Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, and DraftStreet for 7/7/14

Our Free Baseball eBook is live! Check out the details, and get your copy now! Don't make another lineup before reading this book! It contains one mistake that basically everyone in the daily fantasy baseball industry is making!

Tired of shedding bankroll? Be sure to sign up for a free 3-day trial to access the MLB system and spreadsheets that help produce our picks.

We're also trying a new format called Scorestreak - it's a much more accessible game than the traditional salary cap format, and people who sign up through DFSR get a few free bucks. If you're interested, here are today's daily picks: Check em out.

 

Pitchers

Cole Hamels FanDuel 8700 DraftKings 10200 DraftStreet 19173
I'm a big Hamels fan. I think he's consistently underpriced on many sites and today is no different. A little expensive on DraftKings but totally in play there and everywhere else, Hamels is incredibly consistent on a year-to-year basis and even from game to game, typically offersing something close to the same kind of production. Today he snags the Brewers, a righty-heavy team that surprisingly can't hit lefties all that well. They rank in the bottom half of the league with a .310 team wOBA against southpaws and strikeout more than 22% of the time. Hamels is below some of the big boys in terms of price and this is a nice place to roll him out.

Mike Minor FanDuel 7100 DraftKings 8000 DraftStreet 13143
Start getting excited. Minor is significantly underpriced across the board based on an inflated ERA. But that's a lot of smoke. He's been incredibly unlucky in two key areas, Babip and Hr/FB%. Both are well over his career averages and with just a little regression his ERA will begin to mirror the 3.50 xFIP. A good team to start that regression train is the Mets who strike out close to 25% of the time. Granted, the Mets have been an above average hitting team. But I think this is a situation in which I'll take the pitcher at a low cost against an average team that K a ton.

Hisashi Iwakuma FanDuel 8200 DraftKings 9100 DraftStreet 15079
There's a good news, bad news thing going on with Iwakuma today. The good first. He doesn't walk anyone. Currently his BB/9 is 0.89. This is about as low as you'll ever see for a starter. The bad news? He strikes out less than seven batters per nine. So the upside is a bit limited. Good news. The Twins strike out around 22% of the time against righties meaning Iwakuma stands to punch out an extra batter or two in this one. Bad news. They rank around middle of the league against righties. But all this, for me, makes Iwakuma a solid play today as I think the good news outweighs the bad news.

Jesse Chavez FanDuel 7300 DraftKings 7900 DraftStreet 13771
Not as good as his early season run, but fine nonetheless. Chavez is a decent play today against the Giants who rank 24th in the league in team wOBA against righties. They strike out more than 21% of the time and Chavez has a solid 8 K's per nine and 3:1 K:BB ratio. This play doesn't blow me away with excitement but he will be in my lineups for sure.

Consider Stephen Strasburg

Note: Scott Carroll is only $2700 on DraftStreet tomorrow. He is horrible, but at that price I think it is worth starting him.

 

Catchers

Going to be some interesting decisions today considering the horrible Padres are heading to the best hitter's park in baseball. They are all near minimum prices because they stink. But that Coors bump gives them kind of great value. Ugh.

A.J. Pierzynski FanDuel 2200 DraftKings 3500 DraftStreet 4767
This is more of a matchup thing as A.J. hasn't exactly been Johnny Bench in his prime. But the Scott Carroll effect is something huh? Dude strikes out around four batters per nine, walks almost as many and has an xFIP in the high fours. He's bad and I'll be stacking some Sox today.

Yasmani Grandal FanDuel 2200 DraftKings 3600 DraftStreet 4247
Welcome to Coors you terrible Padres. Welcome. Grandal’s had a rough go of it this season, along with the rest of his teammates. Though who can blame then in that beautiful San Diego weather? Would you be motivated to work hard if it were 88 degrees and sunny every single day? Me neither. Though Grandal has been bad this season, some of it is Babip related. He has a .188 mark against lefties this season. But for his career he has a 123 wRC+ and an OPS close to .800 against southpaws. What I'm saying is there is a solid case based on history and price for playing him in Coors.

Jason Castro FanDuel 2600 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 4743
I’m going to say the same thing for Singleton in a moment, but the biggest issue for Castro this season is the K%. It’s terrible. But he's run a little bad against righties and Nick Martinez has actually walked more guys than he's struck out this season. That's a spot I'll buy a guy with strikeout issues.

 

First Basemen

David Ortiz FanDuel 3800 DraftKings 5200 DraftStreet 8967
Scott Carroll is a horrible pitcher. That is for sure. Papi has struggled this season but the first part of this write up is the key. If there is a chance to turn things around a bit it would be against a guy who can’t strike anyone out. Papi’s OPS is only in the low .800’s partially because of a low Babip. But that could be shift dependent. Either way I’m buying on him today because the matchup dictates value.

Jon Singleton FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3700 DraftStreet 4753
Singleton’s single biggest issue since reaching the majors has been the strike out. What kind of issue am I talking about? The kind that has him going down on strikes 34% of the time. That’s simply unacceptable for a major leaguer. But there are reasons to be bullish here. Nick Martinez is garbage-y for one. Also, Singleton’s BB% is around 11%. His Babip is in the low .200’s and he’s better against righties. I like him as a GPP play on the power upside. But beware the K’s.

