MLB DFS Slate Preview: Monday, August 14th
Erik Wardenburg previews the Monday, August 14th 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!
Starting the week with a solid 8-game slate that will have good weather overall, and Coors Field is back in play as the Diamondbacks are in town.
We are spoiled with pitching options today as Fried, Scherzer, Gilbert, Darvish, and Glasnow are all candidates to be the best p/$ plays, and even Mikolas against Oakland should be on your radar as a cheap option.
Arizona is clearly one of the highest upside offenses to target in Coors Field against Flexen, but there are still plenty of top offenses to use, like Atlanta, St. Louis, and Texas. Plenty of news and notes to talk about before some MLB DFS picks, so let’s get to it!
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.
- PIT/NYM will see a few spotty showers during the game, but anything heavier should hold off until after the game. Temps in the low 80s, with 10mph wind out to left.
- NYY/ATL will have the best hitting weather with temps in the mid-80s along with 65-85% humidity. Isolated pop-up storms are in the general area, but based on the overall coverage, the chance of a storm ending up over the ballpark is low. Still, check for an update closer to lock.
- OAK/STL will be in the 70s, with 10mph wind out to right. SEA/KC in the low-70s, with 15mph wind going left to right. AZ/COL in the low-70s, with a 5-10mph right to left breeze. BAL/SDP in the high-60s. TB/SF in the low-60s, with 5-10mph wind out to center.
- LAA/TEX is the lone dome game today.
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.
- DJ LeMahieu is on track to return to the Yankees lineup after missing time with a calf injury. Against a lefty, look for Kiner-Falefa to hit leadoff and all the usual righties to fill out the lineup.
- The A’s sat Esteury Ruiz for both games this weekend, so we’ll see if he remains out and Bleday continues to hit leadoff against righties. Tony Kemp could also return from the paternity list today to fill one of the OF spots.
- Dylan Carlson landed on the IL Saturday and Luken Baker was recalled to take his spot. I’d expect Baker to get spot starts at 1B or DH against lefties.
- The Angels moved Moniak to leadoff and Rengifo down to sixth yesterday, so that’ll likely continue against another righty today. For Texas, Jonah Heim came off the IL yesterday and should split time at C with Garver.
- Jurickson Profar twisted his knee yesterday and will likely miss some time. Tovar should be the regular leadoff hitter now, while Jones, Toglia and Tucker can all help fill the LF starts.
- Look for Osleivis Basabe to continue to start at SS for the Rays, as Wander Franco is under investigation for dating a minor.
- The D-Backs are my favorite stack today, but the Braves and Cardinals aren’t too far behind them. The Rangers, Rockies, and Mets are other stacks I like.
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.
- Mikolas ($8,000) is currently the best p/$ projected SP in a great home matchup with Oakland, so if you have a strong hitting lineup that needs a cheaper SP to round it out, then I don’t mind Mikolas in cash games. Scherzer ($10,500) is my top overall SP at home against the Angels, who outside of Ohtani, have a very average lineup. I’m a bit worried about Glasnow ($10,700) being on a shorter leash than usual coming off a back injury, but he could still absolutely dominate the Giants in a pitchers’ park, even on a potential pitch count. Gilbert ($10,000) is probably my favorite GPP play coming off the best game of his career (67 FP), as he should be much lower-owned than Scherzer/Glasnow. Fried ($10,600), Darvish ($9,700), and Rodriguez ($7,500) round out SPs I like covering in your GPP pool.
- Corbin Carroll ($4,300) is pricey but probably has the highest upside of any bat today hitting leadoff in Coors Field, so I’ll do my best to jam him in first. Tommy Pham ($3,300) and Jake McCarthy ($3,000) are fantastic value options from AZ, while Marte ($4,000) is who I’d go with to round out a full stack.
I like taking higher than 10.5 FP for Carroll on Underdog, and if you’re a new user, make sure to use RG’s Underdog Fantasy promo code.
(See RotoGrinders projections directly on the Fantasy Pick’em sites with our browser extensions, available to premium users.)
- Ozuna ($2,700) and Rosario ($2,800) are top value options to get cheap ATL exposure, while using any of their top four bats is always a good idea if you can fit them.
- Willson Contreras ($2,700), Tommy Edman ($2,900), and Tyler O’Neill ($2,500) are excellent value bats from STL with the platoon advantage on Sears. Goldschmidt ($3,300) and Arenado ($3,400) are still very affordable if you want to complete a full stack.
- Mitch Garver ($2,900) is my favorite p/$ play from the Rangers, and the Rockies have some solid value options in Tovar ($3,200), Rodgers ($3,000), Diaz ($3,100), and Toglia ($2,800).
- Only Scherzer ($11,000) and Glasnow ($10,800) are priced above $10k for SPs on DK, so we have plenty of cheaper guys to help stack more Braves and D-Backs. Mikolas ($7,000) and Rodriguez ($6,400) are both crazy cheap and two of my favorite p/$ SPs for cash games. Gilbert ($9,700), Fried ($9,400), and Darvish ($8,700) are all super affordable as well, so I may end up going with two cheaper guys instead of Scherzer or Glasnow depending on how many expensive bats I want to use.
- Pham ($3,800) and McCarthy ($3,200) remain two of my favorite values of the slate, while Gurriel ($4,500) is also looking like an affordable OF option for more AZ exposure in cash games. Carroll ($6,000) and Marte ($5,700) are luxuries that I’ll only use if I have the extra salary.
- Ozuna ($4,500) and Rosario ($3,900) remain the best way to get cheap exposure to ATL, along with Contreras ($3,600), Edman ($3,900), and O’Neill ($3,700) for cheap STL exposure. Rodgers ($3,000) and Toglia ($3,500) are fine value options from COL.
MLB Premium subscribers will have access to all of this data in LineupHQ, so be sure to keep checking there as we start getting the confirmed lineups and projections update. The very best P/$ 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!