DFS MLB Picks (August 19, 2017)

Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana has allowed 6 or fewer
hits in 13 consecutive starts.

Pitchers:

Michael Wacha - St. Louis Cardinals: Wacha is 6-2 with a 2.68 ERA in last eight starts (6/26-present), 8th-best ERA among NL pitchers over that span. His six wins pace the NL with five others.

Jose Quintana - Chicago Cubs: Quintana has allowed six or fewer hits in 13-consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the majors and third-longest this season.

First Baseman:

Josh Bell - Pittsburgh Pirates: Bell has 9 RBIs in his last 7 games. His 68 RBIs are the most by a Pirates rookie since Jason Bay collected 82 in 2004. Bell has gone 11-for-26 (.423) with three doubles, two triples, a home run and nine RBI in his last nine games.

Second Baseman:

Javier Baez - Chicago Cubs: Javy, who yesterday had two hits and three RBI (including a two-run homer in the eighth), is hitting .311 (19-for-61) with seven homers, 18 RBI and a 1.049 OPS in 16 August games.

Shortstop:

Paul DeJong - St. Louis Cardinals: DeJong hit team-high 19th HR in 3-hit game (7th, 2nd STL) last night, and he is tied for 4th in Cardinals' rookie HR’s (Mize, 1936).

Third Baseman:

Kris Bryant - Chicago Cubs: Bryant has batted .378 (28-for-74) with six doubles, four homers, 12 RBI and a .460 OBP in his last 19 games since July 29. He has reached base in 15-straight games, his second-longest stretch of the season.

Catcher:

Alex Avila - Chicago Cubs: Avila was 2-for-4 with a double, homer, run scored and three RBI Thursday. He has eight RBI in his last eight games.

Outfielders:

Dexter Fowler - Chicago Cubs: Fowler has a .444 BA (12-27) with 12 RBIs and 1.419 OPS in 8 games batting 4th (.417; 5-12 w/RISP). He leads NL with 18 RBIs in interleave play, and he is 4th in BA (.382) and OBP (.475).

Jon Jay - Chicago Cubs: Jay has reached base multiple times in seven of his last 11 starts. He was 0-for-4 with a walk Thursday and has reached safely in his last seven games.

Starling Marte - Pittsburgh Pirates: Marte went 2-for-4 last night vs. St. Louis, and has gone 8-for-17 (.471) in his last four games after a 1-for-10 stretch. Plus, he is hitting .271 (32-for-118) since returning to action on July 18.

DFS MLB Picks (August 4, 2017)

Boston Red Sox OF Mookie Betts has eight RBIs in his
last six games.

Pitchers:

Kyle Hendricks - Chicago Cubs: Hendricks has gone 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA (19 ER/55.0 IP) in his last 10 starts after going 1-1 with a 6.19 ERA (11 ER/16.0 IP) in his first three starts.

Jacob deGrom - New York Mets: deGrom is 8-1 with a 1.73 ERA (13 earned runs/67.2 innings) in his last nine starts. He is 22-12 with a 2.02 ERA (70 earned runs/312.0 innings) in 48 career starts at home. His 2.02 home ERA is second-best in the majors since 2014 (min. 250.0 innings), trailing Clayton Kershaw (1.71 home ERA).

First Baseman:

Eric Hosmer - Kansas City Royals: Hosmer extended his current hitting streak to eight games with a 1-for-4 effort at Camden Yards last night (.441 BA during streak). Dating to last season, Hosmer is batting .400 in his last four games against the Mariners.

Second Baseman:

Chad Pinder - Oakland Athletics: Pinder went 2 for 4 Thursday as the A's lost to the Giants 11-2. He ended the game with a .247 batting average.

Shortstop:

Didi Gregorious - New York Yankees: Gregorius went 1-for-4 yesterday, garnering at least one hit for the 12th time in his last 14 games (.396 BA during span). Gregorius is 7-for-20 (.350 BA) with two homers and three RBI during his current five-game hitting streak against the Indians at Progressive Field.

Third Baseman:

Miguel Sano - Minnesota Twins: Sano went 2-for-4 with his 25th home run of the season yesterday in San Diego, extending his hitting streak to five games (.250 BA during streak). Sano is batting .400 with five homers and 15 RBI in 13 career games against the Rangers.

Catcher:

Kevan Smith - Chicago White Sox: Smith went 2-for-3 yesterday, and is now batting .500 (6-for-12) with a home run and two RBI during his current four-game hitting streak. Smith is 3-for-9 in three career games against the Red Sox.

Outfielders:

Yoenis Cespedes - New York Mets: Cespedes is 47-165 (.285) with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs (one grand slam) and 20 RBIs in 43 games since returning from the Disabled List.

Mookie Betts - Boston Red Sox: Betts went 1 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs Thursday as the Boston Red Sox topped the Chicago White Sox 9-5. The homer was his 18th of the season. He ended the game with a .272 batting average. He has eight RBIs in six games.

Rajai Davis - Oakland Athletics: Davis went 1 for 4 with a home run and an RBI Thursday as the Oakland Athletics lost to the San Francisco Giants 11-2. The homer was his fifth of the season. He ended the game with a .232 batting average. Davis is 7 for 17 with two doubles and two homers in his last five games, but he isn't part of the starting lineup on a regular basis so be careful about using him depending on the matchup.