Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: MLB DraftKings Late-Season Pickups for August 28 – Bleacher Report

According to ESPN.com, the MLB playoffs start on October 6. That means two things.

One, playoff baseball is almost here! It’s less than 40 days until the ever-tense Wild Card Round begins. Eek! I’m giddy!

Two, less than 40 days of full daily fantasy baseball slates remain. By now I’m sure you’ve figured out that there is more variation and, consequently, more value on the days when all 30 teams play ball.

So let’s take advantage of those large slates while we still can! Here are some tips for Friday’s lineup.

Colorado Rockies SP Jon Gray ($4,300) at Pittsburgh Pirates

Jon Gray was terrible in his last outing, as he was on the wrong end of Yoenis Cespedes‘ 67-point fantasy night. Gray allowed seven earned runs in just 1.2 innings, including two home runs from the Cuban outfielder. 

As odd as it may seem, that performance helps Gray’s value. He enters Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh as the third-cheapest starting pitcher on the board. But he should get a massive bump from not pitching at home in the altitude.

Other than the two Cespedes at-bats, Gray’s also shown to be quite capable in his young rookie campaign. In his three previous starts, he allowed just four total runs and struck out 14 batters. Two of those starts were at home. 

Gray is talented. The Rockies took him third overall in the 2013 draft, and he blew through the minors while posting nearly a strikeout per inning. He is the most likely pitcher on the board to quadruple—or even quintuple—his cost. 

Other inexpensive starters to target: Baltimore Orioles SP Kevin Gausman ($5,600) at Texas; Kansas City Royals SP Erasmo Ramirez ($6,000) at Tampa Bay

Washington Nationals SP Max Scherzer ($12,500) vs. Miami Marlins

According to numberFire.com, Scherzer is projected to score 20.66 fantasy points Friday—the highest projected total for any pitcher in the league.

It makes sense—the Marlins stink. They’ve scored the second-fewest runs in the league, are one of just two teams with fewer than 100 home runs on the season and are dead last in wRC+ and wOBA. 

Scherzer isn’t pitching like he did for a couple of weeks in June, but he’s still a candidate to toss a complete-game shutout every time he gets on the bump. 

Los Angeles Dodgers OF Carl Crawford ($2,400) vs. Chicago Cubs

Though Carl Crawford is likely the most overpaid baseball player in the league, he’s a smart bargain buy in daily fantasy. According to numberFire.com, Crawford will start in place of the injured Yasiel Puig in the Dodgers outfield Friday. 

Crawford is having a terrible season. He’s getting on base just 28 percent of the time and has only stolen three bags so far this year. However, he’ll be hitting in the middle of a good power-hitting lineup against a steady, but hittable pitcher. 

Stack the Mariners

Looking to stack? Look no further than Seattle. Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, Franklin Gutierrez, Robinson Cano and Austin Jackson all make for nice plays Friday as Seattle travels to face John Danks and the Chicago White Sox.

According to ESPN.com’s pitcher vs. team stats, both Robby Cano and Austin Jackson are hitting well over .400 against Danks in their careers. Cruz is just above .300 (and probably the best hitter in the league this season,) and though Seager and Gutierrez don’t have stellar lifetime numbers against the lefty, they shouldn’t be intimidated by Danks‘ 1.42 WHIP and 4.90 ERA. 

All prices courtesy of DraftKings.com. All stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com unless otherwise noted.