DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 7/29/20

Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below.

Pitchers

After a night where you could almost throw a dart to pick the best of the worst, we get an elite slate for pitching so let's jump in a look at few that stand out in the system.

Gerrit Cole FD - P 11700 DK - 11400
Opponent - BAL (Asher Wojciechowski) Park - BAL
FD - 42.44 DK - 24.4
Cole is coming off an incredible season in 2019 and pretty much picked up where he left off in his first start with the Yankees on Friday. We went five innings allowing just a solo home run to Adam Eaton while striking out five and walking one. He was also limited to just 75 pitches and should get a full run tonight against an Orioles team that has seen their games against the Marlins postponed over the last two days and were a bottom 10 offense(.308 wOBA, 88 wRC+, 23% K rate) overall last season. Cole is an elite pitcher who we have seen more expensive in worse spots so he is easily the top pitcher for me on the main slate.

Chris Paddack FD - P 9700 DK - SP 8400
Opponent - SF (Johnny Cueto) Park - SF
FD - 38.78 DK - 21.16

Up next is Chris Paddack who was excellent in his rookie season(3.33 ERA, 26.9% K rate, .268 wOBA against) and like Cole, has picked up where he left off in his first start. He didn't flash the upside with just four punch-outs but was incredibly efficient allowing just four walks and walking just one over six innings on just 81 pitches. Tonight, he gets a Giants team that finished last season bottom 3 in almost every offensive category and are now without Buster Posey who opted out which has resulted in another bottom 5 offensive start to the season. At these prices, Paddack is the likely pitcher in both FanDuel and DraftKings optimizer lineups on Wednesday. A great play in all formats.

Catcher/First Base

Pete Alonso FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5000
Opponent - BOS (Nathan Eovaldi) Park - NYM
FD - 12.91 DK - 9.61

The 2019 NL Rookie of the Year is off to a bit of a slow start but I am not concerned.......yet. It can be expected for some players to push the envelope early in a shortened season and that appears to be the case for Alonso who has struck out over 40% of the time through three games and has yet to walk. I suspect those numbers get back closer to what we seen last year and even 80% of that would still be a great player. He hit his first home run on Monday in Boston and will get another crack at the Red Sox on Wednesday, this time against Nathan Eovaldi who is coming off a disaster season(5.99 ERA, 4.89 xFIP, 23% HR/FB rate) but looked decent in his first start this year, albeit it was the Orioles. The pricing on fanDuel makes the decision at top 1B tougher but on DK he is $500 cheaper than Freeman and cheaper than Mike Ford(??), Ohtani, and Josh Bell. Fire up the Polar Bear in all formats.

Eric Hosmer FD - 1B 3200 DK - 1B 3500
Opponent - SF (Johnny Cueto) Park - SF
FD - 9.16 DK - 7

If you are spending your salary on pitching or batting at other positions, Hosmer is a terrific high floor play at mid $3K price tag on both sites. While the average has fluctuated over the years(.265 - .320), he has been extremely consistent in the counting stats with 18+ home runs and 72+ runs scored in five straight seasons and has put up 90+ RBI in four of those seasons. He was out of the lineup on Monday but was back on Tuesday and has tallied four hits in six at-bats over the first two games. He is also in play in all formats hitting in the middle of an all-of-a-sudden deadly looking lineup.

Second Base

Keston Hiura FD - 2B 3200 DK - 2B 4800
Opponent - PIT (Joe Musgrove) Park - PIT
FD - 12.68 DK - 9.64

Hiura wasn't a part of the NL Rookie of the Year voting as he only played 84 games but boy was he impressive slashing .303/-.368/.570 with 19 long balls and 49 RBI. It was an up and down start over the first four games this season with just three singles but literally, as I write this, he blasted his first homer of the season(my magic powers are back). On Wednesday, the Brewers are -156 favorites and one of just three teams at the moment projected for five or more runs(main slate). If paying up at second base, Hiura is our top projected player on the entire day(raw points).

