DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday Afternoon 7/25/20 Baseball is fully back and we've got a packed afternoon at the ballpark. Most games are going off between 1-4 EST and we've got you covered with DraftKings and FanDuel picks. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Mike Clevinger FD - P 10400 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - CLEFD - 40.43 DK - 22.3 Clevinger was just flat out awesome in 2019, posting a crazy-high 12.07 K/9, getting under control by significantly lowering his walk rate and posting a 3.09 xFIP. He went almost exclusively fastball/ slider, throwing the latter much more and to great effects. On Saturday he enters as a -240 favorite against a very weak Royals team. He's completely mispriced on DraftKings especially considering what he did last season. Luis Castillo FD - P 9800 DK - 8000 Opponent - DET (Ivan Nova) Park - CINFD - 39.02 DK - 21.23 Castillo took a step forward in 2019, getting his K’s from about a strikeout an inning through his first two seasons up to 10.75 per nine. It meant ticking the walks up though and he did allow 3.7 free passes per nine. But the 3.48 xFIP was well above average and he was able to go about six innings per start even pitching in one of the best hitters’ parks in baseball. Detroit is in some lean times right now and barely rosters a major league lineup. Piggy in the middle of the lineup is toast and the rest of the lineup has a propensity to strike out. I love Castillo on DK as a SP2. Originally, we had Julio Urias written up because he was the scheduled starter for the Dodgers against the Giants. That's been changed to Alex Wood (FD $6800 DK $7800) who comes in as a solid SP2 candidate if the expectation is he gets a moderate pitch count load. Lance McCullers Jr. (FD $8000 DK $8500) is a monster favorite today as well, -283 against the Mariners. I'm just a little concerned about how deep he goes in the game because he hasn't pitched in almost two years at this point. Catcher/First Base Carlos Santana FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 4500 Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - CLEFD - 13.29 DK - 9.88 Brady Singer is making his major league debut for the Royals on Sunday which puts the Indians in a great spot. They have the second-highest implied...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Opening Day Friday 7/24/20 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Justin Verlander FD - P 11200 DK - SP 11400 Opponent - SEA (Marco Gonzales) Park - HOUFD - 41.63 DK - 23.7 Sure, the Astros are cheaters, but that was only around the hitters right? The pitchers are all okay, right? Verlander closed off a second-straight career year after joining the Astros with another 12+ K/9 season with a second consecutive low 3’s xFIP. Dude was just an aces ace and he lines up to start the season as the slate’s best win odds pitcher with the Astros entering the game as -293 favorites over the Mariners. Verlander is a great cash game play especially with mitigating concerns around pitch count considering his workhorse history. Jack Flaherty FD - P 10500 DK - SP 9000 Opponent - PIT (Joe Musgrove) Park - STLFD - 43.81 DK - 24.1 Flaherty is only 24 and settling into a stellar career based on the short term results. Through his first 350 major league innings he’s struck out more than 10.5 batters per nine while walking three per. It’s the latter number that is the only real concern but he got much more in control over the last 200 innings and he’s becoming something of an ace. The Cards enter as -200 favorites against the Pirates and Flaherty is coming in considerably cheaper compared to Verlander. He isn’t in the same K range, but that’s built into the price and should fare well against an undermanned Pittsburgh team. Nathan Eovaldi FD - P 7100 DK - SP 7100 Opponent - BAL (Tommy Milone) Park - BOSFD - 35.36 DK - 18.57 Is he good? Not really. Is he a decent favorite against a bad team? Maybe that’s more like it. With the Red Sox jettisoning David Price, Rick Porcello heading to free agency and Chris Sale starting the season on the DL the team is left with precious few pitching options. Eovaldi is slated as the Opening Day arm and still comes in as a -200 favorite over the Orioles who still very much project to stink. Eovaldi struck out more than a batter an inning last season moving between the starting lineup and the bullpen but still managed to walk every living thing in sight. This is merely a price play based on win odds, some strikeout potential and the Orioles. Catcher/First Base Paul Goldschmidt FD - 1B 3500 DK - 1B...