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MLB DFS Picks and Pivots: Aug. 20 – California love

By Brian Tulloch

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 20: Joc Pederson #31 is congratulated by third base coach Dino Ebel #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the first inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium on July 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 20: Joc Pederson #31 is congratulated by third base coach Dino Ebel #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the first inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium on July 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 20: Joc Pederson #31 is congratulated by third base coach Dino Ebel #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the first inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium on July 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS – Building Our Bats:

During my two-plus weeks of vacation, I missed many things in MLB DFS – tons of chances to stack against Jon Lester, the opportunity to over stack my Mets during their hot streak and of course, my favorite MLB DFS past time, stacking the Los Angeles Dodgers. Well today, we make up for the lost time and get right to stacking my default 6 man FantasyDraft stack!

The Dodgers will be at home tonight facing RHP Sean Reid-Foley and the Jays pen and as one of 3 teams with a 6+ IRT, this stack feels far too cheap considering the upside they possess. There is not a single bat above $10K and only two – Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger are even over $9K – which makes this a supremely affordable stack to build even alongside Kershaw tonight.

Reid-Foley has struggled mostly against LHB in his brief MLB career, giving up 1.42 HR/9, a .194 ISO with a near 50% fly-ball rate and that all sits behind a pitcher who has struggled to a 16% walk rate against lefties as well. So, walks equals baserunners which put people on base for hard-hit fly balls that turn into home runs and crooked numbers. There is a reason Vegas has the Dodgers with one of the highest IRT’s on the night and I want in.

The projected Dodgers line-up has a ridiculous .291 ISO versus RHP since the start of 2018 with three of their first four hitters – Muncy, Bellinger and Joc Pederson all sporting .280+ ISO marks of their own. Honestly, you can make arguments for 1-8 in this Dodgers line-up but it all starts with that three-man core and then I think you find ways to mix and match off that.

Corey Seager ($7.3K) becomes a great salary saver in this stack and his .239 ISO mark against RHP in 2019 just further solidifies the case. Rather than simply going 1-6 in a stack here, I think you can mix in guys like Will Smith who has an absurd .588 ISO versus RHP this season and Matt Beaty who should benefit facing a fly ball pitcher with his ground ball heavy splits.

One of the keys to tonight’s slate is going to be finding value and well, there is a clear #FreeSquare tonight at a minimum price with Mariners IF Tim Lopes who is projected to lead-off at $3.9K. Lopes stepped into last night’s game with a 6 game hitting streak and despite the 0-fer, still managed 7 fantasy points as a result of a stolen base. During that 6 game hitting streak, Lopez was priced between $5.5K and $6K each day and now his price is at $3.9K – this is a do not get cute spot for me, I take the free square which gives you a clear path to Kershaw and any stack you desire.