MLB Cash Game Picks 8-2-15

Pitcher

After missing half of last season, and the first of 2015, Fernandez has picked up exactly where he left off. Literally; his numbers this season are eerily identical to the previous two years. That's not a bad thing for fantasy backers, as a 46% ground ball rate, 2.52 FIP, 29% strikeout percentage presents a cornucopia of fantasy goodness. Fernandez has a monster at home, and he'll face an anemic Padres offense that could easily be overpowered in this matchup. He's very expensive on DraftKings (still workable), but a near-fixture on FanDuel for the salary.

If you can't quite reach up for Fernandez, Syndergaard is an easy, steady fallback option. The matchup against Washington isn't quite as juicy as Fernandez's draw vs San Diego, but Syndergaard still has upside. The rookie is really starting to round into form, averaging 7 innings, 1 earned run, and 8 strikeouts over the previous four starts. That stat line is fully attainable in this home draw.

Catcher

Schwarber is a comfortable cash game pick on both sites, speaking in terms of salary and matchup. He'll likely be batting 2nd again for a Cubs offense that could easily inflict some damage on struggling Milwaukee starter, Kyle Lohse. Lohse has allowed a .358 wOBA mark this season, displaying homerun tendencies within that. Buster Posey profiles as the top overall Catcher, but Schwarber's medium price point makes him the safer cash selection, giving you the ability to stack some viable bats (and pitchers) around him.

First Base

Most of what's said in the Schwarber write-up also holds true for Rizzo. He has noticed a steady price increase over the past four or so days, climbing alongside his recent production. You may want to consider your options (Fielder, Abreu, Votto, A.Gonzalez) on DraftKings, but I believe the $3,800 mark on FanDuel is fair while considering the aformentioned promising matchup against Kyle Lohse.

Second Base

Forsythe isn't necessarily a "cash game lock", but he's certainly in the mix with Odor, Altuve, Cano, and Walker as the best second basemen of the day. It also helps that Forsythe is cheaper than all of those similar selections, which gives him even more credence on top of a righty/lefty matchup and park upgrade in Boston. Forsythe can slug against lefties, actually holding a better ISO mark than teammate Evan Longoria, a well-known lefty-masher.

Third Base

Speaking of the well-known lefty-masher named Evan Longoria; let's talk about him, shall we? Longoria has favorable price points on both sites, stepping into a prime righty/lefty matchup against Wade Miley and his .335 wOBA mark against right-handed bats. The fact that this game is in Fenway Park is the proverbial icing on the cake to solidify the matchup potential.

Shortstop

This is more of a FanDuel recommendation than DraftKings, as he is still under priced due to a recent cold streak over there. That downtick in productin can be considered a thing of the past, as Peralta has been a monster in the first three games of the series, going 5-12 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI's. He'll likely keep rolling in a juicy righty/lefty matchup against the subpar pitching of Yohan Flande (.335 wOBA vs RHB).

Outfield

Even though he's more on the expensive side, Braun can be considered a building block on both DraftKings and FanDuel. This is an amazing matchup against left-hander Clayton Richard, who holds an inflated .437 wOBA mark against right-handed hitters. The remaining Milwaukee right-handed hitters (Gomez and Ramirez out of town) make a nice, little mini-stack (Lucroy, Braun, Segura, K.Davis).

By glancing at the respective salaries above, you can probably derive that Pence is a stronger play on FanDuel than DraftKings. He is extremely under-priced on FanDuel, especially considering this quality righty/lefty matchup in the hitter-friendly park of Texas. Rangers pitcher Martin Perez has given up 3+ earned runs in each of his starts, including a blow-up performance of 8 earned runs in his last start. Target accordingly.

Davis holds the same favorable characteristics as Ryan Braun, just as a cheaper, less reliable version. Still, he's an economical pick with upside, which is exactly what you want in your lineup. There's a chance he could move up from the 5th spot in the lineup (2nd? 4th?) as the Brewers will look to align their right-handed hitters against Clayton Richard.