Welcome to OwnersBox MLB, RotoBallers! If you haven't had a chance to check out the weekly fantasy offerings over at OwnersBox, now is the time!
OwnersBox is a new weekly fantasy sports platform that offers plenty of game setups to fulfill your desire to draft throughout the season. Over at OwnersBox, you can participate in snake drafts and for the first time ever you can select tournament-style salary cap contests.
We're running an awesome freeroll contest this week with a $500 prize pool so be sure to check that out below - it's completely free to enter with code BALLER2!
In this article, I will be providing you with my weekly fantasy baseball lineup picks on OwnersBox for this contest which runs for one week (Thursday July 8th through Saturday July 17th).
RotoBaller Freeroll Contest!
Be sure to join our freeroll on OwnersBox - the contest is completely free to enter with code BALLER2, and there's a $500 cash guaranteed prize pool. The winner also gets a free year of RotoBaller's Premium Pass ($350 value)! All new users who make a deposit get up to a $500 deposit match bonus and a free premium pass. Whoa!
You can enter up until Thursday, July 8th at 12 pm ET, and the week-long contest runs from July 8th through July 17th.
OwnersBox is hooking up RotoBaller readers to celebrate the launch of their new salary-cap style contests, so be sure to take advantage of these promo offers!
OwnersBox Pitchers
On OwnersBox, you select two Pitchers, and need three games from these two pitchers. Any game you go over after the third, best ball mode is activated - meaning the lowest score is dropped. So a good approach is obviously looking for affordable two-start pitchers for the week with at least three solid matchups in mind.
Taijuan Walker, NYM ($30,000) - vs PIT, at PIT
Walker will face the Pirates at home and on the road in his next two matchups and that is good news for him and the Mets. Walker has been outstanding in 2021 as he has posted a 2.43 ERA with 87 strikeouts through his first 85 innings pitched and also has locked down seven wins on the season. The Pirates have struggled to get the offense moving this season against right-handed pitchers and have posted just a 71 wRC+ mark over the previous 10 days, which is ranked third-worst in baseball. They are also striking out at a clip of nearly 23% vs. righties over the previous 10 days as well. These matchups should be quite fruitful for Walker.
Julio Urias, LAD ($33,800) - at MIA, at COL
Urias's first matchup against Miami in a pitcher-friendly ballpark is a solid one. He will be facing a Marlins squad that is striking out the seventh-most against left-handers over the previous 10 days with a rate of 27.8% and they are also only posting an 85 wRC+ mark vs. lefties over that same span, which also ranks seventh-worst. The matchup at Coors against the Rockies looks scary until you take into account the fact that Colorado is posting the second-worst wRC+ mark against lefties over the previous 10 days with a mark of just 55. They are also posting just a .108 ISO vs. lefties over that same span, which ranks seventh-worst in the league.
OwnersBox Infielders
The Infield is my favorite position on Ownersbox. You only need 28 games from the five players. Simple math tells you if you average six games per infielder, you are already at two lowest scores dropped from the lot. That way you can utilize five-game studs as long as you pair them eventually with a seven-game player also to maintain that 30 total games. The Outfield is much more difficult to take advantage this way, so don't waste the opportunity with your infielders!
Jonathan Schoop, DET ($20,300) - 7 Games
Schoop can be found at a great value this week as he costs just $2,900 per game across his seven games. He has been on absolute fire as he has posted a .917 OPS over the previous seven days and has done this by hitting one bomb and two doubles over that span while driving in eight. He gets matchups against the Twins pitching for the duration of the contest and that is great news, especially when it comes to the Twins' pen. Over the past 15 days, Minnesota has posted the fourth-worst pen ERA with a mark of 6.22. They have also allowed 19 home runs over that span, which is tied for fourth-worst in the league. Get Schoop in your lineups.
Jace Peterson, MIL ($14,400) - 6 Games
Peterson is a curious choice here, but he has been scorching hot of late as he is hitting .318 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and nine RBI over the previous seven days. He is also posting a 1.065 OPS and has five walks over that same span. He will have matchups against the Reds pitching for home and away games in the upcoming contest. While the Reds' starters have been relatively solid for the most part this season, their bullpen has been a dumpster fire for a large portion of 2021 as they have the second-worst pen ERA on the season with an ERA of 5.20. They have also allowed 51 home runs on the season, which is also second-worst in baseball.
OwnersBox Outfielders
As I mentioned previously, filling the three Outfield slots is more difficult than the five Infielders on OwnersBox. You need 17 games from the three hitters, so that means you mostly want to stay away from five-game hitters. I try to get at least one seven-gamer if possible and aim for at least 19 total games for two lowest score drops.
Hunter Renfroe, BOS ($19,900) - 6 Games
Renfroe gets to face two terrible pens and two average-at-best rotations in the Phillies and the Yankees. He was on fire up until his previous couple of games but he still has four home runs and 13 RBI over the previous two weeks with a .923 OPS. He will also have the benefit of playing in Boston and at Yankee Stadium in his two series.
Michael Taylor, KC ($13,200) - 6 Games
You will want to monitor Taylor to make sure he gets enough playing time in this contest, but he gets matchups against the Indians and the Orioles, who have not pitched well at all this season. The Indians are still without their top three starters and now the pen has faltered by posting a 6.24 ERA over the previous two weeks. Taylor has gone 6-for-17 with a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base over the previous seven days and makes for a nice and cheap outfielder this week.