DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 7/9/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 7/9/21 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Charlie Morton FD 10000 DK 9600 Opponent - MIA (Zach Thompson) Park - MIA FD - 34.54 DK - 18.93 This very well may be the worst pitching slate of the season and makes our decision to fade a high-priced ace very easy as there aren't any. We still have to roster a pitcher(two on DraftKings) and for me, it starts with Charlie Morton who has been providing nice PTS/$ value but now gets a monster price which is mostly relative to the options on this slate. While he did get hit around by these very Marlins in his last start, the matchup is on the plus side as they do rank bottom 10 in almost all offensive categories. This game also has the lowest total(7.5) on the slate and with strikeouts being king Morton gives us a 5-7 K floor. All things considered, he is my top pitcher on this slate and in play in all formats. Taijuan Walker FD - P 9500 DK - SP 9000 Opponent - PIT (JT Brubaker) Park - NYM FD - 34.68 DK - 18.72 Walker got pushed up a day due to a rainout yesterday and has been terrific lately holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts(2.90 ERA/3.10 xFIP) with a 30% K rate. The Pirates don't strike out a lot(22% vs. RH pitching) which does limit the upside here but overall they rank as a bottom 5-10 offense giving Walker a nice PTS/$ floor in the $9K range on both sites. Kenta Maeda FD - P 7300 DK - SP 7100 Opponent - DET (Matt Manning) Park - MIN FD - 29.85 DK - 15.93 With an overall lack of serviceable options on this slate, I was a little surprised to see Maeda as a -205 favorite in the low $7K range on DraftKings. His first half has been a complete roller coaster ride but the good news is that he is coming off his best start of the season going six innings in KC allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out 10 and walking just one. If he limits the walks, he can easily get into the 6th inning giving him a very high PTS/$ floor and ceiling. Lock in the value at SP2 in all formats. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD 3700 DK 5400 Opponent - TEX (Jordan...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 7/8/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 7/8/21 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Taijuan Walker FD - P 9500 DK - SP 8400 Opponent - PIT (JT Brubaker) Park - NYM FD - 33.32 DK - 18.1 Not going to lie. I am getting tired of being burned by elite-priced pitching and making the decision to fade those top ones is much easier tonight as they are facing each other(Max vs. Yu). I will be going with a much more balanced approach and it starts with Walker who has been terrific lately holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts(2.90 ERA/3.10 xFIP) with a 30% K rate. The Pirates don't strike out a lot(22% vs. RH pitching) but rank as a bottom-five offense overall leading to the Mets being big -195 favorites and Walker one of my favorite pitchers on this slate. Alek Manoah FD - P 10300 DK - SP 6800 Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - BAL FD - 33.44 DK - 18.38 This is mostly a DraftKings-only play as he is massively underpriced, especially considering the rookie is coming off his best start of the season. It was also his longest outing(7 IP) and against a tough Rays team that he struck out 10 times. He now has a season-low price tag(since his debut) facing a bottom 10 offense in the Orioles who are also much worse against righties with an 84 wRC+ and 25% K rate. Manoah is my top, and likely chalk, SP2 on DraftKings and makes a nice high upside/low owned GPP pivot on FanDuel. Catcher/First Base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 4700 DK - 1B 6000 Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - BAL FD - 16.83 DK - 12.77 The Blue Jays are like a super team tonight as they are easily the highest projected offense and despite being very expensive aren't too hard to fit if using Manoah as your SP2. While the lineup is stacked top to bottom it revolves around Valddy who is having an MVP-like first half hitting .344 with 28 home runs and 72 RBI. He and the Jays now get a matchup against a struggling Keegan Akin who has given up 6+ hits and 4+ earned runs in four straight starts. If you needed more convincing, Vladdy has destroyed lefties to the tune of a .409 wOBA and 159 wRC+. You know what to do! Eric Haase FD - C...