Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/5/17 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer, our NBA Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB and NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.   Pitcher Alex Wood FD 9400 DK 11600 Opponent - ARI (Godley) Park - @LAD FD - 38.18 DK - 24.97 After a few days of some weird slates, we get a bit back to "normal" here, or at least however normal MLB DFS can be. We have 12 games on the main slate with another 3 earlier in the day, which we'll ignore completely. Out of the 12 main games, just 1 holds an over/under below 8.5.  That happens to be the Diamondbacks @ Dodgers game, where our favorite pitcher takes the mound. You may have mistaken his 2017 stats for Clayton Kershaw, but he goes by Alex Wood. Wood is 26 years old and has been in the majors for 3 years, but hasn't shown this type of consistency and production. He's striking out over 10 batters per 9 innings and walking 2.4. Both of those numbers are huge improvements from the last 2 years and speak to his improvement in controlling his fastball. He's holding a .220 wOBA against righties and a .217 against lefties. There is no reason to dislike this kid as a pitcher and I will argue that he is top 10 right now in the league. The match-up tonight with the Diamondbacks tonight is good, but not great. The D-backs hit lefties better, but also lose Peralta and Lamb, who are a big reason for their success. Dodger Stadium is also much bigger than Chase Field and it'll take a bit more muscle to get it out in L.A. Wood is inherently risky to a degree, but sees a solid match-up that you can chalk up 7 K's with. He's my top option in both formats and I don't see myself pivoting to DeGrom or Vargas anywhere. Trevor Bauer FD 8700 DK 7300 Opponent - SD (Perdomo) Park - @CLE FD - 34.2 DK - 22.51 Trevor Bauer is not a pitcher you go out and look for. He's not going to manhandle a good team and he's never going to strikeout 10 in an unexpected game. He is what he is and you know what you're getting when you click on his name. He strikes out close to 10 batters per 9, but also walks nearly...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/3/17 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer, our NBA Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB and NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.   Pitcher Aaron Nola FD 8300 DK 8800 Opponent - PIT (Nova) Park - @PHI FD - 27.91 DK - 18.48 Unfortunately, Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals are playing earlier in the day, exempting themselves from the main slate. It leaves us with hot garbage. There is not a single pitcher that I have cash game confidence in and I won't be playing cash games on this slate because of it. Instead, it should be a very fun tournament slate. There are a lot of different offenses to choose from and no matter what, you're taking a degree of risk at pitcher. We'll first take a look at Aaron Nola. Nola was atrocious to start his 2017 season, but we all knew it would turn around rather quickly. This is a big prospect and one that should be a pretty safe long-term number 2. He held a .307 combined wOBA in 2016 and struck out nearly 10 batters per 9 innings. He is young and somewhat risky, but also the first or second most talented pitcher on the slate. He faces the Pirates, who are all but a scary offense. They've ranked 22nd in the league against righties with a .311 wOBA and 20% strikeout rate. Citizens Bank Park is a rather average ballpark and Nola has pitched well there in his career. Like I said, nobody is safe. Just look at the game log of Nola and know he's the top option. That will give you a great idea of this slate. Jharel Cotton FD 7400 DK 8000 Opponent - CHW (Rodon) Park - @OAK FD - 28.38 DK - 18.85 Alrighty, now we get ugly. I can say a whole bunch of great things here, but I do want to make things clear. Jharel Cotton is not good and there are very few circumstances where I will target him. Unfortunately, tonight is one of them. We have about 0 good pitchers on the slate and about 100 horrible ones. Cotton is pretty average and he does see a good match-up in the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are one of the bottom 10 teams in the league against righties. There actually worse than the Pirates who we just touched on. The...

Daily Fantasy MLB Hitter Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/2/17 Here's where you can find some recommendations for GPP stacks to target for FanDuel and DraftKings. Find our main set of cash game picks here. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer, our NBA Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB and NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.   Tampa Bay Rays Kevin Gausman was one of the top pitching prospects in the league just a few years ago. He has shown some potential since then, though his issues against righties have always been quite obvious. He's now fallen off a cliff. Against righties, he has held a .404 wOBA that is backed up by a crazy 27% line drive rate. He's also allowed 9 homers in under 50 innings. He stays in Camden Yards today and hosts the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are one of the more electrifying offenses, although they can definitely be shut down. Evan Longoria and Corey Dickerson are the 2 top options and I wouldn't make a stack without either of them. Longo gets the reverse split advantage and Dickerson just destroys right-handers. After those 2, you have a few other ways to go. Mallex Smith will be at the top of the order and has a ton of speed and upside. Souza and Morrison have a ton of power and you can see 2 HR's out of either of them at any time. Ramos is also a pretty solid option at a lackluster catcher position. Main Stack - Corey Dickerson, Mallex Smith, Steven Souza, Evan Longoria Sneaky Stack - Corey Dickerson, Evan Longoria, Logan Morrison, Wilson Ramos Chicago Cubs The Cubs have definitely struggled as of late, but you have to imagine they will turn it around somewhat against Tim Adleman. Adleman has struggled against both lefties and righties, sporting a .344 combined wOBA. He has been worse in Great American Ballpark and it makes sense. The GAB is one of the top parks in the league for hitting and is much better than Wrigley. Adleman has had a few HR issues against lefties as well, which is something to keep an eye on. Anthony Rizzo is the only elite must-play with Kris Bryant on the shelf, but that may keep the ownership down as a whole. Addison Russell and Willson Contreras are both going to be at the top of the order and should be able to get a few RBI opportunities....

