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The All-Star Break is almost over, and we're excited for some MLB action again. We're going to be kicking off the 2nd half of the season with another juicy contest on OwnersBox!
This week's free RotoBaller contest has a $500 cash prize pool - it's completely free to enter with code BALLER3! All new OwnersBox users also get a free year of RotoBaller Premium access - just email us and let us know one you're registered.
In case you're not yet familiar, OwnersBox, is a fantastic 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 also select tournament-style salary cap contests. The contests are at least one week long, and some even longer.
In this article, I will be providing you with my weekly fantasy baseball lineup picks on OwnersBox for this freeroll contest which runs for one week (Friday July 16th through Thursday July 22nd). Read my picks below, and then join us in this tournament as we battle it out for the cash prizes!
RotoBaller Freeroll Contest!
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!
- Join this week's freeroll on OwnersBox - the contest is completely free to enter with code BALLER3, 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 RotoBaller premium pass. Whoa!
You can enter up until Friday, July 16th at 7 pm ET, and the week-long contest runs from July 16th through July 22nd.
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.
Sean Manaea, OAK ($28,800) - vs CLE, at SEA
Manaea has a nice price tag and a couple of solid matchups this week. First, he will be facing an Indians squad that is striking out at a rate of 25.8% vs. left-handers over the previous 10 days prior to the All-Star break, which is ranked sixth-worst in the league over that span. Seattle is not far behind the Indians as they are posting a 21% rate over that same span. Both teams are posting an average wRC+ mark, with Cleveland posting a mark of 104 and Seattle posting a mark of an even 100. Manaea has also been sharp over the previous month as he has posted a 3.45 ERA with 35 strikeouts across 28 2/3 innings pitched.
Kyle Hendricks, CHC ($27,600) - at ARI, at STL
I would not normally recommend Hendricks, but his price and matchups across these two starts are something we cannot ignore. He will first be going up against the Diamondbacks who are posting a wRC+ of just 77 against right-handers over the previous 10 days and are also striking out at a rate of 24.8%. St. Louis is doing a bit better with a mark of 110, but Hendricks has allowed just five earned runs across 19 innings pitched vs. the Cardinals this season while also earning the win in each of his three starts against them.
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 the 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!
Jed Lowrie, OAK ($16,200) - 6 Games
Lowrie is too cheap given his recent success and matchups this week. Over the previous 14 days, Lowrie is hitting .341 with three home runs and eight RBI. He will be going up against the Indians and Angels who have both struggled with starting pitching and their bullpens at various points this season. Currently, the Indians have the 10th-worst bullpen ERA over the previous 15 days and also have a makeshift starting rotation with Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale on the shelf.
Matt Olson, OAK ($22,800) - 6 Games
I am going to stick with the Oakland theme again with this pick against the Indians and Angels. Olson has also been hot over the previous 14 days as he has hit three bombs with seven runs scored, six RBI, and seven walks. He should be able to come out of the gate strong vs. the Indians in this upcoming weekend series.
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.
Andrew Vaughn, CWS ($18,200) - 7 Games
While Vaughn does have a bit of a tough matchup out of the gate vs. the Astros, he has seven games to work with and we will enter best ball mode at some point with him in the lineup. In his second series, he will be facing the Twins and that is what we really want to take advantage of as they have a pen that is posting a 5.57 ERA and has allowed 19 home runs over the previous 15 days. Vaughn has also hit four home runs, driven in nine RBI, and scored nine runs over the previous 14 days.
Kris Bryant, CHC ($24,500) - 7 Games
Bryant has been swinging a pretty hot stick lately as he has a .370 average with one home run, five RBI, and five runs scored over the previous two weeks. His teammates should be able to take advantage of the pitching in Arizona and St. Louis this week, which should help him improve on his counting stats. He has seven games against those opponents, both of which have bullpens ranked in the bottom half of the league over the previous two weeks. The seven games are especially important as best ball will be activated as well.
Sample Lineup
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