLB Projected Lineups – Analysis & Top Stacks
There are ways to get edges in MLB DFS, such as stacking a lineup or targeting guys higher in the order (since they are more likely to see an extra at-bat). We should always look for value bats that arise each slate. They allow us to fit those extra one or two players into our lineup who are likelier to hit home runs and get us those ceiling games we need to win tournaments.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at MLB Starting Lineups to see what the likely batting orders are for this slate, which teams I’m looking to stack, and any other interesting notes. Going forward, the projected lineups will usually be pretty consistent daily, with the main changes being based on the opposing pitcher being a righty or lefty. Also, certain players are more likely than others to get a day off if playing a day game after a night game.
- With Trout going on the IL, we should see Drury move up to the 3-hole, while Moniak will get more CF starts again.
- The A’s continue to tinker with their batting orders going with Noda at leadoff yesterday, so a similar lineup is the best guess against another righty today.
- Sal Frelick remains day-to-day with his hamstring injury, so consider him questionable at best today. If he remains out, look for Canha or Wiemer to get his OF spot.
- Joey Votto went on the IL yesterday and Senzel is back with the Reds. Nick Martini got the start at DH in the 5-hole yesterday, so he’s the best guess at more playing time against righty SPs until Votto returns.
- The Orioles are my top stack today, hitting at home in 80+ degree temps against Kyle Freeland, who has allowed 3+ ER in nine of his last ten starts. The Phillies are my next favorite stack, also hitting at home in warm weather against a pitcher in Mikolas coming off 11 ER and just 8 strikeouts over his last two starts. CHW, LAD, and ARI round out my top five stacks for today.
Make sure to follow the RG MLB Twitter feed for confirmed lineups, as well as our DFS Alerts page for important news and analysis.
MLB DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Optimizer Picks
With a good feel for the projected lineups, weather, and strong stacks to consider, let’s check out the RotoGrinders MLB DFS optimizer, LineupHQ. With this tool, you can create up to 300 MLB DFS lineups in seconds, all of which will adhere to the custom settings you input. For insight into how one of the best MLB DFS players uses LineupHQ, read this article and watch the embedded videos from the GOAT himself, CheeseIsGood.
If we click on the “P/$” column header in the LineupHQ grid, it will rank all of the available players from highest to lowest based on their expected fantasy points per dollar of salary on the specific DFS site you have selected — this is one of the best starting points for finding value on every slate. Let’s do that now and see what stands out on FanDuel and DraftKings.
- Strider ($12,000) is the clear top cash game target for me today, as he gets the Giants again who he just dominated for over 61 FP, and now gets to face them in SF, which is a better pitchers’ park. Cease ($9,400) is my favorite cheaper option for cash games if you want to spend up on more bats, while Irvin ($6,200) is an extreme salary saver with a good shot at 30+ FP today.
- I love the cheap Orioles options today, and the full stack of Rutschman ($3,100), Mountcastle ($3,100), Santander ($3,200), and Hays ($2,700) will make it much easier to fit Strider in while loading up on a high upside offense.
- The Phillies offer plenty of value options in Turner ($3,200), Castellanos ($3,300), Stott ($3,100), and Bohm ($3,000). Turner is my priority if I’m only using one in cash games, followed by Stott.
I like taking higher than 1.5 total bases for Trea Turner on Underdog, and if you’re a new user, make sure to use RG’s Underdog Fantasy bonus code.
(See RotoGrinders projections directly on the Fantasy Pick’em sites with our browser extensions, available to premium users.)
- The entire White Sox lineup besides Robert is under $3k today, so I like using a few guys between Anderson ($2,500), Benintendi ($2,800), Jimenez ($2,900), and Moncada ($2,500) to fill your final cash game spots.
- Some other solid value guys to consider today include Westburg ($2,500), O’Neill ($2,700), Verdugo ($3,000), Pham ($2,900), Suarez ($2,800), Raleigh ($2,900), and Hernandez ($2,700),
- Strider ($12,800) and Cease ($8,900) are my favorite cash game combo, although I am pretty tempted to go with Pfaadt ($5,600) or Irvin ($5,000) for SP2, as both are underpriced for guys with 20+ FP upside today. Make sure to make a GPP team with the Pfaadt/Irvin SP combo as you can fit in pretty much any bats you want.
- Santander ($4,000), Hays ($3,800) and Westburg ($3,500) are my favorite BAL values, while Stott ($4,300) is who I’d go with for some cheap PHI exposure.
- The White Sox remain one of the best lineups to target for value, as everyone besides Robert is under $4k. Benintendi ($3,400) is one of my favorite p/$ bats for cash games, as he’s averaging over 13.5 FPPG over his last five, including two HRs in his last three games. Anderson ($3,000) is my next favorite value target, as he’s starting to wake up at the dish with four hits in his last 10 ABs.
- Suarez ($4,200), Raleigh ($4,500), and Hernandez ($4,100) are a solid value trio from Seattle, and I like using either O’Neill ($3,500) or Walker ($3,300) if you need another cheap outfielder.
MLB Premium subscribers will have access to all of this data in LineupHQ, so be sure to keep checking there as we start getting the confirmed lineups and projections update. The very best P/$ plays tend to be pretty consistent throughout the day for MLB. That being said, projections can always change if someone is hitting higher in the order than initially projected or if a player with a low salary gets a spot start for an injured/resting player.
MLB DFS – RotoGrinders Premium Tools Pre-Lock
If you have any tough last-minute decisions or need some quick MLB DFS picks, our MLB Premium package also contains Consensus Value Rankings, an Expert Survey, and daily LineupHQ Premium tags from our MLB DFS experts.
And for up-to-the-minute news and analysis leading right up to lock, make sure to watch MLB Crunch Time later in the day.
Good luck today!