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Opening Day Thursday 7/23/20 I can't believe I'm saying this, but Baseball is Back Baby!!! After much doubt, flubbed negotiations, no clear plan for restart and of course an ongoing pandemic the season is set to restart on Thursday. We get two high-profile games with three championship-level squads and also the Giants. Let's take a look at some cash game plays for FanDuel and DraftKings. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD 11400 DK 10000 Opponent - WSH (Max Scherzer) Park - WSHFD - 42.53 DK - 24.13 The offseason was supposed to be about how Gerrit Cole signed a contract worth somewhere around the equivalent of a small country’s GDP and that we’d be wondering how he fit in the old pinstripes. Those were the good old days when life meant something. Anyway, here we are. The Yankees didn't commit $324 million on spec, they liked what they saw out of Cole who spiked his K’s to 13.82 K/9 in 2019 and finished with a microscopic 2.48 xFIP. Dude became something of a cheat code with the Astros and the Yankees bought on that promise. At these prices, it’s fine to take a chance on the shiny new car, Sure, it’s a new situation, but it stands to reason New York wants to go with what works. He doesn’t walk into a great matchup against a strong Nats team but he’s easily the best arm on the slate. Clayton Kershaw FD 10300 DK 7700 Opponent - SF (Johnny Cueto) Park - SFFD - 42.26 DK - 22.93 You can feel for Clayton Kershaw. Dude got bombed in the playoffs, a place of great strife for him but that shouldn't dissuade us here. To start this season, Kershaw walks into the best matchup of the two-game slate against the Giants with the best opening win odds at -334. Even with the W slightly diminished on DraftKings, the price is a near-joke. He should be the cash game chalk there with the two pitcher format. While Kershaw has been in moderate decline since his peak in 2015, he’s still striking out more than a batter an inning and limiting the walks (relative to average). The biggest concern here is a very low pitch count, something the Dodgers are guilty of even in the most stable and normal of times. But at his prices, even that risk is built in somewhat for Kershaw. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD 3900 DK 4600...

We’re going to take a different approach here. What we’re going to do is breakdown this series by position. This should be the highest-scoring series of the divisional round, as we have two elite offenses facing two questionable pitching staffs. These teams actually combined for over 600 homers this season, which is simply absurd. I’d actually argue that these are the two worst pitching staffs in the playoffs, so let’s start off with those guys.  Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers  James Paxton (NYY): Paxton got off to a terrible start this season but he’s been much better over recent weeks. Over his last seven starts, Paxton is pitching to a 1.69 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 10.8 K.9 rate. The only worrisome factor about him is the fact that he left his last start due to lower body soreness but he’s fully expected to pitch in this series, maybe even Game 1.  Masahiro Tanaka (NYY): The Japanese import has had a frustrating season for Yankee fans, posting a 4.45 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. What’s really worrisome is the fact that he’s facing a lineup who set the MLB record for most home runs, with Tanaka allowing at least 25 dingers in three-straight years.   Luis Severino (NYY): This dude may be the dark horse of this series. After posting a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP between 2017-18, he pitched to a 1.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in his three starts this season. The late-season return from injury limited his pitch count but throwing 72 pitches in his last start indicates that he’s almost ready for a full workload. That’s bad news for a righty-heavy Twins lineup.   Jake Odorizzi (MIN): Odorizzi has been the Twins best pitcher in 2019, posting a 3.51 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. This is a guy who has no playoff experience though and allowed nine runs in his last start against these Yankees.   Jose Berrios (MIN): While Berrios looked like a breakout early on in 2019, he really struggled late. In fact, Berrios pitched to a 5.83 ERA and 1.52 WHIP over his final 10 starts. That’s truly scary against one of the best lineups in baseball.   Twins Third Starter: This may be a bullpen game with guys like Kyle Gibson, Martin Perez and Randy Dobnak filling the void. Dobnak is actually the only one who had a decent year but it’s scary that Minnesota will have to make decisions like these against the Bronx Bombers.   Bullpens: While these are two good bullpens, the Yankees backend simply can't be matched by anyone. These guys are downright scary. That’s why...

