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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on July 5, 2022. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a few teams going rogue and starting early (I'm looking at you, San Diego), but the main slate on both sites is a healthy 12 games today. So pack away those fireworks and Budweiser-induced hangovers and get back to the land of the working class today. We have some sweet spots to look at.
The only weather concern today appears to be in Boston. Right now it looks as though the game will start without issue with rain moving in during the middle innings. This is obviously not ideal for starting pitching if this holds, so keep an eye on this throughout the day.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Tuesday's main slate locks at 7:05 EST on 7/5/2022. 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
Jameson Taillon at PIT ($10,000 DK, $9,400 FD)
You know it's a rough pitching day when Nick Pivetta is the highest-priced pitcher on both sites. You still have to pay a decent premium for Taillon on DK, but I really like the somewhat discounted price on FD. Taillon gets to return to the city of the team that drafted him on the heels of allowing nine earned runs over his last two starts.
That's not ideal, but it's hard to find much silver lining in the Pirates lineup. Sure, they have finally found their power stroke with 12 homers in the past week, but they are still hitting just .223 and striking out at a 28.8% clip. If there were ever an ideal spot for Taillon to get back on track, it's here. He handles lefties better than righties (.256 batting average against vs. .267 for righties) and gets a nice little park boost leaving Yankee Stadium. Taillon is a lock for a win assuming he doesn't implode before the fifth inning and should get his customary 6-8 strikeouts. I'm anchoring with the sure thing on both sites, especially with the chance of rain for Pivetta in the middle innings.
Yusei Kikuchi at OAK ($7,800 DK, $7,900 FD)
It has not been a good start in the beast known as the A.L. East for Kikuchi. In fact, he went nearly a month without notching double-digit points on DraftKings until he dominated the Rays last week. That start, especially the eight strikeouts, are cause for optimism if for no other reason than he's heading to Oakland in the follow-up.
The A's are one of the worst offenses in the league anyway, but they are especially abysmal in the cavernous Coliseum. The A's are hitting a pathetic .199 in 37 home games this season with just 17 home runs. 41 of their 58 dingers have come on the road. The A's are impatient (8.2% walk rate at home) and inept at home. This looks like another nice start for Kikuchi in his return to the Coliseum, a place where he posted a 3.93 ERA in four starts while with the Mariners.
Also consider: Luis Garcia, Alex Wood, Cal Quantrill
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Rhys Hoskins - 1B, PHI vs. Paolo Espino ($4,300 DK, $3,600 FD)
Rhys is on one of those heaters again. Hoskins has a modest seven-game hitting streak going with four homers in the last five games alone! He has already clocked one homer off of Espino in eight career at-bats against him. Hoskins is hitting 58 points higher at home this season with 11 of his 17 homers in Citizens Bank Park. Be on the lookout if you are sitting in those left-field bleachers.
Jace Peterson - 3B/OF, MIL vs. Kyle Hendricks ($2,700 DK, $2,600 FD)
Hey man, pitchers aren't cheap, you know? We have to have at least one position player that is and it's hard not to be high on Peterson tonight. He has started to hit of late (.333 with a homer in the last ten games) and has owned Hendricks in his career. Peterson is 8-for-19 with three doubles, a triple, and two homers (not to mention three walks) lifetime against Hendricks. I probably won't full-stack Brewers today, but both Peterson and Kolten Wong have throttled him at a discount if you're willing to punt a couple of positions.
Jeremy Pena - SS, HOU vs. Zack Greinke ($4,300 DK, $3,100 FD)
Pena is picking up right where he left off since his return from the IL on June 26. Pena is hitting .281 with a pair of homers and three RBI while starting every game in that span. This is not your older brother's Zack Greinke. While he has flourished in his return to Kauffman Stadium (2.14 ERA in six starts), he has been hammered on the road for a 6.90 ERA with seven of the eight homers he has allowed coming away from The K. The place to attack Greinke is on the road.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU vs. Zack Greinke ($6,000 DK, $4,300 FD)
Alvarez has never faced his former teammate, but I think he's going to like what he sees. Greinke has lost 2.4 mph on his fastball since last season and his slider has less bite on it. That's bad news against Alvarez, who is hitting .354 with a .800 SLG against four-seamers and .311 with the same .800 SLG against sliders. Judge may be the low-hanging fruit, but Alvarez comes at a bit of a discount and tattoos every Greinke offering (including .389 against changeups).
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs. German Marquez ($4,400 DK, $3,700 FD)
Yes, Marquez is better at lower altitudes, but this price on Betts seems off. He did drive in a run in his return from the IL last night, so it looks like his cracked rib wasn't giving him any issues. Betts slots back in leading off for the most potent lineup in the National League and comes at a huge discount on DraftKings. There are 27 outfielders more expensive than Betts on DK. Take the discount while it lasts.
Juan Yepez - OF, STL at Ian Anderson ($3,800 DK, $2,600 FD)
Yepez is hitting for his job with the Cardinals starting to get healthy. Tyler O'Neill began a rehab assignment yesterday and Harrison Bader is eligible to return from the IL later this week. As of now, it will be very hard for the Cardinals to remove Yepez from the lineup. He has five homers in the last eight contests while driving in eight runs. The pricing algorithms on either site haven't really noticed. That's good news for us!
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them):
Toronto Blue Jays - The Blue Jays are old hat to stackers by now, but I promise that it's warranted once again. The Coliseum isn't conducive to power, but again, the Jays aren't your average major league offense. On top of that, rookie Adrian Martinez was throttled by the Mariners in Seattle in his last start (also a noted power drain of a ballpark), giving up two homers and seven runs in 4.2 innings. You have to get creative to afford this stack on DraftKings, but it can be done.
St. Louis Cardinals - Ian Anderson lasted just two innings in Philly his last time out, allowing seven runs in that span. The dirty little secret is that Anderson has been significantly worse at Truist Park this season (6.28 ERA, compared to 4.72 on the road). The park's friendliness to left-handed power could be a real problem for Anderson if he has problems keeping the ball on the ground as he did in his last start. The larger problem is his nasty reverse splits (righties are hitting .308 off of Anderson compared to .210 for lefties) and the Cardinals' plethora of right-handed mashers.
Chicago Cubs - We may have seen the beginning of the deconstruction of George Costanza...er...Jason Alexander in his last start against the Cardinals. Alexander hasn't been any better in two appearances out of the bullpen since that June 23 start against St. Louis. Injuries have forced Alexander back into the rotation. Alexander's surface stats aren't terrible, but he has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) over his last 14 innings. That's closer to his 6.00 expected ERA on the season. Don't look now, but the Cubs offense is showing signs of life. They hit .274 in June and have had 31 homers since June 1. That's bad news for Mr. Alexander.
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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