Daily Fantasy MLB Pitchers for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/2/17 Here's where you can find some recommendations for tournament pitchers target for FanDuel and DraftKings. Find our main set of cash game picks here. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer, our NBA Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB and NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.   Pitchers Kenta Maeda FD 9100 DK 9200 Opponent - SD (Chacin) Park - @SD FD - 34.79 DK - 22.82 We touched on Max Scherzer and Sean Manaea in the main picks article and they remain great options in both cash games and tournaments. We'll now look at a couple other guys who deserve some consideration. The Padres actually hold the lowest implied run total on the day at 3.33, which includes the Cardinals, who face Scherzer. Maeda did run through a rough patch in the early part of the season, but looked absolutely fantastic in his last start. He went 7 innings, struck out 6, and didn't give up a run. He now moves into San Diego to face a bottom 5 league offense. The Padres have ranked 28th in the league against righties with a .300 wOBA and have backed it up with a 25.7% strikeout rate. A lot of it has to do with Petco Park. It's a huge park and is the most spacious one in all of the league. Maeda was great against both sides of the plate last season and it comes down to whether he's the good Maeda or bad Maeda. I definitely don't think Maeda is safe, but he has upside against the Padres and is pretty affordable. James Paxton FD 8900 DK 8700 Opponent - LAA (Chavez) Park - @LAA FD - 31.46 DK - 20.78 It looks like James Paxton is back. After going on the DL, he had 1 troubled start after returning to his current form. He struck out 9 batters in his last start and now moves into Anaheim, where flyballs go to die. The Angels have been one of the worst teams n the league this season and without Trout, they rank 28th against lefties. They hold a .300 team wOBA and strikeout at a moderate 21% rate. Paxton has held an elite .217 wOBA against lefties and a .298 wOBA against righties. He strikes out nearly 11 batters per 9 innings, so the upside is definitely there against a team that mightily struggles against southpaws. Paxton was...

Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 7/2/17 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB optimizer, our NBA Optimizer, and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! First time with MLB? Be sure to read our free MLB and NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.   Pitcher Max Scherzer FD 12200 DK 13500 Opponent - STL (Martinez) Park - @STL FD - 41.31 DK - 27.18 We have a pretty fun 15-game full slate on our hands this lovely Sunday, so we get a bunch of pitching options to choose from. If neither Scherzer nor Manaea float your boat, go check out the pitcher-specific article that will touch on a few more guys. Even with all of the options on the day, there's no denying Scherzer as the top raw option. He's probably the 2ndbest pitcher in baseball and has made a pretty generous push for that top spot this season. Since opening day, Scherzer has posted an 11.96 K/9 and a combined wOBA of just .231. He's actually been better on the road, which is nice to see for a guy that has struggled outside of his home in past seasons. The Cardinals are usually a lineup we avoid, but that's not the case in 2017. When you consider Dexter Fowler going down a few days ago, this team turns into one of the worst around. Matt Carpenter is the only real scare for righties and he's not even too much of a power worry in Busch Stadium. Scherzer may be expensive, but the match-up is elite and there's a very high chance we see another dominant start. Whether he's the top option in cash games or not comes down to the rest of your roster and who you have taking priority. Let's take a look at an option that's considerably cheaper in Sean Manaea. Sean Manaea FD 8600 DK 8000 Opponent - ATL (Teheran) Park - @OAK FD - 31.5 DK - 20.75 There are definitely some guys who deserve consideration that we skipped. There are about 8 or 9 pitchers on this slate that may garner real ownership, which is extremely rare. On most nights, we'll see 2 or 3 main options with 2 or 3 more sprinkled around 5-7%. Today, I think Scherzer is around 20% and another group of guys all sitting around 10-15%. Because of that, tournaments are going to be a ton of fun. The field will be cut early and you'll know your fate as soon as your pitcher hits the 3rd...