We have ten games today with the first pitch at 7:05 PM EST. Today’s slate of games is highlighted by J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox, taking Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in New York. The highest implied run totals tonight sit with the Tampa Bay Rays (5.9), Los Angeles Dodgers (5.5), and the Philadelphia Phillies (5.4).
There is a less than 15 percent chance of rain for all of the games tonight so we shouldn’t see any games delayed or postponed.
Here is a selection of today’s Core Players 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 8/18/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Zack Grienke | $8,100 | ||
| Pitcher | ||||
| Catcher | ||||
| First Base | Freddie Freeman | $4,800 | ||
| Second Base | Josh Rojas | $4,900 | ||
| Third Base | ||||
| Short Stop | ||||
| Outfield | Bryce Harper | $6,000 | ||
| Outfield | ||||
| Outfield | Nelson Cruz | $5,300 |
Zack Greinke – P ($8,100) – Grienke has given up more than one run just twice in his six starts. He will be facing a Royals team today that has a team on-base percentage of just 30 percent over the last two weeks, so expect a strong start from Greinke today.
Freddie Freeman– 1B ($4,800) – In his last four games, Freeman has four multi-hit games with two home runs. He will face a Marlins pitcher tonight who has a 7.52 ERA this year in Jesus Luzardo so we should see his hot streak continue.
Josh Rojas– 2B/SS ($4,900) – We are going to stay with Rojas again today, after he had three hits and a double last night, batting out of the lead-off spot for the Diamondbacks.
Bryce Harper – OF ($6,000) The price is high for Harper, but he is among the safest players in DFS. He has at least a hit in four of his last five games, with two home runs and a triple in that five-game stretch.
Nelson Cruz – OF ($5,300) Cruz is coming off a two home-run game last night, which was his third home run in four games. He will continue to face a weak pitching team in Baltimore tonight so he should have an opportunity for a big night.
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—— Paywall ——
The Pitchers
Marco Gonzales ($7,600) While Gonzales isn’t thought of as a player who strikes a lot of people out, he managed to strike out nine in his last start, and he hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his last five starts. This is a fantastic price for that kind of production.
Charlie Morton ($9,700) – After a rough start to the season, Morton has really settled in. He hasn’t given up more than three runs in his last seven starts, and he has struck out more than six batters per game on average in his last five games as well.
Shohei Ohtani ($8,600) – Ohtani has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts, and he will face a Tigers team that after a hot streak in July has cooled down considerably getting on base just 29 percent of the time in the last two weeks.
The Value Players
Luis Torrens- C ($3,400) – Torrens has two home runs in his last three games, and also two multi-hit games as well. He will be facing a Texas starter tonight who has an ERA near 6 tonight, so look for the Mariners to score some runs.
Jorge Mateo –SS ($2,100) – Don’t expect Mateo to hit you a home run, but he hits in eight straight games and multi-hit games in his last three games. He is the type of hitter who can turn a single into a double and a double into a triple, which is really advantageous when you’re getting him at such a low price.
Alex Verdugo – OF ($3,100) – We have seen Verdugo largely move back into the top of the Red Sox order recently. He has hits in three of his last four games including a four-hit game just a few nights ago.
The Stacks
Boston Red Sox – With the Red Sox facing a lefty tonight, I would be looking to use Hunter Renfroe and Kike Hernandez to add to Alex Verdugo to make a nice lower cost stack.
Tampa Bay Rays – If you want to stack the Rays tonight you’re going to have to pay up. We talked about Cruz, and I would be looking to add Austin Meadows and Ji-Man Choi as a stack.
Philadelphia Phillies – We talked about Harper, but to stack the Phillies today, I would look to Jean Segura who has been a very steady hitter all year, and Andrew McCutchen to balance out the cost of Harper.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that
