MLB DRAFT DFS Picks (DRAFT.com): Tuesday, August 14th

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Welcome to today’s edition of MLB DRAFT DFS Picks from FantasyCPR. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.

I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, you roster one starting pitcher, two infielders, and two outfielders. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 10-man drafts that start upon filling. Also, they have a tournament format, where one contest will span a few days. The further you advance, the more you win. I play mostly the six-man contests for cash games, which payout to the top two spots.

If you are finding this article for the first time, my goal here will be to give you my targets for drafting today on DRAFT, followed by my top 30 overall rankings. Strategy of course changes day by day, depending on what type of slate we are working with. I always start with my pitcher, as everything else revolves around that. Before we get to the targets and rankings, lets take a quick look at today’s slate.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Slate Overview:

We are back on a Tuesday for a full slate of games. We only have one afternoon game tomorrow, as the Cubs will be hosting the Brew Crew for a usual Wrigley day game. That will give us 14 games to work with and plenty of options so let’s take a quick look at some points of interest that stick out today on this slate.

First of all, the pitching is pretty deep once again. We have at least five viable pitchers to choose from today, so it may look a day to target one of these studs. The one thing that the top three pitchers have in common on this slate tonight, is that they are all in high strikeout upside spots. The top pitcher in action will be Justin Verlander, as he will take on the Rockies at home. The Rockies K among the most in the league, so Verly should be able to rack them up tonight. The other two strikeout pitchers in action today garnering my attention are James Paxton and Patrick Corbin. Out of these two, Paxton will get the slight edge. He had a dominant outing last time he faced tonight’s opponent Oakland, and I will cover that a little later in our pitching targets.

On the flip side, we also have some below-average pitchers in action to target. The Indians studs are ranking in at the top once again, as they will face Sal Romano, continuing their series in Cincy. Also similar to yesterday, the Diamondbacks will continue their series in Texas, and they will be facing veteran Yovani Gallardo, who somehow has a 7-1 record with a 6.11 ERA. How is that possible? Anyways. These two teams look to be in position to put up some runs once again. Other than these two, I am liking Dodgers against lefty Andrew Suarez, and Nationals against John Gant and the Cardinals. We also have the Braves in a good spot against Trevor Richards, so the red-hot Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, and Freddie Freeman all are in play as well. This looks like a fun, deep slate, so let’s get in to the targets!

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Top Pitching Targets

For my targets, instead of giving you some basic strategy, I will opt to point out the guys I am actually targeting and drafting. I think this will be more helpful in terms of understanding why I have certain players ranked where they are. Similar to the rankings, followed by each target will be their overall ranking of 30 in parenthesis.

James Paxton – Seattle Mariners – (9)

Kind of surprising I am not targeting Verlander here today, but there is just no way I will have any shares. He is going in the top three picks, and I will be focused on hitters for at least the first two rounds. It seems a lot more drafters over on DRAFT are starting to notice the fact the nearly every slate is one to wait on pitching and focus on hitting. It takes quite a bit for a pitcher to hit 20+ DP’s, so the great hitters who can hit home runs and steal bases are much more valuable.

Paxton is a top target today and I have seen him go in the first round. Under the right circumstances, he is a pitcher I will target in the second round depending on my draft slot. He has been outstanding this season, pitching his way to a 10-5 record with 14 quality starts in 23 games. He has compiled a 3.63 ERA along with a whopping 175 strikeouts in just 139 innings pitched. Speaking of strikeouts, the last time Paxton faced tonight’s opponent Oakland, he had one of his best games of the year posting a season-high 16 whiffs. The A’s are hitting well and playing good baseball as of late, so don’t expect a repeat performance, but double-digit K’s and a solid 15-20 DP’s in likely.

JA Happ – New York Yankees – (22)

My second pitching target will likely be the fifth pitcher off the board in most of your drafts, and that could turn out to be a steal today. The Yankees will start a three game home series against the Rays, and need to keep winning to keep pace with Boston. They are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Mets, so hopefully the offense will be able to get a Happ a W today. We still do not know at this point who is pitching for the Rays, but nonetheless, the Yanks should be heavy favorites once the line drops.

Happ looked fantastic in six innings of work in his last start against the Rangers. He picked up a win and a quality start, allowing three earned runs on four hits, and struck out nine along the way. This Rays team was one to sort of fear against lefties, but a lot has changed since they traded away Wilson Ramos. Their other lefty mashers CJ Cron and Carlos Gomez are not hitting well lately by any means. My only hesitation with Happ is that the Yankees have such a good bullpen, that even if Happ is cruising through this lineup, he likely will not pitch too deep into the game. Regardless, he should easily get us 10-15 DP’s in this spot, and as the fifth pitcher drafted today for the most part, he will make for a great fourth rounder.

