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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/31/21. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
It's a fairly reasonable DraftKings Saturday in MLB. The Jays pissed off DraftKings by starting an hour earlier than the rest of the 4pm Eastern games, so they go into their own showdown. The five game early slate looks solid, but I'm here to take you through the nine-game main prime time slate on DraftKings. There is one really expensive pitcher and five of them under $8,000, including Jon Lester in a Cardinals uniform in the rematch of the 1987 World Series. We can tell what kind of slate this is going to be if we have to consider Lester.
The only rain chance is in St. Louis for Lester's Cardinals debut, but it will only be if a storm pops nearby. At any rate, this game should play. It's hot in Texas and Arizona (go figure), and humid in Chicago and St. Louis. Only Hotlanta has both. Bats will have an advantage in Truist Park.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/31/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Aaron Nola - PHI at PIT ($9,700)
Those who watch metrics closely weren't surprised by Nola's domination of the Braves in his last start. Opponents have a .316 BABIP, which is the second highest total of his career in the Statcast ERA. The issue is Nola has allowed the highest exit velocity and launch angles of his career so far. Still, his expected ERA is a half run lower than his season total and the xwOBA is below .300. Nola just isn't getting hit that hard. He's due for progression to his career norms. That continues against the Pirates today, who might be worse than half of the offenses at AAA.
German Marquez - COL at SD ($8,800)
Marquez dominated the Padres in San Diego just before the break, racking up 35.4 DraftKings points with Fernando Tatis Jr. in the lineup. It looks like Tatis might be out tonight. That's not saying that I think Marquez outdoes that gem, but it does increase his chances of duplicating it. Marquez has a 2.71 ERA since June 1. He's just not getting hit very hard of very well right now, at Coors or otherwise.
Other Options: Yu Darvish ($10,500), Joe Ross ($8,100), Dallas Keuchel ($6,800)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Mitch Garver - C, MIN at STL ($4,300)
Garver went on paternity leave shortly after returning from a long IL stint, so he hasn't had a lot of time to get in a groove. The immense power facing a guy that has had the wheels fall off twice in the last four starts is good enough for me. There's still plenty of power in this Minnesota lineup even without Nelson Cruz. I'm chasing it against Lester in good hitting weather.
Miguel Sano - 1B, MIN at STL ($4,600)
You can pay all the way up for Pete Alonso and I wouldn't blame you if you did. Joey Votto also deserves strong consideration, but I'm continuing an old tradition of attacking Jon Lester with righties while keeping up a new one of playing Sano every slate. Sano has been trending upward lately, and if you had him for his two homer outburst against the Tigers, he is already paying dividends. The metrics suggest that his hot streak is just beginning, so I'm riding this train until it derails.
Jonathan India - 2B, CIN at NYM ($5,300)
India's last three home runs have come against the Mets, including two last night. He's leading off for a potent offense that is starting to get going again. India has scored six runs in the last three games because Joey Votto remains white-hot. I'm pretty sure Votto drove in Barry Larkin from a game in 1994 at some point this week. I definitely want some of the guys getting on base in front of Votto before he clears them again.
Abraham Toro - 3B, SEA at TEX ($3,200)
Toro's consecutive games with a home run streak ended at four last night, but Toro still scored 15 DraftKings points. That was his fifth straight game with 15 or more DraftKings points. He has five hits in ten at-bats as a Mariner with two homers, four runs scored, four RBI, and a steal. He'll cool off eventually, but probably not in the heat of Texas.
Kyle Farmer - SS, CIN at NYM ($3,500)
Farmer extended his hit streak to eight games yesterday and he is the guy batting immediately in front of Votto of late. That has resulted in seven runs scored during that streak. Farmer has also slugged a pair of homers and driven in three. I don't trust pitchers who are almost as old as I am, especially in good hitting weather with a lineup that will likely feature at least seven right-handed batters. The Reds are getting more expensive, but they are still my favorite stack of the night.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Bryce Harper - OF, PHI at PIT ($6,200)
Joey Votto is getting a lot of publicity of late, and rightfully so. It has also served to keep Harper's impressive streak under the radar. He doesn't have the homer streak or even the hit streak, but Harper is hitting .385 with three homers, 13 RBI, five runs scored, a staggering 13 walks, and four steals in his last ten games. Four steals! Steals are often overlooked all of fantasy, but especially DFS. That's a free 20 points! The walks are free points as well! Harper has been a DFS monster of late and JT Brubaker has given up four or more runs in three of his last four starts. Harper is getting some points tonight at the very least.
Tyler O'Neill - OF, STL vs. MIN ($3,600)
He's batting cleanup against a guy with a 5.19 ERA and one of the worst bullpens in recent history backing him up. What's not to like?
Harrison Bader - OF, STL vs. MIN ($2,700)
Darth Bader is hitting .447 with three homers, nine runs scored, nine RBI, and a steal over his last ten games. His price has gone up a whopping -200 dollars in this streak. That's right.....Bader is $200 cheaper than he was ten days ago. This is an egregious error in pricing here. Bader is an absolute lock at this price for the same reasons I'm playing O'Neill. Well, that and his insane hot streak.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Cincinnati Reds vs. Rich Hill
- St. Louis Cardinals vs. Bailey Ober
- Seattle Mariners vs. Taylor Hearn
- Sneaky Stack: New York Mets vs. Wade Miley
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