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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on July 30th, 2018. Adam Meyer's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a nine-game slate to work with on Monday night, but that doesn’t mean that our bats are limited. Three games have an over/under of at least nine total runs and the CLE/MIN matchup leads the way with 9.5 projected runs.
As far as the pitchers are concerned, it’s not the best slate. Only one pitcher is considered a heavy favorite (-200, or greater) on Monday, Arizona’s Robbie Ray. However, we still have four decent-sized favorites on the hill, other than Ray: Red Sox, Braves, Athletics, and Dodgers.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/30/18. 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.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Robbie Ray, ARI (vs. TEX) - $8,000
It a small slate, with limit stud pitchers on the hill, Ray is my top option in the starting pitcher department on Monday. Why that is significant is because DraftKings has Ray listed as the eighth-most expensive pitcher in the player pool. That’s a steal of a deal. Ray has struck out at least six batters in five of the last six starts and allowed two earned runs, or less, in two of the past three performances. The Rangers are first in team strikeouts with 1,026 punch outs in 107 games.
Shane Bieber, CLE (@ MIN) - $7,700
Bieber was rocked in his last appearance: 1.2 IP, 7 ER, and 2 K. He’ll look to rebound against a team he’s already seen twice this season. Bieber is 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11.1 innings of work against the Twins. Also, by dropping to the mid-tier pricing category on DraftKings for both starting pitchers, we’ll have almost $4,300 to spend, per player, on offense.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - John Ryan Murphy, ARI (vs. TEX) - $3,200
Right out of the gate, I’m attacking Martin Perez with Diamondback bats. Murphy hasn’t recorded a hit since July 6th, but he’s my selection at the catcher position on Monday. He has a .239 ISO against left-handed pitchers. Also, Perez has allowed at least four earned runs in two of the past four starts. Here’s to hoping Murphy runs into one on Monday night.
1B - Paul Goldschmidt, ARI (vs. TEX) - $4,700
His price dipped $400 from his last contest and we’ll benefit from the savings. There are plenty of solid options to choose at first base on Monday, but I’m sticking with the sure thing. Goldschmidt carries a .288 ISO against left-handed pitchers and righties are batting .384 against Perez. Sounds like the perfect combination to me.
2B - Jedd Gyorko, STL (vs. COL) - $3,800
Gyorko is tied with Paul DeJong as the leader of the Cardinals with a .267 ISO against lefties since 2017. The Cardinals are projected to score 4.7 runs on Monday (sixth-most), but the main reason for this choice is the affordable price tag and the strong ISO numbers.
3B - Christian Villanueva, SD (vs. SF) - $3,900
Speaking of strong ISO numbers, Villanueva is the leader in the clubhouse with an astounding .434 ISO against southpaws. That completely surpasses the fact that he’s only tallied one hit in the past week (1-for-20). Also, this season, Derek Holland has allowed six earned runs in 9.2 innings of work against the Padres (5.59 ERA).
SS - Paul DeJong, STL (vs. COL) - $4,100
We already mentioned the fact that he and teammate Gyorko are tied for the St. Louis lead in ISO (.267) against lefties. Now, let’s talk about the hot streak DeJong has been on recently. He’s notched at least one hit in four of the past five games. Also, during that span, he’s tallied three extra-base hits. Finally, in our last DK post, we suggested him and he performed well (3-for-3 with a triple). Ride the wave!
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
A.J. Pollock, ARI (vs. TEX) - $5,100
In our final piece of the DBack puzzle, I’ll take their second-best hitter against lefties. Pollock owns a .277 ISO against southpaws and he’s batting .293 in the month of July. Again, we’re going for Perez with this lineup, so we want the best Arizona has to offer.
Khris Davis, OAK (vs. TOR) - $5,000
Just when you think Davis has cooled off, he goes ahead and hits another home run. He recorded six home runs in the span of four games and then had a three-game dry spell. Well, when playing a game in Colorado, it doesn’t take much to get back on the home run train. Oakland is tied with Atlanta at 4.8 projected runs on Monday (fourth-most) and Davis has a .299 ISO against righties since 2017. All aboard!
Derek Dietrich, MIA (@ ATL) - $4,500
Dietrich was once an under-the-radar addition to DK lineups. Now, he’s a bit pricey. Since Dietrich has only notched one hit in the past week (1-for-16), we can now assume people will be avoiding the Marlins leadoff hitter. Time to pounce. Dietrich is 8-for-27 (.296) with four extra-base hits (two home runs) against Julio Teheran in his career.