Consider Tommy Medica and Mark Teixiera

 

Second Basemen

Jason Kipnis FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4300 DraftStreet 6526
Great prices on this guy today against rookie Shane Greene. Kipnis’s stock is so low right now. I love it. I kind of want him everywhere today. He draws enough walks to keep him on the safer side. The power and speed should be coming around even with some minor injuries earlier in the season and Greene is a spot-starter. Lot of positive signs for Kipnis here and like I said, the price is in a great value range.

Tommy La Stella FanDuel 2600 DraftKings 3400 DraftStreet 6366
A guy who walks more than he strikes out is facing Daisuke Matsuzaka. Kind of feel like I could stop right there and not write another word. But alas, that would be shorting la Stella and he deserves a little more. Tommy doesn’t do anything exceptional except get on base. But that he does really well. His .376 OBP is thanks to a BB% two percentage points higher than his K%. He won’t slug his way to your victory, but being on base is a skill and he has it.

Chase Utley FanDuel 3400 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 6316
If you want to pay a little more this is a place to go at second. After an early season power barrage he’s come back down to earth in a big way. But he’s playing in Miller Park, a hitter’s quasi-paradise for lefties against Marco Estrada who has long ball issues.

 

Shortstops

Asdrubal Cabrera FanDuel 2900 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 5762
This obviously goes along with me targeting the Tribe today. Asdrubal isn't a world-beater on offense by any stretch of the imagination. But he has a little pop, those legs can carry him from first to second and he's a tick better against righties on the season with a 112 wRC+. The price is right facing Greene today and I'll have some of his teammates to keep him company.

Brad Miller FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3000 DraftStreet 5103
If you for some reason decide to go cheap with Castro, Singleton and Miller today you'd have a squad that has strikeout rates the likes of which the world has never seen. But you'd also be targeting guys whose primary issue is the swing and miss against pitchers who can't induce them. That's where I'm looking for value today. Miller is much better against righties and Kevin Correia K's less than 4.5 batters per nine. Grab Miller at punt prices with the idea that he'll have his bat on the ball.

Jed Lowrie FanDuel 2500 DraftKings 3600 DraftStreet 5027
Kind of a throw in here. He hasn't had a great season and has been bumped down in the order but I like the matchup against Vogelsong and Lowrie gets on base while running pretty bad in Babip this season.

 

Third Basemen

Carlos Santana FanDuel 3500 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 5349
Like Kipnis and Cabrera, I’m targeting Santana on a few things. One is the matchup against Shane Greene, a middling “prospect” only in the majors to fill a gap. Plus, I still love the prices we are getting on Santana thanks to an early season Babip nightmare. He’s pulling out of it now to some degree but he’s not anywhere close to getting there. The Babip is .209 which makes the .356 OBP downright awe-inspiring.

David Freese FanDuel 2700 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 5758
Much better against lefties. And J.A. Happ is much worse against everyone. Freese is a punt play through and through who hits in the middle of the righty-heavy Angel lineup that could (should) give Happ real problems today. Freese is better from this side of the split and is in a great spot today for super cheap prices.

Brock Holt FanDuel 3200 DraftKings 4100 DraftStreet 6689
The Sox have had a rough go of it this season, but you really can't blame Holt. He's OPS'ing close to .800 and getting on base enough at the top of the order to score runs when the guys behind him actually decide to put their bats on the ball. Like the matchup against Carroll here.

 

Outfielders

Jacoby Ellsbury FanDuel 3500 DraftKings 4300 DraftStreet 7629
Carlos Beltran FanDuel 3000 DraftKings 4000 DraftStreet 5753
Brett Gardner FanDuel 3600 DraftKings 4600 DraftStreet 8068
I’ve written this many times, but Justin Masterson is one of the worst starters you’ll ever see against lefty bats. It’s only his Cy Young stuff against righties that keeps him effective in the majors. But the lefties? He gets torched, allowing a .395 wOBA with a .900 OPS to lefty bats this season. That is horrible any way you shake it. Love playing all three of these guys though Gardner's prices are starting to get a little steep. All in all though buying these three lefty bats here seems like a terrific spot especially considering Cleveland plays up power to lefties.

Carlos Quentin FanDuel 2400 DraftKings 3800 DraftStreet 6354
Chris Denorfia FanDuel 2200 DraftKings 3600 DraftStreet 5013
Man the Padres are an abomination. I'm picking these guys somewhat begrudgingly and if it weren't for Coors they wouldn't even show up on my radar. Honestly, I don't know if the ballpark even makes them great values just because the team is so stinky and these guys themselves haven't been all that good. That being said, they are on the right side of their splits and this is the mile high air we are talking about.

Jay Bruce FanDuel 3300 DraftKings 4200 DraftStreet 6696
Edwin Jackson can get wild and allows the long ball from time to time. Have no problem paying these prices for Bruce here.

Jason Heyward FanDuel 3100 DraftKings 3900 DraftStreet 6121
Still running bad in Babip and HR/FB% and the prices are trending down because of this "luck". Daisuke is horrible and is the perfect guy to begin regressing against.

Mike Trout FanDuel 5700 DraftKings 5900 DraftStreet 9722
Kind of need to put him here considering he's facing the lefty Happ and he remains Mike Trout.

Give a follow on Twitter @dailyfantasysr and @dougnorrie.

Remember! You can use our Baseball Lineup Construction Tool for free for three days. If it doesn't help you turn those losers into winners? Just cancel at any time. Please check it out and give us feedback! Did you know our new eBook is live? Get access to it below!