A Cy Young Candidate and Cheap Bats Highlight DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 7/26/22

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Pitchers

Shane McClanahan FD 11600 DK 10300
Opponent - BAL (Spenser Watkins) Park - BAL
FD - 41.98 DK - 23.4

McClanahan is having one of the best pitching seasons we’ve seen in a while and it’s remarkable that it’s coming in just his second full season in the majors. He’s rocking an unreal 1.71 ERA with the 2.00 ERA not far behind. That’s thanks to a 11.95 K/9 rate and a 7.7:1 K:BB ratio. He comes in as a -200 road favorite against the Orioles and is clearly the best cash game option on the slate. The way he’s going, the dude is just making his case for one of the best arms in all of baseball right now.

José Berríos FD 8900 DK 7900
Opponent - STL (Andre Pallante) Park - STL
FD - 36.42 DK - 19.45

Berrios had a rough start to the season but has begun to turn it around of late and we might be grabbing him at a value right now. Sure, the 5.23 ERA can make you worried, but over his last three starts he’s gone at least six innings in each, striking out 26 and walking just two. It sure looks like things are on the up and up for this guy and we are getting him at a bargain because of the troubles earlier in the season. He’s a -231 favorite thanks in part to a bunch of key Cardinals bats not making the trip to Toronto.

Catcher/First Base

Alejandro Kirk FD 3300 DK 4900
Opponent - STL (Andre Pallante) Park - STL
FD - 12.59 DK - 9.55

Though there’s a game in Coors, a couple of teams on this slate have higher run lines than anything we are getting in the Mile High air. One of them is the Blue Jays who come in as big favorites against a skeleton crew of Cardinals players. Kirk is having an excellent season, walking (10.7%) more than he’s striking out (9.1%) with an .893 OPS and 11 home runs. He makes for a solid cash game option because of the patience and does have some power upside.

Darin Ruf FD 2600 DK 3200
Opponent - ARI (Tyler Gilbert) Park - ARI
FD - 12.08 DK - 9.07

Because of the extreme platoon splits, he’s still a candidate to get pinch hit for later in games, but he’s raked against lefties in his career so I think he’s worth the risk at these price points. Coming in the lower tier on both FanDuel and DraftKings will help you fit in some of the higher-priced guys and for his career Run has a .938 OPS, 155 wRC+, and .397 wOBA against southpaws. That’s about as good as you’ll ever see in a split.

Second Base

Brandon Lowe FD 3000 DK 4900
Opponent - BAL (Spenser Watkins) Park - BAL
FD - 12.87 DK - 9.61

The Rays are in a good spot against Spenser Watkins on Tuesday considering the righty is striking out fewer than 5.5 batters per nine, walking 3.42, and has a 5.26 xFIP. Don’t let the 3.93 ERA fool you, this guy isn’t much of a major league arm. Lowe hasn’t been able to repeat the crazy power numbers he had last season when he mashed 39 home runs. He only has six so far this season. But his Hr/ FB rate is down compared to his career average and I like the matchup here especially with the K expectation greatly reduced.

Wilmer Flores FD 2800 DK 4400
Opponent - ARI (Tyler Gilbert) Park - ARI
FD - 11.95 DK - 9.11

Tyler Gilbert is another arm we can target and I like the prices we are getting at the top of the Giants’ lineup. Flores has a mid-700s OPS on the season and for his career has been much better facing off against lefties. He has a .342 wOBA and .813 OPS, the latter of which is nearly 100 points higher than what he does against righties. He’s not a pinch-hit threat like some of the guys above him in the lineup either making him a safer play.

Shortstop

Xander Bogaerts FD 3000 DK 4900
Opponent - CLE (Undecided) Park - CLE
FD - 13.59 DK - 10.32

We haven’t mentioned the Red Sox yet, but they are another squad that’s got one of the higher run lines on the day. Coming in at 5.7 runs against the righty Bryan Shaw, we are looking at a potential stack for this team. Bogaerts is having a fine enough season with an OPS in the .800s though the power numbers are down significantly from last season. It’s something of a concern, but it also means we are getting him at a cheaper price point, especially on FanDuel.

Tim Anderson FD 3900 DK 5100
Opponent - COL (Germán Márquez) Park - COL
FD - 13.08 DK - 10.19

We haven’t mentioned any White Sox guys despite them taking a trip to Coors, so now would be as good a time as any. Anderson will be in the leadoff slot and is putting together another solid fantasy season. He has a .765 OPS with six home runs and 12 stolen bases and puts the ball in play more than 80% of the time. I wish the power numbers were a little more robust, but this is Coors and we know what that does to help batters.

Third Base

Manny Machado FD 4000 DK 5200
Opponent - DET (Garrett Hill) Park - DET
FD - 13.67 DK - 10.37

This might be a bit of an overpay for Machado but 3B is just pretty weak all around on this slate so we might need to do it. On an individual level, he’s having an excellent year with an OPS pushing up towards .900 thanks to 16 home runs and a 10% walk rate. Garrett Hill has struggled to strike out batters at the major league level so far and there’s a reason the Padres have an implied run line over 5.0. We can run Machado here.

Yoán Moncada FD 3400 DK 4000
Opponent - COL (Germán Márquez) Park - COL
FD - 10.94 DK - 8.28

This is a case where we hope Coors can make up for the fact that he’s been awful this season. It’s been a real struggle for the guy who was once one of the best prospects in the majors. But the OPS is in the tank and the walk rate has plummeted. And yet we still can take the risk because he should hit second in the lineup and this is Coors we are talking about.

Outfield

Jarren Duran FD 2500 DK 3400
Opponent - CLE (Undecided) Park - CLE
FD - 12.72 DK - 9.81

Alex Verdugo FD 2400 DK 3700
Opponent - CLE (Undecided) Park - CLE
FD - 11.66 DK - 8.96

If you want to fit in some of the higher-priced bats and arms on this slate, these two guys should really help things. Considering the Red Sox come in with one of the best implied run lines on the slate, getting these two so cheap really helps things quite a bit. Duran has K’d quite a bit at the major league level, but when he’s gotten on base he’s been able to show off some of the speed with seven stolen bases already. We are just getting him at too advantageous a price point to pass up.

Meanwhile, Verdugo has had no issue with the contact, putting the ball into play about 84% of the time, but the other numbers haven’t really rounded out. His OPS is under .700 though the BABIP is pulling him down somewhat. His Hr/FB rate is below his career average as well, both of which are driving some of the weaker numbers. But I’m still buying here because of the matchup.

Yermín Mercedes FD 2300 DK 2000
Opponent - ARI (Tyler Gilbert) Park - ARI
FD - 9.87 DK - 7.54

Outfield is all about going cheap on this slate. Mercedes should be in the cleanup slot against the lefty Gilbert and he’s coming at the minimum on DraftKings and close to it on FanDuel. He’s shown some patience at the major league level with a 12% walk rate and more power should be on the way. But how can we pass up these punt prices considering the spot the Giants are in and where he should hit in the order?

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