Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/20/16

Welcome back for another full Hump Day of baseball. We have eight games in the early slate on FanDuel, seven on DraftKings(no Braves/Reds game) then seven games on the evening slate. The early slate gives us some options at pitching and some great stacking options with a game at Coors Field and the Jays squaring off at Chase Field vs. the D Backs. Let's dig in.

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PITCHER

Early Slate 
Carlos Martinez FD 9400 DK 10200
Opponent - SD (Rea) Park - @STL
FD - 37.24 DK - 24.44
With the PPD yesterday, Martinez will go on the early slate and the pick from yesterday holds.
Starting us off at pitcher, we have Carlos Martinez. Martinez and the Cardinals will be taking on the San Diego Padres, who are the worst team in the league against right handers. Dating back to the beginning of the season, the Padres have sported a .290 wOBA that is backed up by an 87 wRC+ and a 20.8% line drive rate. While Busch Stadium isn't as pitcher friendly as Petco, it is definitely a pitcher park. Carlos Martinez on the other hand, has been great this season with a .252 combined Woba that is supported by a 26.4% hard contact rate and a crazy 15% hard contact rate. While there are definitely some other pitchers to consider, Martinez is my favorite in cash games and deserves a ton of consideration in tournaments.

Justin Verlander FD 9600 DK 11000
Opponent - MIN (Santana) Park - @DET
FD - 34.55 DK - 22.82

With some question marks for the top salaried pitchers I feel confident with Verlander today vs. the Twins. After an up and down June he has come out firing in July with three straight starts where he has limited the opposition to 2 earned runs or less. He has also notched 23 strikeouts in that time and pushed his strikeout rate up to 9.41 K/9 which is his his highest since 2009. The Twins come in ranked 21st in wOBA(.309)  vs. right handed pitching while striking out 21.7% of the time and hold the majors worst road record at 14-32. Look for Verlander to continue his streak of great pitching making him a safe option in all formats.
Evening Slate 

Jaime Garcia FD 8000 DK 7900
Opponent - SD (Cashner) Park - @STL
FD - 33.78 DK - 21.99

The main slate is pretty ugly when looking at the pitchers. The projection system is targeting Jaime Garcia as the top PTS/$ play on both slates. While he has struggled in his last two starts he still has some strikeout upside(7.46 K/9) and gets a matchup vs.the Padres who rank 3rd in wOBA vs. left handed pitching but also strikeout over 24% of the time. He comes with a price tag that will allow you to completely load up on bats tonight and should be a favorite to pick up the win at home.

CATCHER

Early Slate

Russell Martin FD 3100 DK 4100
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @ARI
FD - 12.17 DK - 9.33

This won't be the first mention of  Blue Jays hitter in our articles today. They sit in a great spot in Chase Field once again tonight vs. a lefty in Patrick Corbin. The Jays have raked against left handed pitching over the past two seasons as they lead all of baseball and Corbin shouldn't prove much of a threat today. He has really struggled this season with a 5.25 ERA and xFIP of 4.38 that isn't much better. The strikeout rate is down and he is walking over three and a half batters per nine innings and holds a scary 20% HR/FB rate. Martin is very affordable on both sites and has strong splits vs. left handed pitching.

Evening Slate

Brian McCann FD 2900 DK 4200
Opponent - BAL (Gallardo) Park - @NYY
FD - 11 DK - 8.25

This game is a battle of two awful pitchers in a terrific hitters park and is currently sitting with the highest total of the evening slate. You are going to want some exposure to this game for sure. McCann at catcher is a great place to start,e specially on FanDuel under $3K tonight. The average isn't going to put him in the safe in all formats class but he is a terrific power upside GPP play. Yankee stadium caters to left handed power and McCann is crushing the ball again this season with 14 home runs and a 35% hard contact rate. Gallardo is giving up a .407 wOBA and .540 SLG to left handed batters. Nuff said.

FIRST BASE

Early Slate

Edwin Encarnacion FD 4800 DK 4900
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @ARI
FD - 16.22 DK - 12.14

The parrot got another walk last night and Edwin has now pushed his home run total to 25 and league leading RBI total to 84 on the season. He is well on his way to a fifth straight 30+ HR/95+ RBI season and just might challenge his teammate for MVP honors(I know. I am a biased Canadian). Looking at his splits, Edwin hits southpaws harder with a .406 wOBA, 155 wRC+ and 42% hard contact rate. If you are paying up for first base today look no further than Edwin.

Evening Slate

David Ortiz FD 4100 DK 5600
Opponent - SF (Cain) Park - @BOS
FD - 15.95 DK - 12

The lack of high end pitching options allows us to pay up for elite bats tonight. The Red Sox are a great place to start as they get an excellent mathcup vs. the Giants and Matt Cain who will make his return after a month on the disabled list. He hasn't been missing bats this season with a low 8% swinging strike rate, low 6.44 K/9 rate, and below average 2.88 BB/9 rate. Ortiz is having a monster MVP type season in his final hoorah in the majors and sits Top 5 in most offensive categories(Avg-5th, OBP-2nd, SLG-1st, HR-5th, RBI-2nd). He is the top play on the evening slate at any position.

