RADIO
Welcome to Wednesday baseball on DraftKings! We have a fun 7-game slate on our hands and DK has given us plenty of contests to look forward to. For just $16, you can win a $350K grand prize in the Wednesday Web Gem. On the higher end, there is a huge $555 tournament as well. It may not be a full slate of games, but it feels like we have just as many options. There's no game in Coors Field and no one offense that stands above the rest, so we will see a level of balance.
With the weather heating up across the country, runs are going to continue piling in and pitching will get more and more valuable. We have some viable arms on the slate, but I'd say the offenses are a bit more exciting. Let's dive in head first and find our top plays at each position!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/24/19. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. Be sure to also check out all the Vegas Odds for today's slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @VarneyDFS.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Justin Verlander - HOU vs. OAK - $12,100
Pitching is not very pretty on this slate, so paying up for safety may very well be worth it. Verlander has been over 20 DraftKings points in eight of his last 10 games and over 35 in three of them. He'll now get one of his more friendlier match-ups yet against the Oakland Athletics. On the road, they rank 22nd with a .308 wOBA and 25% strikeout rate. Verlander himself has struck out 11.16 batters per nine innings and has allowed a .258 wOBA against. Verlander is extremely expensive, but well worth it if you don't trust anyone else cheaper. I personally will have a ton of exposure to Verlander and figure out the bats later.
Tyler Beede - SF vs. CHC - $7,000
After Verlander, you can't consider anyone safe. Tyler Beede has been unbelievable since adding a slider, accounting for 21.2 innings and 166 strikeouts while allowing a combined three earned runs. He has a pretty tough match-up against the Cubs, but the ballpark is a huge and the Cubs a susceptibility to strikeout. They K the 4th most against the slider in baseball, so if Beede has that working and there''s no film on it, we could see a repeat of last week. it's certainly possible the Cubs knock him around as well, but pitching is weak on this slate and Beede is extremely cheap. He's worth taking a shot on at the very least.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - Yasmani Grandal - MIL vs. CIN (Sims) - $4,200
With only eight games to play with on the main slate, hitting is not as deep as we’re used to. There are just four or five offenses that deserve the bulk of attention and ownership, including the Brewers. They host the Reds and Lucas Sims, who’s given up a .356 wOBA to lefties with a 5.71 xFIP. The Brewers are a pretty tough offense and Grandal will be right in the heart of the order. He’s a lot better against righties (.365 wOBA) and has immense power from the left side (13 of 19 HR). Catcher is fairly weak and Grandal should be very highly owned.
1B - Rhys Hoskins - PHI @ DET (Zimmerman) - $4,500
Jordan Zimmerman is still pitching in major league baseball for one reason. His name. He's genuinely one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball and is a candidate to get blown up every single time he takes the mound. On the season, Zimmerman has allowed a .387 combined wOBA and seven homers in just under 60 innings of work. As for Rhys Hoskins, he's always better against lefties, but a .376 wOBA vs righties is nothing to scoff at. The majority of his power comes against them and the team overall is better vs lefties. The Phillies are one of the top stacks of the night and Hoskins is affordable at 1B.
2B - Wilmer Flores - ARI vs. BAL (Means) $3,500
Flores hasn't really shown much since returning from injury, but let's just hope that keeps the masses off of him. Flores has always been a lefty-masher and he's one of the best in the entire league. BABIP got the best of him in '18, but he's posted a .403 wOBA dating back to '17 against lefties. He's now in Chase Field and will have the opportunity to put up some real power numbers. John Means isn't a terrible pitcher, but he's given up a 5+ xFIP against righties, so the regression monster is going to come knocking soon. Flores is cheap on DK and a great play in all formats.
3B - Mike Moustakas - MIL vs. CIN (Sims) $4,600
We touched on the Brewers earlier with Grandal, and Moustakas is in a identical spot. Third base is a lot weaker than usual and Moustakas is in a prime spot to produce. Sims hasn’t just given up a .360 wOBA to both sides of the plate, but he also has issue with the long ball. Moustakas on the other hand, has 17 homers against righties and a .364 wOBA. The Brewers are one of the top offenses of the night and the lefties are in play across the board.
SS - Elvis Andrus - TEX @ SEA (Leake) - $4,000
Shortstop is a weak position overall and this Rangers offense is one we have ignored up to this point. Mike Leake has one of his luckiest outings of his entire career last time out, allowing just one hit through nine innings of shutout baseball. On the year, Leake has sported a 5.02 xFIP wile finding a way to limit both sides of the plate. Every peripheral out there tells us he's going to get much worse in the second half. He's even worse against righties (5.06 xFIP), so Andrus is in a solid spot along with the rest of these powerful Rangers. Andrus is only $4k and always a pivotal piece of this offense when the runs start pouring in.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
George Springer - HOU vs. OAK (Bassitt) $5,400
If you're going to force me to pick just one expensive outfielder, it's going to be George Springer. Yordan Alvarez isn't far off, but Springer hits lead off and will often get an extra at-bat. He's a legitimate threat to homer every single plate appearance and especially in this match-up. Chris Bassitt isn't known as an ultra gas can, but he's given up 12 home runs in just 80 innings and his peripherals are ugly. Minute Maid Park is a lot friendlier for hitting than his home Oakland Coliseum and I project he struggles mightily. The 'Stros aren't a team I want t full stack, but an one-off or two is well worth it.
Bryce Harper - PHI @ DET (Zimmerman) $4,500
Bryce Harper isn't necessarily cheap, but he's affordable an in a tremendous match-up. Jordan Zimmerman is not only one of the worst pitchers in the entire league, but he doesn't strike anyone out. His velocity is all but gone at this point and he survives off of luck. He gets a tough offense tonight in the Phillies that hits the ball hard and has speed. Harper himself has as much power upside as anyone on the slate, sporting a .411 wOBA vs righties since last season. He has the power to hit it out of any ballpark and I think the Phillies as a whole make a ton of noise tonight.
