We have fifteen 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 (6.1), Colorado Rockies (6.1), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (5.9).
There is a less than 20 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 8/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Logan Webb | $8,800 | ||
| Pitcher | ||||
| Catcher | Will Smith | $4,800 | ||
| First Base | ||||
| Second Base | Josh Rojas | $4,700 | ||
| Third Base | ||||
| Short Stop | ||||
| Outfield | Teoscar Hernandez | $5,400 | ||
| Outfield | ||||
| Outfield | Max Kepler | $4,100 |
Logan Webb – P ($8,800) – Webb hasn’t given up more than two runs in a game since May. IN his last two games he has struck out 17 batters and he will be facing a Mets team tonight who has the fifth-worst SLG over the last two weeks, so expect another strong start from Webb tonight.
Will Smith– C ($4,800) – It is rare that we advocate for spending up at catcher, but Smith is a unique fit today. He will face a Pirates team that typically gives up lots of runs, and he has hit home runs in three straight games, so he could easily exceed his value today.
Josh Rojas– 2B/SS ($4,700) – In his last four games Rojas has three doubles, a triple, and a home run, with ten total hits in those ten games. He will be facing Kyle Gibson today who is coming off a game where he gave up six runs.
Max Kepler – OF ($4,100) Kepler kept his hot streak going last night with a home run and a couple of walks. He has been a very productive player over the last three games, and with him leading off he should get lots of opportunities to keep his streak going.
Teoscar Hernandez – OF ($5,400) In Hernandez’s last eight games, he has had multiple-hit games in six of his last eight games. In his last two games he has two doubles and two home runs, and six total hits, along with a stolen base.
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The Pitchers
Casey Mize ($6,400) Mize is an interesting play if you’re looking for a discount on pitchers. He has had some issues giving up home runs in his last two starts, but otherwise, he has kept the runs down. He will face the Angels tonight who has the third-lowest team SLG of just 0.335 so home runs shouldn’t be an issue for him.
Framber Valdez ($10,000) – Valdez has gone at least five innings in each of his last five games, winning three of those games, and striking out more than five batters on average in each game.
Tyler Anderson ($7,900) – We haven’t seen Anderson give up more than three runs in more than six weeks now. He only strikes out around 20 percent of the batters he faces, but at his price and going against a struggling hitting team in the Rangers he shouldn’t have too much issue hitting value.
The Value Players
Ty France- 1B ($3,800) – France has multi-hit games in three of his last four games with a home run. He has shown significantly more power against lefties this year, with two more home runs in more than 120 fewer at-bats.
Ronald Torreyes –SS/3B ($2,800) – In his last five games, Torreyes has a hit in each of those games, with a home run and a stolen base. He is very inexpensive tonight and will have a good matchup going up against Arizona today.
Luis Robert – OF ($3,300) – Robert has as much upside as any player in DFS. He has power and speed and when he puts it together he puts up big numbers. He has hit two home runs and stolen a base in his last three games so he is providing big value at his current price right now.
The Stacks
San Diego Padres – The Padres are still in Colorado so they have to be considered. I would stick to a similar stack as what was recommended yesterday(and came through) with Trent Grisham, Jake Cronenworth, and Eric Hosmer, which will allow you to not have to take extreme values at other positions.
Los Angeles Dodgers – We are back on the Dodgers again today. They didn’t perform to expectations but they have too much talent to score just two runs against a bad team consistently. We talked about Will Smith, but I would stay with Justin Turner as well and try to mix in a less expensive player like Matt Beaty if you can.
Toronto Blue Jays – While the Blue Jays are not a top-three team in terms of implied runs scored today, they are still quite dangerous. Hernandez might be the hottest hitter in baseball, and you can add in good hitters like Lourdes Gurriel Jr, and Corey Dickerson at a very reasonable cost.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that