SECOND BASE

Early Slate

Neil Walker FD 3100 DK 2600
Opponent - CHC (Hendricks) Park - @CHC
FD - 10.32 DK - 7.93

Walker makes a great punt play on DraftKings in the early slate if you are paying up for a pitcher and want to get a few top bats in as well. While the average(.246) is down this season he is hitting with more of a power stroke having hit 16 home runs already with a 36% hard contact rate. The low salary makes up for the lack of consistency and striking out shouldn't be an issue on Wednesday as he will be facing Kyle Hendricks who is striking out less than six batters per nine innings.

Evening Slate

Dustin Pedroia FD 3400 DK 4600
Opponent - SF (Cain) Park - @BOS
FD - 11.67 DK - 9.21

If it's a consistent cash game option you are looking for, Pedroia is the man. He doesn't provide much upside at second base with just nine home runs and 38 RBI but has a .300 average and .368 OBP and has already scored 57 runs hitting in front of Big Papi. It won't be hard to pay up for Red Sox tonight in a great matchup vs. Matt Cain as you won't have to pay up for pitching with limited options available. Take advantage of the matchup.

SHORTSTOP

Early Slate

Troy Tulowitzki FD 3100 DK 4000
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @ARI
FD - 13.12 DK - 10

It has been quite a turnaround for Tulo after an absolutely dreadful start to the season. Since returning from teh disabled list on June 18th he is slashing .304/.356/.598 with eight home runs, 23 RBI and 14 runs scored for an impressive 151 wRC+. While he is hitting right handed pitching slightly better this season he has positive splits against southpaws for his career. As I mentioned earlier load up as many Jays bats as possible today vs. Corbin.

Evening Slate

Trea Turner FD 2300 DK 2900
Opponent - LAD (Norris) Park - @WSH
FD - 9.17 DK - 7.98

He picked up his first extra base hit since returning from the minors July 10th and has hits in three of four games. The projection system has him ranked as the number one play at shortstop from a PTS/$ perspective as he comes in at punt pricing on both sites. He will face Bud Norris who has struggled in his last two starts allowing seven earned runs in 10 innings pitched. The biggest part about rostering Turner is what he allows you to spend up to with your bats.

THIRD BASE

Early Slate

Kris Bryant FD 3800 DK 4600
Opponent - NYM (Colon) Park - @CHC
FD - 12.85 DK - 9.87

Bryant makes an excellent pivot off Donaldson and Arenado in the afternoon slate. He has similar upside, is a cheaper option and very well could be under 5% owned in all formats. He comes into Wednesday with hits in three straight and eight of his last nine games improving on his All Star first half numbers. He has improved across the board in 2016 including a K rate that has dropped 7% resulting in an impressive .282/.379/.561 slash line with a 149 wRC+.

Evening Slate

Manny Machado FD 4300 DK 3600
Opponent - NYY (Pineda) Park - @NYY
FD - 11.46 DK - 9

Machado is slashing a career high .311/.367/.555 so far in 2016 and it appears DraftKings is butt hurt by his lack of stolen bases. He comes in at a elite value on Wednesday vs. the Yankees. He has even splits against righties and lefties and will get a matchup vs. Michael Pineda who has been struggled mightily this season. He has allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts elevating his ERA to 5.56 to accompany his awful 19% HR/FB rate. Early  forecasts are showing a 5-9 mph wind blowing out to left field, adding value today.

OUTFIELD

Early Slate

Carlos Gonzalez FD 4100 DK 5000
Opponent - TB (Archer) Park - @COL
FD - 14.69 DK - 11.28

He should be good and fresh today after  a routine day off on Tuesday. Cargo is having one of his best seasons in years hitting .318 which is his highest mark since 2010. The power will always be there at home where he has a .463 wOBA, 161 wRC+ and 14 of his 16 long balls this season. He goes up against Chris Archer who has big K upside but has little to no control(3.76 BB/9 rate) and is giving up a 34.9% hard contact rate and 17% HR/FB rate.

Evening Slate

Mike Trout FD 4000 DK 5200
Opponent - TEX (Perez) Park - @LAA
FD - 14.36 DK - 11.24

On a small seven game slate Mike Trout is somehow not the most expensive outfield option on either site. Yes please! Trout is one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the last 30 days slashing .368/.467/.644 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 25 runs scored. That is a pretty good lien form a player receiving a slight discount tonight. With the lack of top end pitching it will be easy to fit him in multiple lineups today.

Randal Grichuk FD 2800 DK 5100
Opponent - SD (Cashner) Park - @STL
FD - 10.58 DK - 8.33

First of all, he is way too expensive on DraftKings and I will most likely be fading him altogether over there. As for FanDuel he is coming in under $3K making him an top value play on the main slate. He has been consistent lately with hits in nine of his last 10 games including four home runs and a 191 wRC+. He is streaky hitter so jump on board before he starts to trend in the other direction.
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