David Fletcher FD - 2B 2900 DK - 2B/3B 3300
Opponent - SEA (Justin Dunn) Park - LAA
FD - 10.64 DK - 8.34

Again, if value is your game, there is a ton of it again tonight and Fletcher is one that stands out at second base. His numbers aren't going to blow you away nor is his upside very high but it really comes down to opportunity + price as he is hitting leadoff for the Angels in front of Trout, Rendon and co. The ultimate value comes on DraftKings where he is near the top of our PTS/$ list. I will have exposure in all formats.

Shortstop

Fernando Tatis Jr. FD - SS 3500 DK - SS 4900
Opponent - SF (Johnny Cueto) Park - SF
FD - 12.24 DK - 9.36

Seeing as we have spent some time talking about the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year, we can't forget about Tatis who was definitely on pace for that honor before injury ended his season. He is back in 2020 and looks like a man on a mission with hits in each of his first four games including three extra-base hits, three RBI, and three runs scored. He comes with a hefty price tag on DraftKings making it a bit tougher to fit in cash games but on FanDuel he is the 4th most expensive shortstop on the main slate and easily my top play in all formats at the position.
Amed Rosario FD - SS 2600 DK - SS 4600
Opponent - BOS (Nathan Eovaldi) Park - NYM
FD - 8.34 DK - 6.54

This is an odd one in that Rosario is massively overpriced on DraftKings but sits in the mid $2K range on FanDuel making him a great value. That is if he is back in the leadoff spot where he has spent each of the last three games and I don't see why they would change things up seeing as he has hits in each of those games. Stay tuned for lineups.

Third Base

Josh Donaldson FD - 3B 3100 DK - 3B 4200
Opponent - STL (Daniel Ponce De Leon) Park - MIN
FD - 12.98 DK - 10.1

One thing is clear on Wednesday, the system absolutely loves Josh Donaldson as he is top 5 in PTS/$(pitchers included) at the time of writing this article. He is another player who has stumbled out of the gate(1 for 15 first 3 games) on this delayed/shortened season but the good news is he is currently 2 for 4 with a home run on Tuesday night and is getting a ton of opportunity hitting near the top of this powerhouse Twins lineup.

Colin Moran FD - 3B 2900 DK - 1B/3B 3100
Opponent - MIL (Brandon Woodruff) Park - PIT
FD - 8.61 DK - 6.6

While Donaldson is the clear play on FanDuel in the same price range, Colin Moran is my favorite PTS/$ value on DraftKings at the position. He has has been one of the hottest hitters league-wide since the start of the season with six hits in his first 12 at-bats with three home runs and while he went 0 for 2 last night, he walked twice, picked up an RBI and scored a run. The matchup isn't my favorite as Woodruff can definitely hold his own but the price and opportunity outweighs the matchup in this spot, for me at least.

Outfield

Giancarlo Stanton FD - OF 3800 DK - OF 5800
Opponent - PHI (Asher Wojciechowski) Park - BAL
FD - 11.94 DK - 9.26

This slate is definitely not short of elite players in great spots and that carries over into the outfield. I lean Stanton here for one reason and it is the price as he is the third most expensive outfielder on DraftKings and the 9th on FanDuel. After missing most of the 2019 season, he is back and looking better than ever(I know it's a small sample) with five hits through three games including two moon shot home runs. He and the Yankees get a plus matchup here vs. the Orioles and Stanton will most definitely be in my core player pool in all formats.

Max Kepler FD - OF 3000 DK - OF 4100
Opponent - STL (Daniel Ponce De Leon) Park - MIN
FD - 14.03 DK - 10.52

I will go back to the Twins, who currently sit #1 in implied runs, for my final pick. The projection might be a little hefty right now(will change after daily audit) but that doesn't take away from the fact he is hitting leadoff on a team projected to once again finish as a Top 10 offense and off to a good start scoring 15 runs over their first four games. With his price and opportunity, there is a good chance he ends up in top optimizer lineups by game time.

GRAB A FREE TRIAL OF OUR PROJECTION SYSTEM, AND CHECK OUT DFSR PRO!