Jameson Taillon – Pittsburgh Pirates – (29)

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, the rankings will tell the story later in this article, but let me sum it up for you. There are a clear cut top five pitchers today in Verlander, Paxton, Happ, Corey Kluber, and Patrick Corbin. Corbin and Kluber are not really targets of mine today because of their ballpark disadvantage. Both will be pitching in the two best hitters parks on the slate in Texas and in Cincinnati respectively. I will not reach on these two, and if they are there for me to take in fourth round great, but it is unlikely. In an event I miss out. Taillon is my guy today.

Taillon in coming off an impressive complete game outing at Coors Field, which is hard to do for anybody considering how the Rockies hit at home. He did scatter 10 hits throughout the game, but only walked one and allowed just two earned runs, picking up a win and a quality start. He has quietly strung together four wins in his last six starts, pitching in some tough parks and facing some good teams. Before the Colorado game, Taillon beat the Cubs at home, and also beat the Reds in Cincinnati in another hitters park. He has lowered his ERA to 3.63, and has a great match-up this evening in Minnesota. This will likely be the pitcher I have the most exposure to tonight, considering my strategy.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks  – Today’s Hitting Targets:

IF – Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (1)

Not much to say here. Ramirez and Francisco Lindor were featured here yesterday I know, but just like yesterday the Indians will be in a prime spot, and this is the best duo in baseball right now. As we talked about in the overview, it will be Romano’s turn to have his hands full with these bats. Ramirez homered again last night, bringing his season total to 35, and giving him homers in back-to-back games. He is now 6-for-13 in the last three games and has averaged 17.33 DP per game in that span. He has the highest projection for any hitter on the slate today, and if you get that coveted first pick today, don’t pass on him in this groove and in this match-up.

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IF – Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves – (11)

Another team getting hot at the plate the last week or so is the Braves. This young group led by the veteran Freeman, is looking more and more like playoff team as the season progresses. Freeman played both games of yesterday’s double-header with the Marlins, but I would expect him to be a full go for tomorrow. He was blanked with an 0-for-4 the first game, but the bats exploded for nine runs in the second game, and Freeman connected with his 19th home run of the season. Still one of the leagues better hitters, Freeman will carry a .319 batting average into this third game of a four game series. The Braves will face Trevor Richards who has been decent in his last three starts, but is likely due for some regression here. If I pull the trigger on Freeman early, I will likely be looking to pair him with this next target for a mini-stack.

OF – Ronald Acuna – Atlanta Braves – (10)

Acuna has certainly had his ups and downs as a young 20-year-old rookie, but the bat has been on absolute fire since the last week or so. He homered in both games of the double dip yesterday, giving him a long ball in four straight games, and five in his last six. The Braves will likely be the third option for most behind the Indians and the Diamondbacks, but with the Red Sox and Yankees powerful offenses in play, the Braves are getting slightly overlooked. Acuna will have to be drafted in the second round today if you want him. So plan accordingly.

OF – Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (13)

Another Indian heating up and overshadowed by the superstar status of Ramirez and Lindor is Brantley. Brantley is a guy who looked promising a couple of years back, and missed a lengthy amount of time the previous two years. In fact, he was hurt so much, it was a wonder if he would ever be the same. Well I think it is safe to say he is healthy, and his bat is also heating up quite a bit. He gets to hit in between the two studs, and due to that fact, will usually get something pretty decent to hit. Brantley’s 3-for-6 last night brought his average back up to .300 on the dot, and he has racked up seven hits in his last three games, including his 13th homer of the season. Much like yesterday, Give me all the Cleveland bats I can fit.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks –  Today’s Rankings:

My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 30 overall. We will go six deep at pitcher, and twelve deep at IF and OF. Rankings are broken down into positions, and following each players name will be their overall ranking in parenthesis.

Pitchers:

1. Justin Verlander – Houston Astros – (2)

2. James Paxton – Seattle Mariners – (9)

3. Patrick Corbin – Arizona Diamondbacks – (17)

4. Corey Kluber – Cleveland Indians – (21)

5. JA Happ – New York Yankees – (22)

6. Jameson Taillon – Pittsburgh Pirates – (29)

Infielders:

1. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (1)

2. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (3)

3. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (7)

4. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (8)

5. Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves – (11)

6. Matt Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals – (12)

7. Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves – (16)

8. Manny Machado – Los Angeles Dodgers – (18)

9. Brian Dozier – Los Angeles Dodgers – (19)

10. Yonder Alonso – Cleveland Indians – (25)

11. Justin Turner – Los Angeles Dodgers – (26)

12. Trea Turner – Washington Nationals – (27)

Outfielders:

1. David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks – (4)

2. Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees – (5)

3. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (6)

4. Ronald Acuna – Atlanta Braves – (10)

5. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (13)

6. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (14)

7. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (15)

8. AJ Pollack – Arizona Diamondbacks – (20)

9. Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (23)

10. Aaron Hicks – New York Yankees – (24)

11. Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (28)

12. Marcell Ozuna – St. Louis Cardinals – (30)

That is all for today’s MLB DRAFT DFS picks on FantasyCPR. If you have any questions regarding any of my rankings, reach out to me on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond. Good luck tonight and happy drafting on DRAFT!