As usual, it’s a full slate on Friday. So long as you avoid A’s and Angels bats, there’s plenty to like. The 8/16 DFS Hitting Picks are going to be strong, due in part to an abundance of hitter’s parks hosting games tonight.
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8/16 DFS Hitting Catcher
Danny Jansen, TOR vs. SEA
DK ($3,400) FD ($3,100)
Jansen has games of 25.70 and 34.60 FanDuel points over the past week and put up a reasonable 9.50 points in his last appearance on Wednesday. He’s batting .323/.364/.645 (1.009 OPS) this month and gets to spend the weekend at home in hitter-happy Rogers Centre, where his 44% hard contact rate and 37.8% fly ball rate is coming into a more consistent focus. It’s a low-risk investment, but with the way Jansen is hitting, run with it.
8/16 DFS Hitting First Baseman
Jose Abreu, CWS at LAA
DK ($4,200) FD ($3,800)
He’ll bid for a fourth straight multi-hit game after swatting a pair of homers in Thursday’s loss to the Angels, giving him his fourth game this month of at least 30 FanDuel points. Abreu’s .219 Isolated Power and .310 BABIP are ahead of last year’s numbers as he comes into Friday with a 1.091 OPS with four homers and 11 RBI this month. The scary good part about Abreu is that his HR/FB rate of 22% is his best since his rookie season in 2014 when it was at 26.9%.
8/16 DFS Hitting Second Baseman
Marwin Gonzalez, MIN at TEX
DK ($3,500) FD ($3,100)
We’re in the middle of the Marwin Zone, as last night’s four-hit outing in the series opener at the Rangers marked his fourth multi-hit game in his last five starts. He’s given DraftKings users games of 23 and 20 points this week during his current run, which also seen him produce a 1.250 OPS over the last seven days.
Facing Mike Minor is a tough task, but Gonzalez has a .799 OPS against lefties, a considerable difference from his .719 mark versus right-handers. His fly ball rate is down, but his hard contact rate (41.6%) is a career best.
8/16 DFS Hitting Third Baseman
Kyle Seager, SEA at TOR
DK ($4,000) FD ($3,500)
We can’t all put up 69 DraftKings points every day, but Seager did add 22.70 on Thursday, his fourth 20-plus effort at DK this month. Somewhere over the past month, Seagar began to remember he was a former All-Star and began to hit like one, coming into Friday with a nine-game hit streak and a two-week run of .368/.455/.816 with a 1.271 OPS.
His .257 BABIP screams rat’s luck, but Seager has quietly taken his Isolated Power rate to .225, which is on par with his career year of 2016 (30 homers) and tells me there’s plenty of sock left in his current run. Being in Rogers Centre isn’t a bad place for someone with a 45.7% fly ball rate.
8/16 DFS Hitting Shortstop
Amed Rosario, NYM at KC
DK ($4,000) FD ($2,500)
Rosario has nine hits in his last 11 at-bats, including two doubles and a triple. He’s quietly been a force of nature behind the Mets’ remarkable run, having hit .383/.393/.533 over the last two weeks with a .926 OPS.
His 20.9% line drive rate is going to play well in spacious Kauffman Stadium, but what makes Rosario more of a value play is that his hard contact rate of 34.7% is nearly 75% better than his 2018 rate, so don’t be surprised if Rosario continues stringing extra base hits in the manner he has since the All-Star Break (eight doubles, three triples, three homers).
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8/16 DFS Hitting Outfielders
Yasiel Puig, CLE at NYY
DK ($3,400) FD ($3,100)
Puig didn’t partake in Cleveland’s seven-homer feast on Thursday but did have two hits to contribute to the Indians’ historic beatdown of the Yankees. He’s done right by his FanDuel users, having produced four games of least 15.70 points in his last five, including Thursday’s 16.20 effort. His bat has been blistering since arriving to Cleveland, as Puig has a .362/.412/.553 (.965 OPS) slash since hopping from Cincinnati.
Don’t bank on another 24-hit assault from the Indians, but do count on Puig getting some love off Masahiro Tanaka.
8/16 DFS Hitting Outfielders
Kevin Pillar, SF at ARI
DK ($4,300) FD ($3,500)
Look, it’s not like I’m trying to buy Greenland or anything, so the thought of adding a Giants bat in the lineup doesn’t sound that mad. After all, look what Evan Longoria did for those who followed my suggestion on Thursday. Pillar has an 1.108 OPS the past two weeks and gets a favorable matchup in Mike Leake, who comes off allowing eight runs and 10 hits in five forgettable innings against the Dodgers in his last start.
Opponents are batting .289 against Leake, who also has a 1.89 HR/9 rate. The value of playing Pillar will be higher in FanDuel than in DraftKings.
8/16 DFS Hitting Outfielders
Bryan Reynolds, PIT vs. CHC
DK ($4,600) FD ($3,600)
Although his .413 BABIP feels fluky, let’s be straight: Reynolds can hit. His .202 Isolated Power strongly suggests he’ll reach 20 homers, yet it’s also help carry a white-hot bat that’s gone .404/.491/.795 (1.236 OPS) this month. You do have to like the hard contact rate (47.5%), and FanDuel users should be pleased to know he’s got five games of at least 18.70 FD points this month that include three straight games this week. In most years, Reynolds would be a strong Rookie of the Year candidate, but he’ll have to settle for an “Also Starring” role compared to the rest of the 2019 crop.
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