Having superstars with high upside like Shohei Ohtani, Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Riley in your MLB DFS lineups is always nice, but MLB daily Fantasy tournaments, cash games and 50-50s are often won and lost with the role players you use to offset costs. With more information available than ever, sometimes just playing the splits is the most effective MLB DFS strategy. So which matchups can you exploit on Friday with a loaded MLB schedule?
Phillies vs. Nationals and Red Sox vs. Royals are the only two games on the Friday MLB schedule with over-unders listed above 8.5 runs. Both totals are listed at nine and that could make hitters from those teams popular options for MLB DFS stacks. Before you make your MLB DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won over $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book "Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune" as a top MLB DFS player, McClure's proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Thursday, McClure highlighted Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins in his MLB DFS player pool on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Hoskins went 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored to return 21 Fantasy points on DraftKings and 28.4 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, as the 2022 MLB season continues, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Friday, August 5. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Friday, August 5, 2022
For Friday, one of McClure's MLB DFS picks is White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada, who is listed at $4,800 on DraftKings and $2,400 on FanDuel. Moncada looked like he was on the verge of superstardom after an incredible 2019 season but he's been inconsistent since a bout with COVID-19 in 2020 and his power has been significantly dampened.
However, he was able to supplement his offensive profile last season with an extremely patient approach (13.2 percent walk rate). But 2022 has been a struggle with his walk rate reduced dramatically (7.1 percent), leading to a less-than-stellar .592 OPS. However, a .265 BABIP, which is 84 points below his career average, leaves some room for optimism and he is hitting .322 with runners in scoring position this year. He'll have a juicy matchup on Friday against Rangers starter Glenn Otto, who has a 5.50 ERA on the season and a 6.42 ERA in his career.
Another part of McClure's optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe ($4,600 on DraftKings and $3,000 on FanDuel). After hitting 39 home runs and driving in 99 runs last season, Lowe got off to a disappointing start and was hitting just .212 when he went on the injured list on May 15 because of a back injury.
After two months of treatment, Lowe returned to the lineup on July 16 and has looked more like himself ever since. In the 14 games since his return to action, Lowe is slashing .339/.383/.571 with three home runs and seven RBIs. He's also coming off a 3-for-5 game with a homer and three RBIs on Thursday.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Friday, August 5, 2022
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Friday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.
