FanDuel MLB DFS Picks and Helper: Thursday 8/22/24

Our daily fantasy helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and give you a starting point when you're building lineups.

Be sure to incorporate our MLB DFS projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- into your research process. numberFire also has the latest starting lineups and weather as well as heat maps to help you find the best matchups.

Let's check out the top options on today's main slate, which starts at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Note: All MLB odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

MLB DFS Picks

Pitcher Breakdown

If Paul Skenes ($10,900) is on the slate, then he's the headliner. Skenes is at home versus the Cincinnati Reds, a team with the fifth-highest strikeout rate against right-handers (25.1%). The star rookie has a 2.89 SIERA and 31.8% strikeout rate this season, so he's plenty capable of cashing in on the good matchup. The MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook have Skenes listed at -113 to record 8+ Ks today. He's the slate's SP1.

Dylan Cease ($10,100) is an excellent SP2 and can be a pivot off Skenes if it looks like Skenes will be mega chalk. The owner of a 31.5% K rate and 13.7% swinging-strike rate, Cease has been superb this season en route to a career-best 3.24 SIERA. The worry with Cease today is that he's facing a New York Mets offense that sits 10th in wOBA versus righties (.320). But he gets to throw in pitcher-friendly Petco, and Cease's strikeout prop is at 7.5 with -118 odds on the over.

In my eyes, Cease and Skenes are well clear of the pack tonight. If forced to use someone else on the bump, I'd likely just punt with Jake Bloss ($6,800), who appears to be in line to start for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bloss has a low floor and not great upside, but he's capable of a decent outing in a quality matchup with the Los Angeles Angels -- and decent can be good enough at this salary. Bloss pitched to a 3.97 xFIP this year in Double-A, and through a tiny sample of 11 2/3 MLB frames, he's got a solid 11.3% swinging-strike rate.

Stacks to Target

• Baltimore Orioles (4.69 implied total)
  • What a funky slate this is for offense as just two squads have an implied total above 4.04 (as of early Thursday). To be honest, I don't love the O's that much today as Spencer Arrighetti has been pretty darn good (27.5% K rate, 3.95 SIERA), but Baltimore is tied for the night's top implied total. If it looks like the Orioles will be really popular, I'll likely be light on them.
• Toronto Blue Jays (4.69)
  • The Jays are tied with the O's for the top implied total. Toronto looks like they'll see Griffin Canning, who has a gopher-ball issue (1.62 HR/9) and isn't missing many bats (16.6% K rate). Lefties have mashed him to the tune of a .370 wOBA, so I'll be focused on Daulton Varsho ($2,900), Will Wagner ($2,600) and Spencer Horwitz ($2,800) -- all three of whom have salaries that fit nicely alongside Skenes or Cease.
• Pittsburgh Pirates (4.04)
  • While the Pirates aren't on the stacking radar often, they make some sense on this slate. They're at home against Nick Lodolo, who has given up a 38.1% fly-ball rate and 1.29 jacks per nine to righties. The Pirates have some modest-salaried righties who can be mini-stacks or one-offs -- Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($2,700), Bryan Reynolds ($3,200), Connor Joe ($2,600) and Bryan De La Cruz ($2,700). IKF is particularly appealing as he's slated to hit atop the order and can be deployed at four different positions.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.