We have ten games today with the first pitch at 7:05 PM EST. Today’s slate of games is highlighted by Javier Baez and the New York Mets, taking on Kris Bryant and the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco. The highest implied run totals tonight sit with the San Diego Padres (6.9), Colorado Rockies (6.2), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (6.0).
There is a 28 percent chance of rain in Cincinnati for the game today between the Reds and the Cubs. Keep an eye on that game as lineup lock approaches to make sure it isn’t going to be postponed.
Here is a selection of today’s Core Players 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 8/16/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Gerrit Cole | $10,900 | ||
| Pitcher | ||||
| Catcher | ||||
| First Base | José Abreu | $5,600 | ||
| Second Base | ||||
| Third Base | Austin Riley | $4,500 | ||
| Short Stop | ||||
| Outfield | Aaron Judge | $4,800 | ||
| Outfield | ||||
| Outfield | Max Kepler | $4,100 |
Gerritt Cole – P ($10,400) – This will be Cole’s first start after a two-week stint on the injury list. He will get a nice opponent in his first game back facing an Angels team that has a team triple slash over the last two weeks of 0.226/0.295/0.329.
José Abreu– 1B ($5,200) – Make it twelve straight games with a hit for Abreu, and he has two home runs in his last three games and three in his last five. He will face an Oakland pitching staff at home, that gave up lots of runs to the weak-hitting Rangers over the weekend so look for Abreu to keep things going today.
Austin Riley– 3B ($4,500) – Riley has quietly been tearing the cover off the ball for the Braves. He has hits in six of his last seven games, with two home runs and two doubles in his last five games.
Max Kepler – OF ($4,100) In the last two days Kepler has two doubles, a home run, and scored six runs. Kepler continues to hit for power for the Twins, and he is a solid value today going up against Cleveland.
Aaron Judge – OF ($4,800) Three days of Judge. Even yesterday when he didn’t get a hit, he still hit value by accumulating three walks and stealing a base. His price is still in a good spot, and he will see weaker pitching going against the Angels.
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—— Paywall ——
The Pitchers
Kevin Gausman ($10,100) In his last two starts, Gausman has only given up two runs, while striking out thirteen batters. He gets a nice matchup tonight at home going up against the New York Mets who have struggled to score runs over the last couple of weeks.
Jake Odorizzi ($7,300) – Odorizzi isn’t a player we typically want to lean on. But he will be facing a Royals team that has only hit for a batting average of just 0.233 over the last two weeks, so this is a good opportunity to take the discount on Odorizzi has he will have a good chance to get the win and not give up a lot of runs.
Cal Quantrill ($7,800) – This is a great price for Quantrill. He hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his last six starts while striking out nearly five batters on average in those starts.
The Value Players
Robinson Chirinos- C ($2,700) – Chirinos has taken the reigns with the injury to Willson Contreras and run with it. In his last two games, he has six hits, three doubles, and a home run. And you’re getting all of that near the minimum price.
Wilmer Flores –2B/3B ($3,500) – Flores is among the best hitters in the league when it comes to hitting left-handed pitching. He will face the Mets and Rich Hill today, so I would look for Flores to have a nice day and at a discount.
Kevin Newman – SS ($2,600) – If you’re looking to save some budget space for top pitchers or hitters Newman is worth a look. He doesn’t hit home runs, but he has had a nice streak of doubles lately with six of them in his last four games.
The Stacks
San Diego Padres – You’re going to want to take a good look at the Padres when they are in Colorado. Specifically, I would be looking at Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer, and Jake Cronenworth, as they have all been hitting well recently.
Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers are facing the Pirates at home today, and they are expected to put up runs. The issue with the Dodgers is finding batters who are under 5k. I would look at putting Justin Turner, with Corey Seager and Chris Taylor today to try and balance out your budget.
Houston Astros – The Astros have some value today. You can put together Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, and Michael Brantley, with no one being priced for 4,400, and all three players hitting well right now.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that
