We have ten games today with the first pitch at 1:05 PM EST. Today’s slate of games is highlighted by Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking on Nick Castellanos and the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati. The highest implied run totals tonight sit with the Cincinnati Reds (6.), Tampa Bay Rays (5.8), and the New York Yankees (4.9).
There doesn’t appear to be any risk of rain for any of today’s games with the chances of rain below 20 percent for all of the games.
Here is a selection of today’s Core Players 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 8/08/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Tyler Mahle | $9,800 | ||
| Pitcher | ||||
| Catcher | ||||
| First Base | Brendan Belt | $4,900 | ||
| Second Base | Marcus Semien | $5,200 | ||
| Third Base | Kris Bryant | $5,400 | ||
| Short Stop | ||||
| Outfield | Jesse Winker | $5,900 | ||
| Outfield | ||||
| Outfield |
Tyler Mahle – P ($9,800) – Mahle has had a couple of bad starts recently, but he is objectively facing the worst hitting team in baseball, but over the last two weeks and the year in the Pirates.
Brendan Belt – 1B ($4,900) – Since moving up to the two spot on Friday, Belt has hit three home runs. He is a player that has hit left-handed pitching very well this year, so look for him to have a nice game today.
Marcus Semien – 2B ($5,200) – With hits in nine straight games, and an extra-base hit in four straight games Semien is a player that has been hitting value more often than not. The Blue Jays continue to score a lot of runs and Semien is a big part of that.
Kris Bryant – 3B ($5,400) In Bryant’s last three games he has seven hits, with three doubles and a steal. He will face a left-handed starter from the Brewers, and Bryant for the year has a batting average of 0.345 against lefties, so he should be in for a good day.
Jesse Winker– OF ($5,900) – Winker has been crushing Pirates pitching this weekend. In the last two games, he has had five hits, two home runs, and two doubles. You’re going to have to pay up for him, but it’s a great matchup.
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The Pitchers
Jon Lester ($6,100 DK) While it is difficult to say that Lester hasn’t had his struggles recently, he has only given up more than three runs once in his last five starts. He will face a struggling Royals team today, so if you’re looking for a discount at pitcher, he is a pitcher you can look at.
Zack Wheeler ($10,400) – Wheeler will get a Mets team that isn’t hitting right now. They have the third-worst SLG in baseball over the last two weeks and in his last start against the Mets Wheeler was able to limit the Mets to just four hits while striking out eight batters.
Hyun Jin Ryu ($9,400) – Ryu has given up just five runs over this last four starts, and while at times it is easy to be intimidated by the Red Sox lineup, they have only been average against left-handed pitching.
The Value Players
Wilson Ramos– C ($2,800) – Ramos has hits in three of his last four games including a three-hit performance yesterday with a home run yesterday against the Tigers. He should be a nice value and Cleveland has been using him as a DH as well as a catcher which should help his performance as well.
Kyle Farmer -SS ($3,900) – Farmer has six hits in his last three games against the Pirates, and he continues to be very productive for the Reds, and at a very reasonable cost.
Jared Kelenic – OF ($2,200) – Kelenic looks like he has started to figure things out at the MLB level. He has two multi-hit games in his last three games, with two doubles and a home run in that time. You’re getting him at near the minimum price and he will be in a very hitter-friendly environment in Yankee Stadium today.
The Stacks
Tampa Bay Rays – Not much has changed with the Rays since yesterday. Nelson Cruz is hitting, and you will be able to add in Manuel Margot, and Yandy Diaz to make a stack of players without too much trouble.
Cincinnati Reds – At this point I expect Reds players to have high ownership with how many runs they have been scoring. We talked about Winker and Farmer, but Nick Castellanos is underpriced today at just 4k, and those three players give you a nice stack.
San Francisco Giants – I really like the Giants matchup today against the Brewers. The Giants have players like Bryant and Belt who hit left-handed pitching extremely well and you can add in someone like LaMonte Wade Jr. who hits at the top of their lineup and will help balance the budget for you.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that