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 7/7/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 7/7/21 - Main Slate 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Chris Paddack FD 7600 DK 8700 Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSHFD - 31.43 DK - 16.92 Paddack is about a run better than his 4.56 ERA with a 3.55 xFIP on the season. He’s run bad on the LOB% which has driven up the ERA some but is still solid on the peripherals with a 4.4:1 K:BB ratio and he’s also inducing groundballs at around a 43% rate. He’s a -170 home favorite against the Nationals on Wednesday evening, a solid win expectation on a slate without much in the way of stud arms. The Nats aren’t a great matchup, but the pitching options are fantastic either. Alex Wood FD 8300 DK 8500 Opponent - STL (Johan Oviedo) Park - STLFD - 35.38 DK - 19.22 Alex Wood is having his best season since 2018 with a 3.59 xFIP and 9.55 Ks per nine while also keeping the walks mostly down. Like Paddack, he’s a -172 home favorite against the Cardinals, but the latter is a better matchup than the Nationls, ranking in the bottom-third in team offense this season. Catcher/First Base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD 4600 DK 5900 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - BALFD - 16.17 DK - 12.27 Since we aren’t going to be paying through the nose for pitching on this evening slate, I think we can easily target some of the expensive Jays bats on this slate. And what better way to start than Vlad Jr? He’s having an MVP-like season to start off with a 1.100+ OPS and 27 home runs already. It’s a breakout campaign to say the least and he’s putting together one of the best age-22 seasons you’ll ever see. Against Matt Harvey, one of the leagues gas cans, this is great place to start cash games. Yuli Gurriel FD 3300 DK 4800 Opponent - OAK (Sean Manaea) Park - OAKFD - 13.05 DK - 10.01 Gurriel doesn’t get a great matchup with Manaea, but that is ok in this situation considering the price and what the former is doing this season. Yule has an .885 OPS on the season thanks to some power (10 home runs) but his patience as well. He is walking (11%) more than he’s striking out (9%) which is a feat in and of itself. He’s been much better against lefties this season with a 1.000 OPS in that...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 7/6/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 7/6/21 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Jacob deGrom FD - P 11800 DK - SP 11500 Opponent - MIL (Brett Anderson) Park - NYMFD - 51.42 DK - 29.65 DeGrom is a -263 favorite with an over/ under of six on this slate, which represent just stupid numbers for an actual Major League baseball game. The righty is putting up historic numbers this season with 136 strikeouts through his first 85 innings, sporting a 12:1 K:BB ratio and rocking a 1.63 ERA which is only barely trailing his 0.95 ERA. These numbers are just dumb and he’s easily the best pitcher in baseball. The price, even at these levels, is still too cheap for what he’s doing on the mound. It’s a pretty easy spot to just run him in cash and not feel even remotely worried about it. Ian Anderson FD - P 8400 DK - SP 8600 Opponent - PIT (Chad Kuhl) Park - PITFD - 38.52 DK - 20.41 Anderson has been solid this season with a 3.50 xFIP on the season while striking out more than a batter per inning. You’d like the 3.15 BB rate to come down a little more though he has made some improvements in that department since last season. The big story here is that he gets to face the Pirates who are easily the worst offense in the league this season with a .286 team wOBA. They don’t strikeout a ton, but they also can’t hit at all. Anderson is a -170 road favorite in this one and is a solid DK SP2 here. Catcher/First Base Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5900 Opponent - PIT (Chad Kuhl) Park - PITFD - 13.86 DK - 10.37 With Chad Kuhl taking the mound for the Pirates, we are going to hope to get at least a couple of Braves into our DFS lineups here. Kuhl is easily the worst arm going here with some garbage peripherals and a 5.60 xFIP. Freeman is in a prime spot and continues to be one of the very best bats in the league even if the OPS isn’t telling that exact story. He walks 15% of the time, is tough to strike out and has the BABIP dragging him down some this season. If you want to play DeGrom it will be tough to fit the salary, but it’s worth it to try. Luke Voit FD - 1B...