Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been one of the top MLB DFS producers for a decade, and is just two home runs away from 300 despite being just 29 years old. Trout's 2020 has been effective on many fronts, as he is tied for the MLB lead with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs heading into a series-ending home matchup against the Padres at 7:10 p.m. ET. Trout's .622 slugging percentage is the fourth straight year he has been over .600, and his .984 OPS is the ninth straight season at at least the .900 level.
Is Trout a smart MLB DFS play Thursday when the Angels face recently-traded right-hander Mike Clevinger (1-1, 3.18 ERA) and the red-hot Padres at 7:10 p.m. ET? Or are you better off looking elsewhere in the 16-team MLB DFS player pool for optimum value? Before deciding any MLB DFS picks Thursday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, stacks and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
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.
His model led him to some massive returns from his MLB DFS picks in 2019, producing daily Fantasy baseball lineups on SportsLine that returned as much as 30x. He also finished in the top 1 percent of tournaments four times and the top 0.1 percent of tournaments twice last season.
On Wednesday, McClure had Cubs shortstop Javier Baez at the top of his hitting rankings. The result: Baez hit a three-run homer against the Pirates. Anybody who built their lineup around him was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 60-game 2020 MLB schedule continuing on Thursday, Sept. 3, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Sept. 3
One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Thursday is Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson at $5,500 on DraftKings and $3,700 on FanDuel. Anderson is seventh in MLB with a .333 batting average and has six home runs and 11 RBIs.
The White Sox begin a series at Kansas City on Thursday, a team that is just 7-9 at home this season. Anderson is absolutely destroying left-handers like Royals starter Danny Duffy, hitting a torrid .471 with five homers, a 1.118 slugging percentage and a 1.631 OPS.
Part of McClure's optimal MLB DFS strategy Thursday includes Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo at $4,800 on DraftKings and $2,900 on FanDuel. Verdugo is hitting .315 this season with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 2020. Verdugo's .315/.373/.531/.904 slash line is the highest in his four-year career.
Verdugo has owned right-handers like Toronto starter Taijuan Walker this season, hitting four of his five home runs, nine of his 13 doubles and driving in 10 of his 13 runs against them. Verdugo's .329 batting average at Fenway Park is also too strong to ignore, and McClure likes him in all MLB DFS formats.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Sept. 3
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? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pools and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.
