MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 8/14/17

The beauty of daily fantasy baseball is that the top targets are different each and every day. Whether it's the right-handed catcher who destroys left-handed pitching or the mid-range hurler facing a depleted lineup, you're not going to find yourself using the same assets time after time.

While this breaks up the monotony, it can make it hard to decide which players are primed to succeed on a given day. We can help bridge that gap.

In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy looking team to put up some big point totals. We've also got our Solo Shot Podcast, which breaks down the MLB daily fantasy slate each day. Here's today's episode.

If you need help getting started on that trek, here are some of the top options on the board today.

Pitchers to Target

Jose Quintana ($8,400 on FanDuel): Frankly, there aren't any shoo-ins at pitcher tonight, so you may not feel supremely confident in anyone you choose. Although Jose Quintana has mustered FanDuel scores of just 22 and 15 points in his past two starts, his overall numbers as a Chicago Cub remain strong -- a 3.38 SIERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, and 5.8% walk rate. On the season, his 3.98 SIERA might appear less impressive, but keep in mind that prior to switching to the National League, he had to contend with a designated hitter regularly and only had one start in an NL park. At a great price point, look for Quintana to get on track at home against the Cincinnati Reds, who have a 4.00 implied team total.