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 7/5/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 7/5/21 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Brandon Woodruff FD - P 11400 DK - SP 10400 Opponent - NYM (Tylor Megill) Park - NYM FD - 36.32 DK - 20.76 After laying an egg in Coors back in mid-June, Woodruff has gotten back to his dominant self allowing just one earned run in each of his last two starts while striking out 17 batters. They were both plus matchups(ARI. CHC) but the good news is that they get another one tonight as they go into one of the best pitchers parks in Citi Field. He faces an inconsistent Mets team that has scored the third-fewest runs since the start of June while striking out 25% of the time. I know top pitchers have been shaky since the whole "stick stuff" ban but Woodruff is one pitcher it seems to have not affected. Either way, he is in a great spot and my top pitcher in all formats. Joe Musgrove FD - P 9600 DK - SP 8700 Opponent - WSH (Jon Lester) Park - SD FD - 35.86 DK - 19.44 I completely understand if you want to fade or at least be underweight on Woodruff and if that is the case, Joe Musgrove has a projection very close to Woodruff but comes with a much lower price tag. While he is coming off a dud against the Reds(5 ER), he has been consistent all year entering the night with a 2.63 ERA/3.29 xFIP and the upside we seen in 2020(33% K rate) has carried over into this season(30%). He faces a Nats team that has been struggling in the short term losing four straight and will be without Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber on Monday. Musgrove has huge win expectation as a -210 favorite and is one of our top PTS/$ plays on the mound. Catcher/First Base Salvador Perez FD 3200 DK 5000 Opponent - CIN (Vladimir Gutierrez) Park - CIN FD - 12.47 DK - 9.48 Ryan O'Hearn FD 2600 DK 3200 Opponent - CIN (Vladimir Gutierrez) Park - CIN FD - 10.8 DK - 8.08 This is one of the first articles I have written in a long time where one of the Top 5 offenses in baseball wasn't also the top projected team on the slate. That honor goes to the Kansas City Royals tonight in a great spot vs. Gutierrez who has given up 6+ hits in four of his last...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 7/4/21 – Main Slate
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 7/4/21 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. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Freddy Peralta FD - P 9900 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - PIT (Tyler Anderson) Park - PITFD - 42.71 DK - 24.31 Peralta has an elite 2.17 ERA on the season though the 3.49 xFIP is about a run and a half behind on the season. He’s still a well-above-average arm and is striking out more than 12.5 batters per nine. The walks are a bit of a problem but he still has a lot of upside in this matchup. He’s a -173 road favorite against the Pirates who rank dead last in the league on offense this season. Their .287 team wOBA is a full seven points lower than the next-worst team. This is the worst group of bats by a pretty wide margin. Charlie Morton FD - P 9000 DK - SP 7800 Opponent - MIA (Zach Thompson) Park - ATLFD - 33.02 DK - 17.62 Morton continues to keep the ball out of the air with a 48% groundball rate on the season. He’s also striking out more than 10 batters per nine and sports a 3.48 xFIP. He’s a -180 home favorite against the Marlins who are the second-to-last offense in the league right before the lowly Pirates. Being able to stack arms against the two worst-hitting teams in the league is just the spot you want to be in here on Sunday. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 4800 Opponent - CLE (Cal Quantrill) Park - CLEFD - 14.01 DK - 10.75 Gurriel draws a great matchup against Quantrill who strikes out fewer than seven batters per nine and is rocking a mid-4’s xFIP. Gurriel has an OPS pushing up near .900 and is walking (11%) more than he’s striking out (9%). He is on pace for the second-best power numbers of his career with 10 home runs on the season. He’s been slightly better against lefties for his career with the 122 wRC+ seven points higher than the righty split. José Abreu FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 5200 Opponent - DET (Matt Manning) Park - DETFD - 12.2 DK - 9.23 Abreu is having a down season for sure, but to start lets look at Matt Manning. The latter has struggled through his first 14 big league innings striking out only 9% of opposing batters and sporting an 8.16 ERA. Meanwhile, Abreu has the OPS sitting...