Aces And Yankee Bats Highlight DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 7/22/22

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Pitchers

Max Scherzer FD 11500 DK 10400
Opponent - SD (Yu Darvish) Park - SD
FD - 44.95 DK - 25.39

It’s our first full slate of MLB action post-All-Star Break and we are going to be paying up for pitching in cash games. There are two guys at the top of the list who qualify as true aces and both are in good spots. When healthy, Scherzer has been electric this season for the Mets. In his 11 starts, he has a 2.90 xFIP with a 7.5:1 K:BB ratio which is about as good as you’ll ever see it in the majors. He’s putting down 11.74 batters per nine and has gone at least six innings in all but two of his starts this season. It’s tough to find a better pitcher going these days.

Corbin Burnes FD 11300 DK 10200
Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COL
FD - 43.8 DK - 24.87

Burnes is almost always leading the cash game picks when he takes the mound, but there’s also Scherzer today. So that’s no knock on Corbin at all. He has, easily, the best money line odds on the day as a -274 home favorite against the Rockies who completely stink away from Coors. Like Scherzer, he’s ultra-efficient with 11.4 K’s per nine and a 5:1 K:BB ratio. It will be tough fitting both into cash games on DraftKings, but it’s definitely worth it to give it a try. The floor for these two guys is just so high.

Catcher/First Base

Anthony Rizzo FD 3900 DK 5100
Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - BAL
FD - 12.15 DK - 9.13

The Yankees have the highest run line of the main slate on Friday and we are going to want to try to get them into cash games. It will be tough to fully stack them fully with the higher-priced arms. Facing off against Tyler Wells is a good start though for the Bombers and Rizzo is one of the better options at this position. He’s got an OPS in the low-800s for the season though does have 22 home runs already. He’s on pace for a career number there if things keep up. Rolling with the top of the Yankees order is going to be the way to go here.

Ty France FD 3300 DK 4500
Opponent - HOU (José Urquidy) Park - HOU
FD - 13.4 DK - 10.22

We’ve consistently been on France this season to mostly positive results. He’s very tough to strike out at only 15% and puts the ball in play right around 80% of the time. He has a mid-800s OPS and is on pace to hit right around 20 home runs while getting on base almost 80% of the time. Urquidy is a low-K arm so there should be plenty of contact here for France. The Mariners have a run line in the mid-4’s but he’s coming at fair prices on both sites.

Second Base

DJ LeMahieu FD 3100 DK 4700
Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - BAL
FD - 10.59 DK - 8.2

Again, we are looking to get as many Yankees as possible into lineups today considering no other team is opening up with a run line higher than 5.0. And again, it’s going to be tough. LeMahieu should be in the leadoff slot once again for the Pinstripes, an advantageous spot as any considering who he’s hitting in front of. Having Judge, Rizzo, and Stanton is about as good a way to score runs as there is if you can just get on base. Second base is a very thin position on this slate and LeMahieu is, by far, the best option.

On DraftKings it might be tough to fit DJ in with the bigger arms and some other higher-priced bats. I think we are going to possibly have to punt it away when it’s all said and done. That will largely depend on how teams release lineups for this slate though before we can know some of the options.

Shortstop

Tim Anderson FD 3200 DK 5500
Opponent - CLE (Cal Quantrill) Park - CLE
FD - 11.41 DK - 8.89

The White Sox are pushing up against 5.0 implied runs on this slate facing off against Cal Quantrill. The latter has struggled this season and don’t let the 3.75 ERA fool you. The 4.65 xfIP and 5.63 K/9 tell the real story on this guy. And the lack of K’s is a good thing for Anderson who puts the ball in play about 82% of the time this season, getting on base 35% of the time even with a 4% walk rate. He’s a total bargain on FanDuel where he’s coming much too cheap. The DraftKings price does make things a bit tougher though considering he’s pretty expensive there.

Willy Adames FD 3500 DK 4400
Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COL
FD - 10.64 DK - 8.06

If looking to go a little cheaper at shortstop, Adames offers that opportunity. The righty should be hitting second for the Brewers on Friday when they face off against Antonio Senzatela. The latter is strking out only about five batters per nine, though he has been able to mostly keep the ball on the ground for his career. That being said, Milwaukee is projected for about 4.5 runs and Adames is on pace for the best power numbers of his career. He has 19 home runs already with a .477 slugging. K’s are his big issue, but that’s much less of a concern in this matchup.

Third Base

Josh Donaldson FD 2600 DK 5000
Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - BAL
FD - 10.68 DK - 7.96

Donaldson is almost half as cheap on FanDuel as he is on DraftKings, making him a strong cash play on the former. It’s been something of a struggle for Donaldson this season in that he’s keeping the OPS barely above .700 and the strikeout rate is up some. At age 36 he is getting a little long in the tooth as far as ballplayers are concerned but considering the spot for the Yankees, I’m running him at FanDuel at almost punt pricing.

Yoán Moncada FD 2500 DK 3700
Opponent - CLE (Cal Quantrill) Park - CLE
FD - 9.48 DK - 7.18

Moncada had been really struggling this season (a total understatement) but things did start turning around before the All-Star Break. He hit safely in eight of his last nine games with a couple of home runs in that stretch as well. It wasn’t enough to turn the season fully around, but it’s good to know that he might not be completely cooked. The price is coming cheap on both sites because the full-season numbers are garbage. But this is a good matchup and he should still be hitting second in the lineup.

Outfield

Aaron Judge FD 4600 DK 6200
Opponent - BAL (Tyler Wells) Park - BAL
FD - 13.2 DK - 9.87

When Aaron Judge’s team has the highest implied run line on the day, you probably want to play Aaron Judge in cash games. Sure, he’s expensive as all get out, but it’s totally warranted considering what he’s been doing this season. He already has an unreal 34 home runs on the year, five more than the next-closest guy in the majors. The .985 OPS is about as good as you’ll ever see through this many plate appearances and he’s even somehow added eight stolen bases. It’s all been there for Judge this season and he’s worth the spend.

Jesse Winker FD 2400 DK 4000
Opponent - HOU (José Urquidy) Park - HOU
FD - 11.3 DK - 8.52

Considering we want to stack some Yankees and pay all the way up for pitching, we are going to need to find some considerable savings in other spots. That’s where a guy like Winker can come in. He’s slated to hit third for the Mariners against Urquidy and has a few things going for him. First off, he’s been patient at the plate, walking 14% of the time, something that has a lot of advantages coming in this lower price tier. And there is some pop in the bat with eight home runs. He’s running 40 points low on his BABIP which is driving down the OPS some as well. I think he’s still a bargain.

Rafael Ortega FD 2300 DK 2900
Opponent - PHI (Kyle Gibson) Park - PHI
FD - 9.7 DK - 7.48

Another cheap bat at the top of the order, Ortega should be hitting leadoff for the Cubs who get a good matchup against Gibson. The former is walking almost 13% of the time this season though the OPS is on the lower side, we are mostly looking to get plate appearances at a cheap salary here. Ortega fits the bill in that respect.

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