DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 7/2/21 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 Lance Lynn FD - P 10000 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - DET (Casey Mize) Park - DETFD - 35.33 DK - 19.64 Lance Lynn opens as a -156 road favorite against the Tigers on Friday. Detroit is a bottom-third offense on the season and strike out around 27% of the time as a team. That is the highest rate in the league meaning Lynn has some pretty big K upside here. Meanwhile, the righty is striking out 10.3 batters per nine, the second-best rate of his career and has a career-best 3.82 xFIP so far. This slate is lighter on the pitching side except for Scherzer who has a tough matchup against the Dodgers. Sonny Gray FD - P 7000 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - CHC (Alec Mills) Park - CINFD - 30.58 DK - 16.29 The over/ under oaths game is 9.5 which you don’t love, in part because this one is taking place in a great hitter’s park. But other things line up for Gray here. For starters, he’s been excellent on the season, posting a career-best strikeout rate, putting down 11.7 batters per nine good for a 30% K rate. His 3.30 xFIP is excellent on the season and the Cubs are a sneaky good matchup. They rank in the bottom half of the league on offense and strike out the 4th-most in the league. This is a good spot for Gray. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD - 1B 3200 DK - 1B 5100 Opponent - CLE (Sam Hentges) Park - CLEFD - 14.89 DK - 11.42 Gurriel should be in the cleanup spot against the lefty Hentges on Friday. The latter has been brutal this season with a low-7’s ERA and 4.85 xFIP. Meanwhile, Gurriel is hovering around a .900 OPS thanks to an extremely patient approach with an 11% walk rate and only 9% K rate. Plus he’s added 10 home runs. He’s been better against lefties for his career and is very tough to get out in this split. Gurriel should have the ball in play a bunch in this matchup. C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3500 DK - 1B 4900 Opponent - STL (Johan Oviedo) Park - COLFD - 14.1 DK - 10.63 You’re going to see some Rockies on the list today for sure. If Cron is in the lineup then he’s almost a must-play on FanDuel at $3500. Though...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday, 6/28/21 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 9500 DK 10500 Opponent - CHC (Kyle Hendricks) Park - CHC FD - 43.48 DK - 24.69 Of the ace-level pitchers going today, Peralta has by far the most appealing match-up. The Cubs are basically a league-average team in terms of wOBA, but with the 4th highest K rate in the Majors they represent a lot of DFS upside for a starting pitcher. Peralta, meanwhile, has been outrageously good this season, with his electric stuff seamlessly translating from the bullpen to the starting rotation. With a 12.67 K/9, the sky is the limit for him here. Zack Greinke FD 8700 DK 9800 Opponent - BAL (Thomas Eshelman) Park - BAL FD - 38.37 DK - 20.12 If you want a steady option with nearly guaranteed win upside, consider Zack Greinke. The Ks are down this season, but Greinke is a -286 favorite against the Orioles, who are just .010 wOBA points away from dead last in the Majors. Greinke doesn't have huge upside, but you're picking him for his floor here. If you can afford to pay up for two pitchers, I strongly prefer Trevor Bauer over Lucas Giolito today. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD 3500 DK 5100 Opponent - MIN (Kenta Maeda) Park - MIN FD - 11.13 DK - 8.42 It's been a rather slow start to the season for Abreu, but the peripherals seem to support him heading back on track soon. He's running .043 BABIP points below his career levels in spite of no discernable change in his hard-hit percentage, and our model believes that should correct by the end of the season. As for Maeda, it looks for all the world like last season was an aberration, as he's drifted back into being a league-average pitcher with a proclivity to give up the long ball. I like Abreu a lot on a day where first base is shallower than usual. Luke Voit FD - 1B 2600 DK - Opponent - LAA (Dylan Bundy) Park - NYY FD - 12.56 DK - 10.15 Voit has been seeing more reps in the deadly Yankees lineup, but the price has yet to catch up. Voit hasn't been able to produce at the stratospheric levels we've seen in the past, but this is still plenty of bat if he's batting sixth or better against Dylan Bundy today. Vegas loves the Yankees thanks to Bundy's inability...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 6/27/21 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 Max Scherzer FD - P 11200 DK - SP 10700 Opponent - MIA (Sandy Alcantara) Park - MIAFD - 45.1 DK - 25.26 Joe Girardi’s histrionics aside, Scherzer doesn’t seem like he’s had any issues with the no grip rules and he’s been pretty awesome again this season. He’s once again striking out more than 12 batters per nine this season and the xFIP is still sitting in the low-3’s. He’s not an overwhelming favorite in this game against the Marlins, but he’s the best arm going on the main slate of games. The Marlins are the second-worst offense in the league this season with a .294 team wOBA. Despite lower win odds than normal, I still think Scherzer is the cash game play for this slate. Jake Odorizzi FD - P 7600 DK - SP 6900 Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - DETFD - 32.22 DK - 17.25 Odorizzi has had an injury-shortened season so far but the peripherals, when on the mound, have been solid. He’s striking out 29% of the batters he’s faced and the walk rate is the second-lowest