Adam Zibuda What is up everyone, happy Monday! Check out the FanDuel MLB 8/2 breakdown below.
As usual, I will be going over 3 pitchers and 3 teams that we should be looking to stack in our FanDuel lineups. We have a smaller seven game slate tonight coming off of an active Sunday and weekend around the league. There are also zero weather concerns for us to worry about, which is always nice. With that said, let’s get into the picks!
The Aces
A. Pitching options are always going to be limited on smaller slates, but man this is absolutely brutal. I am glad that this is a FanDuel focused article where we only need to roster one pitcher because this slate is full of below average arms. I will be kicking things off with Andrew Heaney ($7,600) as my SP1 if that gives you a sense of what we are working with here. Heaney owns a 3.72 SIERA and an ugly ERA, but does have a 28.2% strikeout rate. At this price point and with the lack of elite options, I will gladly take that in a matchup against the Baltimore Orioles.
B. A pitcher that has the opposite trend as Heaney is Tylor Megill ($8,500) as he has an ERA that is much lower than his SIERA. Megill will be throwing against the Miami Marlins who are just not a team that scares us at this point in the season. While the price point is a bit elevated compared to Heaney, Megill has a much lower ERA and comparable strikeout/walk rates. Heaney is a massive favorite in this spot and I will likely take the savings that he provides, but if his ownership gets out of control for tournaments then I will pay up for Megill who is a similarly serviceable slinger.
C. For my SP3 on FanDuel tonight I will look to Anthony DeSclafani ($8,700). It feels very strange that my SP3 is the most expensive of the three pitchers, but that pretty much sums up our pitching options tonight. DeSclafani will be throwing against the Arizona Diamondbacks and is listed as a heavy favorite in this spot. On the season, he boasts a 4.04 SIERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, and a 6.6% walk rate. While these numbers do not exactly jump off the page at us, they are decent which is really all that we can ask for from our potential pitching options on this slate.
The Bases
A. Lucky for us, with the pitching options being putrid, we have a plethora of hitting options for our stacks tonight. Man, I guess I am really into the alliteration today so I apologize for that. Anyway, the New York Mets are the number one team to stack up on Monday night, as they face off against Jordan Holloway and the Marlins bullpen. I love both sides of the ball for the Mets tonight so a bet is definitely in play at the right price as well. Holloway owns a 5.24 SIERA which is the highest on the entire day, along with an insane 16.5% walk rate that neutralizes his 22.8% strikeout rate. The Mets are looking to make a playoff push down the stretch of the regular season so they are definitely a team that I will look to ride to the promised land.
B. A team that is in an even better position to make a deep run into the playoffs than the Mets is the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are taking swings against Bryse Wilson on Monday night, who has a 5.23 SIERA which is only 0.01 away from being tied for the worst mark on the entire day. Wilson does not strikeout opposing batters, as evidenced by his 15% strikeout rate, and he also does not do a very good job of keeping the ball on the ground or limiting hard contact. The Brewers are massive favorites despite rolling out a below average starting pitcher, which tells you all you need to know about the spot that their offense is in.
C. To close things out for my FanDuel targets Monday night, I will be mixing in San Francisco Giants hitters into my lineups as one-offs and mini stacks. The Giants are matched up against Taylor Widener, who has not had the strongest season this year. Widener owns a 4.80 SIERA, 21.6% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate. While these are not the worst numbers that we will see, they are also far from the best. The Giants are a strong offense that should see success in this matchup at lower ownership than a team like the Mets.
That is it for me today! Please also check out our projection model by clicking here. If you have any questions, I will be in our expert chat in Discord leading up to lock, so feel free to shoot me a DM or @ me in chat!