It’s unfair for anyone to face the Astros right now. This team is so stacked and it’s why many experts have them pegged as the clear-cut favorite to win the World Series. It’s easy to see why they’re such big favorites when analyzing their roster, so let’s go ahead and get into that.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Houston Astros  Starters  Justin Verlander: Not much needs to be said about the future Hall-of-Famer. This dude has a 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 35.4 percent K rate this season, which is pretty much on par with what he's been doing for over a decade. Those absurd numbers make him scary against anyone and he’ll surely be in top form in yet another playoff run.  Gerrit Cole: What if I told you that Verlander was not the best pitcher on this staff. Some would argue that it’s this guy, with Cole having a breakout season. Not only did the right-hander lead the league with 326 strikeouts, he also matched it with a 2.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He was even better in the second half, posting a 1.51 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 14.1 K.9 rate over his final 14 starts.   Zack Greinke: Jeez, it’s scary that the Astros added this dude to their already stacked pitching staff. Greinke was in the midst of another brilliant season before coming over to Houston, as he finished the year with a 2.93 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. That would make him the best pitcher on any pitching staff but he’ll go ahead and slot in for Game 3 in this series.   Bullpen  Look for these three starters to take care of most innings but their bullpen isn't too shabby either. Will Harris, Bruce Rondon and Ryan Pressly will carve out the middle innings while Roberto Osuna will be closing out games. That makes this the most dangerous pitching staff in the league and it’s no wonder that no one wants to face them.   Lineup  It would be one thing to have a pitching staff like this with an average lineup but this may be the best hitting core in baseball too. George Springer leading things off is truly scary, with the slugging outfielder posting a .393 OBP and .974 OPS this season. That pairs beautifully with Jose Altuve in the two-hole, with the little man having yet another stellar season. Michael Brantley hitting third is consistency at its finest, with the lefty outfielder hitting .300 pretty much every year. Alex Bregman is no joke in...

After an exciting start to the MLB playoffs, we have our first team advancing. That happens to be the Washington Nationals, as they miraculously overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to advance. While it was an error that got them that victory, they appeared to be the better team over the Brewers. We have been rewarded with outstanding series of pitching. The three main starters for both of these clubs can shut down a lineup on any given night and it should make for a low-scoring series. With that said, we’re going to place the pitchers against the offense and discuss how it could play out. So, let’s dig into this NLDS.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! WSH vs. Clayton Kershaw: The future Hall-of-Famer had a bounce-back season for the Dodgers and I truly believe that Dave Roberts will peg him as the number-one guy to show that they have confidence in him. That’s just what he needs too, as this dude has struggled mightily throughout his postseason career. His 9-10 record goes along with an ugly 4.32 ERA. That’s shocking from a guy who has a 2.44 ERA and 1.00 WHIP for his career which was pretty much on par with his 3.03 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this year. That postseason ERA and win-loss record is a fluke in my opinion though, as his 1.09 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 rate is plenty good. That makes the Nationals a tough bet in this game but righties like Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are in the best spots to succeed. If you’re looking for someone cheaper, Howie Kendrick and Brian Dozier have had a ton of success against lefties this season too.   WSH vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu: The southpaw from Japan has had a breakout season for the Dodgers and it may earn him an NL Cy Young award. A 2.32 ERA and 1.01 WHIP were some of the best marks in the Majors and it has him likely to start one of these first two games. What is scary is the fact that he struggled in the second half, pitching to a 5.40 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over his last seven starts. That can be attributed to his career-high in innings pitched and it remains to be seen if that’ll be an issue in the postseason. In terms of matchups, the same things fly as the Kershaw write-up with Ryu throwing from the left side. With that said, Ryu allowed just 11 baserunners and one run across 14.2 innings in two starts against...