number he’s sported over the last five years. His 3.53 xFIP is more than a run lower than the 4.75 ERA and he’s had some LOB% issues along the way. He’s a -185 road favorite against the Tigers and I think the price is such that he’s a SP2 option on DraftKings for sure. Ryan Yarbrough (FD $7500 DK $9200) might be an okay option on FanDuel in this matchup. Catcher/First Base Yuli Gurriel FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 4900 Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - DETFD - 15.04 DK - 11.53 Tarik Skubal isn’t showing quite the promise expected from him coming out of the minors and is really struggling with his control. Gurriel meanwhile has put it all together so far this season with low-.900s OPS thanks to a dramatically increased walk rate (10%) and 10 home runs already. He’s mispriced on FanDuel especially hitting in the middle of the order. The platoon numbers are slightly better against lefties for his career and the Astros are in a good spot here. Nate Lowe FD - 1B 2800 DK - 1B 4300 Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - TEXFD - 11.11 DK - 8.41 Lowe is locked into the two spot in the Rangers’ lineup and has actually had a pretty...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 6/26/21 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 11500 DK - SP 11400 Opponent - PHI (Zach Eflin) Park - NYMFD - 45.49 DK - 26.05 I suppose it’s kind of close between deGrom and Lance Lynn, with the latter having a better win expectation, but the former’s numbers are just plain stupid this season. deGrom is striking out around 47% (47%!) of the batters he’s faced this season and has an unreal 11.7:1 K:BB ratio. I suppose the 0.50 ERA is a little lucky, but the xFIP is a paltry 1.59 xFIP. Even in a pitcher’s league, you simply don’t see this kind of dominance. It’s amazing. He’s tough to fade every time he takes the mound and is the best pitcher in baseball right now. Evening Dinelson Lamet FD - P 7500 DK - SP 7300 Opponent - ARI (Merrill Kelly) Park - SDFD - 43.23 DK - 24.46 Lamet has electric stuff, but the control continues to be a moderate issue which limits his ability to go longer into games. That being said, he’s turning in one of his better seasons, striking out 10.4 batters per nine and carrying in a 2.78 ERA. The 3.78 xFIP points to a guy getting a little lucky right now, but he’s still an above average arm coming at very reasonable prices. And he’s got the best win odds expectation on the evening slate as a -255 home favorite against the Diamondbacks. Arizona is a bottom-third offense in the league this season, striking out 24% of the time. This is a smash spot for Lamet. Catcher/First Base Afternoon Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 4800 DK - 1B 6200 Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - TORFD - 15.58 DK - 11.82 You have to pay out the nose here, but it’s probably worth it to try to get he and deGrom into the same lineup. Guerrero is having an MVP-caliber season so far with an OPS sitting around 1.100 and 24 home runs already. The 22-year-old (yes, 22) has put it all together and is primed to be around and mashing for years and years to come. He has a better OPS against righties for his short career, but that could be noisy based on sample size. He walks more against lefties and has a BABIP 100 points lower in that split. This is a great place to load up against Akin. Evening Max...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 6/21/21 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 Yu Darvish FD - P 10000 DK - SP 10200 Opponent - LAD (Julio Urías) Park - SD FD - 37.88 DK - 20.96 It's a little odd to invest this much in a pitcher that's just a -116 favorite, but a tiny slate like this is going to bring us out of our comfort zone. Darvish's reputation is unimpeachable at this point. He's not quite the same pitcher he was in last year's abbreviated season, but honestly he had room to regress and still be dominant. He's still topping double-digit Ks/9 with excellent control, and going deep into games. The only issue here is the match-up, with the Dodgers ranking 2nd best in the Majors in wOBA. Still, if you want an ace today, Darvish is your guy. Tyler Mahle FD - P 8800 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - MIN (J.A. Happ) Park - MIN FD - 32.85 DK - 17.21 While no one would call Mahle a true-blue ace, he certainly has the upside of one. He's hit 45+ FanDuel points in each of his last three starts, including a 61 point outing in which he struck out 12 Brewers. Minnesota is no great match-up either, but they are "just" a top 10 offense, and if you want a little savings Mahle isn't an outrageous pivot from Darvish (or more realistically a pitcher 2 on DK). The rest: Kyle Gibson will get some attention today, but he hasn't been nearly as dominant as his ERA suggests. Urias is basically a poor man's Darvish at the same price, so I don't see myself playing him on FD (though you can make a case for playing both on DK). Catcher/First Base Willson Contreras FD - C 2600 DK - C 4100 Opponent - CLE (Aaron Civale) Park - CHC FD - 12.83 DK - 9.64 Anthony Rizzo FD - 1B 3000 DK - 1B 5000 Opponent - CLE (Aaron Civale) Park - CHC FD - 13.64 DK - 10.21 There's a theme running through today that will avail itself to you shortly, but I'll just give it away now: we're stacking this Cubs/Indians game. With a 10.5 run total, this game's number is a full run above every other game on the slate. And with good reason! These are two good offenses, and two sub-par pitchers. We'll start with Civale, who is in the Majors solely due to...