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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on July 9th, 2018. Adam Meyer's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
You will notice that 13 games are on the docket for Monday, but only 11 are playable in the DraftKings slate. There are two doubleheaders (NYY/BAL and PHI/NYM), so we can only count on the first game in our player pool (sorry, no Aaron Nola for us).
Four games have an over/under of at least nine total runs and TEX/BOS leads the slate with 10 projected runs in that matchup. Six teams are considered heavy favorites (-200 odds, or greater), as I write this: Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Astros, Twins, and Dodgers. You will likely see our suggestions filled with players from those rosters.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/9/18. 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
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (@ SD) - $12,900
The price tag may seem expensive, but this is probably the cheapest you’ll see Kershaw for awhile. Even though Kershaw hasn’t thrown more than 74 pitches in a start since May 31st, we know what he’s capable of accomplishing. Also, he owns the Padres. In his career, Kershaw is 17-6 with a 1.94 ERA and 90 punch outs in 83.2 innings of work against San Diego. The Padres are third in the league with 846 strikeouts and 27th in runs scored (337 runs in 91 games) this season. Against lefties, the Padres are tied for 22nd, with a team wOBA of .305.
Chris Archer, TB (vs. DET) - $8,100
With Archer returning from the DL with an abdomen injury, some DFSers may be hesitant to use him. However, I’ll take advantage of the low ownership and cheap price tag on Monday. Before the injury, Archer allowed two earned runs, or less, in four straight games and struck out at least six batters in three consecutive appearances. Detroit is 29th in team wOBA (.289) against right-handed pitchers, too.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
C - Jonathan Lucroy, OAK (@ HOU) - $2,800
When you spend a combined $21,000 on pitching, you need to cut corners in other spots. The catcher position is an easy way to save money and no worry about missing out on a top tier talent. Lucroy has tallied only one hit in the past week (.083 AVG), but he has decent BvP numbers against Gerrit Cole. In his career, Lucroy is 10-for-25 (.400) with two extra-base hits against the Astros pitcher.
1B - Steve Pearce, BOS (vs. TEX) - $3,900
Boston needed another bat who could hit lefties and Pearce falls into that category. Since 2017, he has a .247 ISO against southpaws, joining J.D. Martinez (.386 ISO) and Mookie Betts (.272 ISO) as the only Red Sox with ISO numbers over .200 against left-handed pitchers. In the past week, Pearce is 7-for-15 (.467) with three doubles. He’s also compiled at least two hits in three of the past four games.
2B - Niko Goodrum, DET (@ TB) - $3,800
Normally, I wouldn’t advise choosing a hitter facing your pitcher, but the price tag is worth it. Goodrum is 10-for-28 (.357) with three doubles, one triple, and a home run in the past week. In July, Goodrum is batting .438. Since he’s only provided the Tigers with two RBI this month, it’s safe to say that Goodrum can get on base, but no one is in front of him who can reach base. That makes the decision to use him against Archer even safer.
3B - Justin Turner, LAD (@ SD) - $4,100
Turner is only batting .286 in the past week, but he’s produced at least one hit in five of the past six starts. He’s also 4-for-10 (.400) with two extra-base hits (one home run) against Luis Perdomo. The last time Perdomo faced the Dodgers was April 18th of this season. He allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in three innings.
SS - Alcides Escobar, KC (@ MIN) - $2,600
This is a player that I haven’t used in DFS in awhile. Escobar won’t wow you on the stat line, but you don’t have to pay much to roster him, either. Escobar has actually tallied a hit in four straight games. Also, I didn’t mean for this to be BvP heavy article, but Escobar is 5-for-12 (.417) with three extra-base hits (one home run) against Jose Berrios.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Andrew Benintendi, BOS (vs. TEX) - $5,000
Boston leads the pack with an implied run total of 5.9 on Monday. I try to get at least one batter from those lineups, whenever possible. Benintendi is batting .429 (9-for-21), with two doubles and one home run (five walks) in the past week. He’s produced multi-hit performances in three straight games, too.
Adam Jones, BAL (vs. NYY) - $3,800
Back on the BvP bandwagon, Jones is 24-for-81 (.296) with 10 extra-base hits and five home runs against CC Sabathia. So, while you may not be a believer in batter vs. pitcher stats, at least this gives you a decent sample size. Jones has also produced an extra-base hit in four of the past five games.
Carlos Gomez, TB (vs. DET) - $3,000
The final suggestion is, you guessed it, a BvP All-Star, as well. In his career, Gomez is 11-for-24 (.458) with five extra-base hits (three home runs) against Francisco Liriano. Speaking of Liriano, he’s allowed at least three earned runs in three of the past four appearances and six home runs during that span.
