FanDuel MLB DFS Picks and Helper: Thursday 8/29/24

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 1:10 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

The top tier of arms on today's main slate (1:10 p.m. ET) is a three-headed monster of Michael King ($10,000), Sonny Gray ($9,200) and Nathan Eovaldi ($9,500). All three come with some warts as well as some upside, and I'm ranking them Eovaldi-King-Gray.

Eovaldi certainly has the easiest matchup as he's on the road against the Chicago White Sox. Per the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, Eovaldi is -180 to get at least six strikeouts. The upside is obvious in a matchup this good. Despite some meh results lately, Eovaldi's second-half xFIP is 3.11, and he can crush in this spot. Chicago's 3.46 implied total is the slate's lowest.

King and Gray square off against each other, and with Gray having to face a San Diego Padres offense that owns MLB's lowest strikeout rate (17.4%), King is my preference between the two. With that said, the St. Louis Cardinals aren't a great matchup for punchouts, either, and King's K prop is at 5.5 with just -106 odds on the over.

The pitching options dry up quickly after that trio. If you're wanting to punt and load up on bats, Hayden Birdsong ($7,500) and Keider Montero ($7,700) are decent value targets. I lean Montero as the go-to dart-throw arm. He's got a tasty matchup (Los Angeles Angels) in a pitcher-friendly park (Comerica). He's been better at home (4.10 xFIP and 20.6% K rate) than on the road (4.60 and 18.1%).

Stacks to Target

• Colorado Rockies (5.86 implied total) and Miami Marlins (5.64)
  • It's another main slate where Coors reigns supreme. According to our MLB DFS projections, the slate's top three bats -- Ezequiel Tovar ($3,400), Brenton Doyle ($3,500) and Jesus Sanchez ($3,400) -- all play in this one. We also have Brendan Rodgers ($2,700) and Jake Cave ($2,500) projected as two of the top point-per-dollar sticks.
• Texas Rangers (5.10)
  • If you want to fade or be underweight on Coors, the Rangers are an excellent pivot. They'll see Nick Nastrini, a righty who got whiffs in the minors but has struggled mightily in his first 24 2/3 MLB innings, amassing an ugly 6.98 SIERA. We project Marcus Semien ($3,400) and Corey Seager ($3,700) as the two best non-Coors hitters on this slate. Nathaniel Lowe ($2,800) stands out as a quality value play.
• Detroit Tigers (4.92)
  • Detroit is in a money spot against Jack Kochanowicz, a ground-ball pitcher who has been tagged for a 5.01 SIERA across his first 26 2/3 MLB frames. He mustered just a 19.6% K rate in 102 Triple-A innings this season. The Tigers have no bats salaried above $3,300, so they're pretty easy to fit in. Riley Greene ($3,300) and Kerry Carpenter ($3,300) are two of my favorite plays today. Colt Keith ($2,900) and Parker Meadows ($3,000) are two more modest-salaried lefties to have on your radar.

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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.