We have ten games today with the first pitch at 1:05 PM EST. Today’s slate of games is highlighted by Matt Chapman and the Oakland Athletics, taking on Adolis Garcia and the Texas Rangers in Arlington. The highest implied run totals tonight sit with the Boston Red Sox (6.7), Tampa Bay Rays (5.9), and the Atlanta Braves (5.6).
All of the games today have a chance of rain below 20 percent so we shouldn’t see any of the games delayed or postponed.
Here is a selection of today’s Core Players 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 8/15/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Sean Manaea | $10,400 | ||
| Pitcher | ||||
| Catcher | ||||
| First Base | José Abreu | $5,200 | ||
| Second Base | ||||
| Third Base | Matt Chapman | $4,600 | ||
| Short Stop | Dansby Swanson | $4,600 | ||
| Outfield | ||||
| Outfield | Aaron Judge | $4,800 |
Sean Manaea – P ($10,400) – While Manaea hasn’t pitched well recently, this is a great matchup going against the Rangers. In two of Manaea’s last four starts, he has given up one run or less and struck out nine batters or more. So while the price is high, the upside is definitely there on a day where there are not a lot of premium pitching options.
José Abreu– 1B ($5,200) – Abreu has been nothing short of fantastic in recent days. He has two doubles and a home run yesterday, and he now has hit a home run in three of his last four games, and four of his last seven. Add to that Abreu has hit ten home runs in just over 100 at-bats this season against left-handed pitching, and he will face a weak one today in Nestor Cortes.
Matt Chapman– 3B ($4,600) – Chapman is coming off of a two home-run game, and he has hits in three of his last four games. He will face a Rangers lefty today in Kolby Allard who has an ERA near five, and Chapman has hit lefties well all season long.
Dansby Swanson ($4,600) Dansby now has three home runs, and seven total hits in his last three games. He is hitting well right now for the Braves, and with the Braves having an implied run scored total today over five, I would expect Swanson to be a part of that.
Aaron Judge – OF ($4,800) Judge came through for us yesterday, so we are going to go back to him today. He likely doesn’t see high ownership facing Giolito, but Judge is a player who has proven that he can hit off of anyone, so I wouldn’t be scared away by the matchup, especially with Judge hitting this well right now.
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The Pitchers
J.A. Happ ($6,200 DK) Happ has played well since joining the Cardinals. He has only given up three runs in those two starts while keeping his walks down and striking out nine batters. You’re going to get him at a big discount today, while he is facing a Royals team that is in the bottom five in SLG over the last two weeks and hasn’t hit lefties well either.
Eric Lauer ($8,900) – If you’re not looking to pay up at pitcher today, Lauer isn’t a bad pitcher to look at. He hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his last seven starts, and he has gone at least five innings in four of his last five starts as well.
Eduardo Rodriguez ($9,800) – While this price is high for a pitcher who hasn’t gone six innings in any of his last six starts, he has been effective in those appearances. He has given up less than five hits in four of his last five games, so if that trend continues he should be able to hit value today.
The Value Players
Mitch Garver- C ($3,800) – I like this price for Garver. We always want to avoid paying over 4k on a catcher so he checks that box, but he also has back-to-back multi-hit games and a double last night. To add to that Garver also typically hits out of the fourth spot in the Twins lineup, so there should be opportunities for him to have a good day today.
Jace Peterson –2B/OF ($3,800) – Peterson has multi-hit games in each of the last three games he has started with nine total hits in those three games, which includes two doubles and a home run.
Bryan Reynolds – OF ($3,700) – Reynolds has at least a hit in three straight games and a home run in two of those three games. He will be facing a left-handed pitcher today in Eric Lauer, and Reynolds has excelled against lefties this year with a triple slash of 0.328/0.387/0.536.
The Stacks
Boston Red Sox – It will be hard to avoid the Red Sox when they have such a high implied run total. Kike Hernandez has been hitting really well recently, and you can add in Xander Bogaerts, and Hunter Renfroe who hit lefties especially well and you should be in a good place to absorb a good portion of the Red Sox production.
Atlanta Braves – As noted earlier, Swanson is hitting well right now, and so is Ozzie Albies. You can add in Adam Duvall, Austin Riley, or Jorge Soler to that all of which will help balance out the budgets and are capable of having big days.
Chicago White Sox – We are going to go back to the White Sox today. We talked about Abreu, who has crushed lefties this season, but Eloy Jimenez continues to swing a hot bat, and Luis Robert has been hitting the last couple of days as well and looks to be on the upswing.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that
