The New York Yankees have won just four of their last 15 games but managed to stave off a sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays in a dramatic 8-7 win on Wednesday. They move on to a series against another division rival in Toronto, which just picked up its third win in its last 11 games against Baltimore on Wednesday. The matchup is one of the biggest on Major League Baseball’s Thursday slate, but can you trust players from either team in your MLB DFS lineups?
Despite Toronto’s recent struggles, second baseman Santiago Espinal has been sharp at the plate. Over his last six appearances, he is hitting .526 with a 1.105 OPS. Another intriguing name to consider in the MLB DFS player pool is Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, who has seven hits in his last five starts since August 12. Before you make your MLB DFS picks for Thursday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily fantasy pro who has won over $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune” as a top MLB DFS player, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Wednesday, McClure highlighted Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in his MLB DFS player pool on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Alonso waited until his final at-bat to get his only hit of the game, but it was a big one. He plated two runners on a ninth inning single to return 14 Fantasy points on DraftKings and 19.2 points on FanDuel. Anyone who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, as the 2022 MLB season continues, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Thursday, August 18. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Thursday, August 18, 2022
For Thursday, one of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks is Red Sox first baseman Eric Hosmer, who is listed at $3,000 on DraftKings and $2,700 on FanDuel. Hosmer had a hit and scored a run in Boston’s win against the Pirates on Wednesday. His hitting efficiency has dipped a bit since coming to Boston, but he has still scored five runs and hit three doubles in the Red Sox lineup.
Boston continues its series against Pittsburgh on Thursday and will face starting pitcher JT Brubaker. The right-handed pitcher has lost his last three decisions, and over his last three starts he has an 8.10 ERA. In five at-bats against Brubaker this season, Hosmer has a double, a home run and three RBI. One thing that Hosmer has improved since coming to Boston has been his walk frequency, which is at a career-high 10.5 percent heading into Thursday.
Another part of McClure’s optimal MLB DFS strategy includes stacking Hosmer with shortstop Xander Bogaerts ($4,300 on DraftKings and $3,200 on FanDuel). Bogaerts hasn’t been quite as sharp during the month of August as he has been in the first half of the season, but he came away with a hit in Wednesday’s win over Pittsburgh. For the season, Bogaerts is tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the fifth-most hits in the American League, at 126, and is batting .302 with an .813 OPS.
In road games this season, Bogaerts has offensive splits of .298/.367/.390, with 13 doubles and five stolen bases. Bogaerts has hit 37 of his 49 RBI against right-handed starting pitchers like Brubaker, who has struggled against batters hitting third or fourth in opposing lineups. Bogaerts has primarily manned one of those two spots for Boston, and Brubaker has allowed those spots to hit a combined .333 against him this season.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Thursday, August 18, 2022
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Thursday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won’t break the bank. You can only see who it is here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Thursday? And which player is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.