Noah Simpson is Not Writing today, so you get me, resident fallback option. I may not be Tout A when it comes to handing out winning MLB DFS picks, but I will fucking do, my friends. And if my advice sucks, just give our lineup tool a spin. It’s great.
In all seriousness, Friday gives us a fun 13-game MLB DFS slate with a lot to consider. Not sure where to turn when it comes to pitchers and stacks? I’ve got you covered. I’ve already looked at the slate, and I’ll point you to the arms I like, the top offenses, and some sneaky stacks. The format will be different, but I’m still going to help you win. Let’s build!
Top Pitchers at DraftKings for 8/21
Today’s pitching pool is pretty deep. We have two expensive studs that could very well be worth our trouble, and we have a few options to consider at SP2. I’ll break it up between my top SP1 targets and the best SP2s.
SP1s for Friday
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($10.6k)
- Cam Schlittler ($11k)
- Reid Detmers ($8.7k)
- Sonny Gray ($9.1k)
Yamamoto looks like the preferred ace to target with some gumption. He’s at home in a park that can favor hitting, and it’s worth noting he’s way worse here than on the road. Even so, it’s the Pirates, and he comes in with the best projection of the slate. The price is steep and he’ll be chalky, but I don’t see much reason to force my way out of playing him.
The clear pivot is Schlittler, and we all know that aces can kill us before our night even gets going. The upside is clear, but he will be at home in a hitter’s park against a motivated Toronto offense. I don’t really fear them in terms of raw power, and Cam’s profile looks awfully clean, but he’s a tad pricey when we look at the park factor and Toronto’s desire to rack up wins.
He’s fine, but if I am paying up, Yoshi is the easy call.
You could also simply Not Spend All Of Your Money on these guys. The 2nd tier is, in a word, fuckingawesome. Reid Detmers is in SP1 territory, especially if there’s an expensive stack you have your eyes on. He has a sparkling 27% K rate and specifically abuses right-handed hitters – of which he may face several when he takes on the Rangers.
Texas does have some power, but they also whiff at a 25% clip and this game is in a pitcher’s haven. Detmers wins the day in the way of strikeouts, but he also keeps power in check from both sides and this park should help him in his plight to live up to the slate’s 4th best projection.
I guess I can mention Sean Burke in passing while I reluctantly also remind you Sonny Gray exists. Both of these guys are around the same price, and they’re arguably discounts considering they’re capable of murdering lineups. I prefer Gray’s upside, but games in Boston (bad) and Chicago (less bad) keep their projections down and risk relatively high. They look like reasonable GPP plays.
SP2s for Friday
- MacKenzie Gore ($8k)
- Hayden Wesneski ($6.4k)
- Emerson Hancock ($7k)
Should we just stack up this Angels and Rangers game with two of the most improperly priced pitchers on the slate? Mabes. Only mabes.
Gore is tough to deny here. I don’t love playing pitchers from the same game, but both he and Detmers look (quite) good, and Gore’s beautiful 27% strikeout rate gets to see a (very) righty-heavy Halos squad from the rubber. I can hear Beyonce singing now.
But really, Gore should slay and he’s $700 cheaper than Detmers, owns the third best projection of the slate, and is in “don’t get too cute” territory. Having said that, I do want to get to the Angels a bit, just cuz ol’ Gorey does sport a .179 ISO against them’s R folk.
Gore is the SP2 for me. But, if you’d like to venture further into the abyss, you are not without options. They’re not fun or great, but they exist. Wesneski maybe isn’t so bad for us tonight, as he’s really cheap, at home in a pitcher’s paradise, and gets a banged up and mostly punchless Athletics squad.
I fear it is Not Athletics Szn, my friends.
Hancock has perhaps the least (or most?) enviable name in the world, and tonight he has the face the Cubs. Double whammy. But at least its at home in Seattle, where pitchers are like the Monstars and turn into unbeatable gods.
Just for shits and giggles, let’s not completely ignore Sean Manaea, Noah Cameron, Joey Cantillo, and Freddy Peralta tonight. I mean, we CAN and we probably SHOULD, but they’re all pretty cheap if you’re into that sort of thing.
My preference? Pay for Yoshi/Cam/Detmers and fire up Gore or Wesneski along with them.
Best MLB DFS Stacks for Friday
Now we get to the fun part. There’s some decent pitching, but there’s also a lot of smokin’ offenses. Which reminds me, The Mask wasn’t really a good movie. I just REALLY liked Jim Carrey growing up. Everyone did, it seems.
Top Stacks for 8/21
- Guardians
- Rockies
- Asstros
- Yankees
- Dodgers
There’s a game at Coors Field, so stack that up, I reckon. It starts with Cleveland, because they never fail us. EVER. Jose Ramirez has been Pretty Bad for much of 2026, but he can still dong and steal some bags, they’re saying. The Guardians don’t really seem to be Actually Any Good, but the park bump is real and something called a Tanner Gordon waits for them on the mound.
Cleveland’s never a fun stack, of course, so if everyone wants to be all conform-y, let’s just throw caution to the wind and stack the other side of this game. The Rockies are inherently going to be natural leverage, although I admittedly prefer to fire them up against righties.
Houston was supposed to be a good stack last night. Instead, they were very fucking much not. More like Ass-tros, am I right? Yeah.
The Astros do look great tonight, though. JT Ginn actually Ks righties at a decent rate and this park should do him some favors, but they have a few lefties to toss his way – namely the one monster who shall not be named (Yordan).
The Yanks and Dodgers looking good on a main slate. A tale as old as time. You can certainly fire them up, as our lineup tool loves the shit out of them. You should, too, as the pinstripes are at home in a great park for hitting. Mason Fluharty has abused lefties so far this year, though, so there’s that.
L.A. is at home against Bubba Chandler, which has to be the most punchable name in baseball. Ohtani forever leads the charge, as the Dodgers have endless nasty left-handed bats that destroy righties. Chandler doesn’t miss bats at an elite rate and his numbers against lefties are kind of brutal. Dodgers stacks FTW.
Leverage, Baby
- Angels
- Pirates
I don’t think we need to go out of our way for leverage on this slate. Basically just fade Coors and anything else you do will make you plenty different. Although, that might be a bad idea.
Anyways, the Halos are actually potentially a great stack. Gore is a clear arm to build with, but he does have power problems from the right side. We can start the fun with Mike Trout, and The Good Lord Knows that Zach Neto can wield a heavy stick. But really, the Angels have a shit ton of righties. Like 8. Maybe a full fucken 9. Godspeed, Gore boy.
Yoshi looks like a rock steady play but anytime you can try to tell 40% of the field to fuck off while winning all the money, you gotta try. He’s not as dominant at home, Dodger Stadium can be a real asshole to pitchers, and the Pirates are actually a bunch of pesky little dicks.
I didn’t want to say it while I steamed up Yoshi Bear, but Brandon Lowe (.275 ISO) could mash him to bits all by his lonesome, while Pittsburgh collectively sports a .170 ISO. They also get on base (10% BB) quite a bit and pretty much all of their guys hit the ball decently against righties. Oh, god, I’m talking myself into Pirates.
Overall, Coors is Coors, but this feels like a fun slate to just zig where others zag. I kinda love the Halos and Dodgers more than anything else. I’d still mix them in with Coors stuff, of course.
Playing DFS since the days of DraftStreet, Kevin knows the ins and outs of DFS, specifically for NFL and NBA. He’s also been helping people win in fantasy football leagues for 15+ years and is one of many experts featured at FantasyPros.
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