DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 7/17/21 - Main slate

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Pitchers

Gerrit Cole FD 10100 DK 10000
Opponent - BOS (Nathan Eovaldi) Park - BOS
FD - 41.42 DK - 23.27

Cole had struggled for a couple of outings, possibly related to the new rules around Spider tack and other grip substances. But he turned right back around last outing with a complete-game shutout against the Astros. He struck out 12 and walked only two over the game, his best of the year. He doesn't get a great matchup against the Red Sox here, but along with Woodruff is just the best overall pitcher on the slate.

Alex Cobb FD 8800 DK 8200
Opponent - SEA (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - SEA
FD - 35.81 DK - 19.12

Cobb has basically turned into a totally different pitcher this season, striking out more than 10 batters an inning when the career number is 7.25/9 over a sizable sample. And the 3.04 xFIP would represent the second-best number of his career if the season ended today. He’s throwing his curveball less and his changeup more, which is helping and he is getting people to swing outside of the zone more. Plus, Cobb is throwing his fastball harder than at any point in his career as well. It is all working and he has been one of the surprise stories on the mound this season.

Strongly consider Tylor Megill (FD $6500 DK $8000) against the Pirates.

Catcher/First Base

Will Smith FD 3200 DK 4800
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 15.7 DK - 11.66

With the Dodgers playing in Coors once again, we can stack them without wringing our hands all that much. Against the lefty Freeland, Smith should be in the middle of the order. It is worth noting that the catcher has been better against righties for his career, and that isn’t a luck thing either. He takes more walks in that split. But that BABIP definitely is a factor here. If the Dodgers are going to believe in him hitting here, then we should too and he’s just too cheap on FanDuel rolling in Coors.

Chris Gittens FD 2000 DK 2000
Opponent - BOS (Nathan Eovaldi) Park - BOS
FD - 6.67 DK - 5.13

He’s not a household name, but Gittens has been called into service with the Yankees having to shelve players because of COVID issues. He hit the minors pretty well in his last couple of stops. But the key part here is that he’s coming at the stone minimum on both sites. That’s a great advantage especially on DraftKings where this kind of price is tough to come by.

Second Base

Chris Taylor FD 3700 DK 5700
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 14.23 DK - 10.77

If he’s hitting in the top-5 spots in the lineup against a lefty then this one f a no-brainer on FanDuel. It gets a little closer on DraftKings because they’ve bumped the price up so much thanks to Coors. But Taylor is a great fantasy option regardless, offering up power (11 home runs) and speed (8 stolen bases) in the better side of his split against the lefty.

Rougned Odor FD 2100 DK 4000
Opponent - BOS (Nathan Eovaldi) Park - BOS
FD - 10.12 DK - 7.59

With Aaron Judge and some other Yankees needing to sit out because of COVID protocols, Odor has moved up in the order. That’s really helping him look like a value on this slate even if he is in a less-than-optimal matchup against Eovaldi. The FanDuel price is close to the minimum and second base isn’t the best position on this slate to begin with. If trying to fit those Coors bats and a quality arm on the mound, Odor looks good if he’s hitting in the third spot.

Shortstop

Fernando Tatis Jr. FD 4300 DK 6000
Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH
FD - 16.63 DK - 12.58

He’s expensive as you’ll ever see and still, oddly, worth it. Tatis is a dream come true when it comes to fantasy talent, combining power and speed unlike almost anyone else we’ve ever see play the game. Already on the season he has an unreal 28 home runs and 21 stolen bases with an OPS well over 1K. Corbin’s best days are behind him and I think we can feel fine running Tatis here even with the Coors bats looming.

José Iglesias FD 2400 DK 4000
Opponent - SEA (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - SEA
FD - 9.29 DK - 7.26

He’s not all that great of a hitter, but with the Angels suffering through a number of injuries to their core lineup, Iglesias is now hitting around the middle of the lineup. For our purposes, this is a great situation at his current price points. He’s coming very cheap on FanDuel especially where he can slot in to a position that is typically very top heavy with the superstars.

Third Base

Justin Turner FD 4000 DK 5800
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 16.29 DK - 12.3

The Dodgers didn’t disappoint in Coors yesterday and have the highest implied run line again going into Saturday’s main slate of games as well. Turner should be hitting in the three spot against the lefty Kyle Freeland. Turner has been mostly platoon neutral for his career, but some of that is BABIP related in terms of OPS. He has a better walk rate and ISO against lefties. This is, for sure, the spot where we want to stack Dodgers and Turner is one of the core bats in the bunch.

Hunter Dozier FD 3100 DK 3400
Opponent - BAL (Jorge López) Park - BAL
FD - 10.81 DK - 8.18

Not the sexiest name you’ll see, mostly based on the rough performance he’s had this season, but we might be buying Dozier at a discount here. I like the matchup against Lopez and facing righties has been the better side of his split for his career. In this platoon, he’s had a 135 wRC and high .700s OPS. For his DraftKings price I think you can consider it if you aren’t running Turner.

Outfield

Mookie Betts FD 4300 DK 5900
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 19.88 DK - 14.97

Like yesterday, cash game bats are going to want to start here with Betts who will hit leadoff and, even in a down season, is one of the very best fantasy guys around. He’s crushed lefties for his career with an .884 OPS and 133 wRC+ in that split. He walks more against southpaws and even with Freeland inducing a lot of groundballs, Betts’ speed negates that advantage some.

Tommy Pham FD 2900 DK 3900
Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH
FD - 12.93 DK - 9.8

Wil Myers FD 2500 DK 3200
Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH
FD - 11.91 DK - 8.95

The Padres put up a whopping 24 runs against the Nationals on Friday, with a score that ended up looking more like a football game than a nine-inning baseball affair. Both of these guys are in a good spot against the lefty Corbin who has struggled this season. The key is both are coming cheap on FanDuel especially and offer a chance to save in the outfield in order to pay up for an arm and Coors bats.