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It's the first BIG slate of baseball all week, and I am sure you are anxious to get back to building MLB DFS lineups. It feels a little bit like an Opening Day slate with a lot of teams being able to reset their pitching rotations, giving us a bunch of aces on the bump.
My job is to help steer you in the right direction, but there are going to be many different paths to green tonight! I always make my dummy build by penciling in my top two pitchers on DK (just one on FD, obviously) and seeing what value I can find to go along with those stud arms. This usually helps me locate my favorite values first and decide which positions I want to punt or spend up on with bats.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Friday's main slate locks at 7:05 EST on 7/22/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options, and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
If you like data, here are some projections for today's starting pitchers. Green is good for the pitcher, while red is bad!
Max Scherzer vs. SDP ($10,400 DK, $11,500 FD)
On a slate full of aces, it's still hard for me to recommend anyone over Mad Max as the top pitcher. He's been in classic form since returning from injury, striking out 31 hitters in three starts with only one walk!
The Padres offense has been middling for most of the season, and I expect Max to pile up strikeouts in this one while pitching deep enough to put himself into the mix for a win if he gets some run support. The high strikeout floor makes Scherzer such an easy play in cash games, especially on DraftKings where he's arguably still about 1000 bucks too cheap.
Shohei Ohtani @ ATL ($9,000 DK, $11,000 FD)
Speaking of WAY TOO CHEAP on DraftKings, here we go again with Ohtani. The guy is pitching absolutely LIGHTS OUT right now with double-digit strikeouts in four straight starts and has allowed just two earned runs over his last six outings.
Atlanta certainly poses a threat to stopping his streak as they have a potent offense, but they also have a high strikeout rate, giving Ohtani a really solid strikeout projection of OVER 9 (something I don't see all that often in my data). At his price on DK, it's a no-brainer for cash games and he makes for a compelling pivot off Max on FanDuel if you are paying up over there.
Braxton Garrett @ PIT ($7,400, $7,700 FD)
For those looking to save some salary, Garrett is the guy today. Normally I would think that a lot of players would be targeting a guy who just struck out his opponent 11 times in six scoreless innings in his last start, but it's quite possible he gets overlooked with so many big-time aces on the slate.
Left-handed pitchers have really given the Pirates fits this year, and even if Garrett doesn't hold them scoreless again, he's still positioned nicely to rack up some strikeouts and he gets the benefit of a big left-center field, an underrated park factor advantage for southpaws in PNC Park.
Also consider - Corbin Burnes, Charlie Morton, Kevin Gausman (DK)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Carson Kelly - C, ARI vs. Patrick Corbin ($3,200 DK, $2,200 FD)
I'm going to sneak a catcher in here on you today because I absolutely love Carson Kelly in this spot. He was one of the Snakes' hottest hitters heading into the break and appears to be turning his season around. Over the last month, he's posting a .365 wOBA and .313 ISO against lefties and could even slot into the leadoff spot tonight for Arizona, something he did a few times when they faced a lefty. His profile also looks great as he handles the sinker/slider combo very well and Corbin relies on those two pitches almost exclusively.
Rhys Hoskins - 1B, PHI vs. Justin Steele ($4,800 DK, $3,100 FD)
I'm definitely going to be targeting Hoskins here in a match-up I think he can exploit. He has solid splits against lefties this season, with a team-best .404 wOBA and .311 ISO. He also has some great batted ball results on fastballs in the 92-94 MPH range, which is where Steele sits with his main pitch. Steele throws more four-seamers than a lot of pitchers, going to his fastball nearly 60% of the time against right-handed hitters.
Willy Adames - SS, MIL vs. Antonio Senzatela ($4,400 DK, $3,500 FD)
It's hard not to like the Brewers today at home, as they get a date with a high-contact pitcher here in Senzy and the mediocre Rockies bullpen behind him. In prior years, Senzatela had some strong splits with lefties hitting him harder, but it's been right-handers who have found more success against him this season.
Adames also happens to be a reverse-splits hitter who has better stats against RHP this season. He was heating up going into the break, collecting four hits in his last two games last weekend including a home run. He's priced fairly on both sites and makes for a great one-off play or a piece of an appealing Milwaukee stack.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Leody Taveras - OF, TEX vs. Cole Irvin ($2,500 DK, $2,900 FD)
If you're just joining me on the Tavares bandwagon, don't worry there is still room. I have literally been playing this guy every day for two weeks straight, and he has yet to disappoint me yet.
The toolsy switch-hitter has raised his average to .344 during his hot streak and continues to collect hits, runs, RBI, and steal bases. His price on DK just continues to be a joke, pencil him into cash builds against the hittable Oakland lefty Irvin and their garbage bullpen with confidence!
Giancarlo Stanton - OF, NYY vs. Tyler Wells ($5,200 DK, $3,700 FD)
Stanton was shut out in five at-bats yesterday but was heating up at the plate before the break. He's quietly catching up to Aaron Judge in terms of his numbers at the plate after Judge had such a scorching start to the season, and I actually think he profiles even a little better than Judge today against Wells' pitch mix. Stanton got him for a dinger once already this season.
Wells, who has pitched better of late, still sports an xFIP over 5 for the season and has a lower K%, higher BB%, and higher FB% against righties this season. This Yankees lineup could be a big problem for him tonight.
Josh Lowe - OF, TBR vs. Brad Keller ($2,500 DK, $2,300 FD)
Let's go with another value outfielder here. Josh Lowe failed to live up to the early season hype, but he has shown some signs of life in July. He was riding a four-game hitting streak into the ASB and I worry less about his strikeout issues today as he's facing a groundball pitcher in Keller who isn't a big threat to strike out the Rays.
Don't forget that the other Lowe (Brandon) is back and far too cheap at second base! He wasted no time in his two games since returning from injury and collected six hits in his first 8 at-bats!
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
- New York Yankees (5.1 implied run total) vs. Tyler Wells (5.34 xFIP)
- Philadelphia Phillies (4.9 implied run total) vs. Justin Steele (4.35 xFIP)
- Milwaukee Brewers (4.5 implied run total) vs. Antonio Senzatela (4.84 xFIP)
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.
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