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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on July 20th, 2018. Adam Meyer's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
I hope you were able to enjoy the small break from baseball DFS, where you could sleep in, enjoy the outside, and spend time with your family, until the marathon of a second half begins. Now, it’s time to buckle down and grind for the rest of the season.
We have 14 games in our Friday night slate (STL/CHC game starts at 2:20pm EST). Five games have an over/under of at least nine total runs. The CLE/TEX matchup leads the way with 10 total runs (Editor’s note: this was written before the LAD/MIL and COL/ARI lines were released). As far as favorites are concerned, three teams are strong favorites with Seattle, surprisingly, leading the pack (-210). Let’s see if the Mariners make our list of suggestions for Friday night.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/20/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. 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 @CharlieSideHstl.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (@ NYY) - $9,300
Some will see the Yankees in the opposing dugout and run away at the thought of facing the modern-day Murderers’ Row. However, I embrace the amount of strikeouts Thor could compile on Friday night. The Yankees are seventh in baseball with 866 strikeouts in 95 games (approximately nine punch outs per contest). Syndergaard has produced at lest seven strikeouts in three of the past four outings. This is the cheapest Syndergaard has been in the past 10 contests. I’ll buy low on a pitcher with a high ceiling, and hopefully low ownership, on Friday night.
Nathan Eovaldi, TB (vs. MIA) - $8,200
Before the All-Star break, we suggested Eovaldi and he severely disappointed us (2.2 IP, 8 ER, and 1 K). That poor stat line equated to -14.6 DraftKings points. Negative points! Yet, here I am going back to the well with Eovaldi taking on the Marlins. He faced Miami on July 2nd and performed well: 6 IP, 2 ER, and 5 K. The Marlins are 26th in runs scored (376 runs in 98 games) and tied for 11th in team strikeouts (840) this season. Vegas seems to be a fan of the Rays, too. Not only is the MIA/TB pegged with the lowest over/under of the slate (7.5 total runs), but the Rays are also the favorites (-160).
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - Drew Butera, KC (vs. MIN) - $2,400
If I find any stat at all that helps sway me towards a better punt play at the catcher position, I jump on it. In his career, Butera is 6-for-12 (.500) with one home run against Kyle Gibson. Sold.
1B - Paul Goldschmidt, ARI (vs. COL) - $4,700
Speaking of BvP, Goldy also has solid numbers against his opposing starting pitcher. In his career, Goldschmidt is 9-for-17 (.529) with two doubles and four home runs against German Marquez. However, I need more reasons to add a bat with Goldschmidt’s price tag. The DBacks first baseman is also batting .377 in July and has torched the Rockies to the tune of a .387 AVG (five home runs) this season.
2B - Dee Gordon, SEA (vs. CWS) - $3,700
This was the last spot I filled in my DK lineup, so don’t be confused by this post falling out of the chronological order when reading the rest of my write-up. I had $4,000 left in my DK salary and I wanted to finish my Mariners stack (more to come). While Gordon isn’t particularly strong against righties (.072 ISO since 2017), he’s 6-for-11 (.545) with one triple against James Shields. By adding Gordon, I have $300 left on the table for my DK salary. That will come into play if my catcher, or any other player in this post, isn’t starting on Friday.
3B - Kyle Seager, SEA (vs. CWS) - $3,300
Vegas loves the Mariners on Friday night (-205), which brings Seattle to an implied run total of 5.1 for the slate. They could be the cheap, sneaky stack that allows you to surpass some people on the DK leaderboard. Seager is also 8-for-22 (.364), with three home runs against Shields. This season, Shields has a 6.14 ERA on the road.
SS - Francisco Lindor, CLE (@ TEX) - $5,700
It’s going to be very tempting to take Manny Machado at this spot. He’s the shiny, new toy in Los Angeles and people will be excited to use him in his Dodger debut. However, I’m going to spend the extra $600 to get Lindor into my lineup. Cleveland has one of the highest implied run totals of the slate and Lindor has crushed the Rangers this season. He’s 8-for-16 (.500) with one double and one home run against Texas in 2018.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Teoscar Hernandez, TOR (vs. BAL) - $4,200
Before I saw the DK player pool and salaries for DraftKings on Friday, I thought the Blue Jays would be the sneaky stack of the night. They are favored in a matchup where the over/under is at least nine total runs and Dylan Bundy has allowed five earned runs in back-to-back starts (at least four earned runs in three of the last four appearances). However, the price tags weren’t reasonable enough to justify the Toronto stack. The only player’s salary I could stomach was Hernandez’s. He has a .257 ISO against righties since 2017 and two of his three hits last week left the yard.
Rhys Hoskins, PHI (vs. SD) - $4,100
Word of warning, I’m terrible at predicting when Hoskins will have a good game. When I don’t use him, he performs well and when I tout him, he whiffs. Hoskins still leads the Phillies with a .250 ISO against left-handed pitchers. San Diego’s Clayton Richard has a 5.04 ERA on the road this season, too.
Nelson Cruz, SEA (vs. CWS) - $4,100
The third-highest implied run total belongs to Seattle and their bats couldn’t be more affordable to stack. Vegas is predicting that Shields will get hammered and I’ll have the Mariners bats to back that up. Cruz leads the team with a .265 ISO against righties since 2017.
