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As always, my goal with this article is to help you identify viable options to insert into your DraftKings lineups, based on pricing and matchups data. Here's a compilation of players I like when choosing a lineup for Friday, July, 31st.
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Offenses to Target for DraftKings Stacking
St. Louis Cardinals LHB vs Kyle Kendrick
The left-handed bats in the St. Louis Cardinals lineup hold a top ten offense against right-handed pitching with a wRC+ of 111. The Cardinals have a great matchup on Friday against opposing pitcher Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick is coming off of two straight bad outings. He has been battered for 11 earned runs over 9.1 innings. Feel free to add Jason Heyward or Kolten Wong to your lineup as excellent value picks at their respective positions.
Kansas City Royals LHB vs Drew Hutchinson
The left-handed bats in the Kansas City Royals lineup hold the second best offense in the league against right-handed pitching with a wRC+ of 137. With this in mind, the Royals’ corner infielders look like excellent targets for your DraftKings lineup. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have both been consistently productive this year. They should perform well against opposing pitcher Drew Hutchinson. Hutchinson has struggled with his walk rate. On the year, Hutchinson holds a 5.42 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP.
DFS Starting Pitchers to Consider for DraftKings
Clayton Kershaw (SP, LAD) - $14500
Clayton Kershaw is expensive. He is so expensive that he will severely limit your offensive picks. However, with the hot streak that Kershaw is on, we will just have to bite the bullet. Fortunately, we can put together a very nice but cheap offense to go along with Kershaw. Kershaw has been incredible in July. In his last four outings, he has pitched 33.0 innings. He gave up one earned run during that span, and also struck out 45 batters. The Angels actually have a very good offense against left-handed pitching, with a wRC+ of 102. However, Kershaw’s potential is too much to turn down at this point. He can easily carry your fantasy team on Friday night.
Taylor Jungmann (SP, MIL) - $7500
Taylor Jungmann makes for an excellent value pick as your secondary starting pitcher. Jungmann has pitched extremely well this year. His walk rate remains somewhat of an issue, but he has provided steady strikeouts and has shown the ability to go deep into games. Jungman now holds a 2.14 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP. Jungmann will have a very good matchup against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have the highest strikeout rate in the league. The Cubs also have the third worst offense in the league against right-handed pitching, with a wRC+ of 86.
DFS Infielders to Consider for DraftKings
Yasmani Grandal (C, LAD) - $3300
Yasmani Grandal should be great target at home vs Hector Santiago. Grandal has hit left-handed pitching very well this year. He holds a .335 wOBA against lefties on the year. Grandal’s investment price has fluctuated with his hot streaks. However, he does produce consistently in between his hot streaks, and his value is very high right now due to his potential for power surges. Hector Santiago has also been very hittable as of late, as he has given up 13 hits and 4 walks over his last 10 innings of work.
Albert Pujols (1B, LAA) - $3600
Albert Pujols is a must start on the road for Friday. Pujols’s current price tag is a very nice bargain at the first base position. Pujols has admittedly struggled against left-handed pitching this year, holding a wRC+ of 89. Clayton Kershaw is also as tough of an opponent as any batter can face. However, Pujols has surprisingly done extremely well against Kershaw in his career. Pujols is a lifetime 9 for 20 against Kershaw. As Pujols has recently reached the 30 home run benchmark, you can look to him to be a consistent source of power numbers for your DraftKings lineup.
Brandon Phillips (2B, CIN) - $3500
Brandon Phillips is a must start at home against Jeff Locke. Phillips provides a lot of value with his current investment tag. His power has waned this year, but he just hit 4 for 5 with 2 home runs on Thursday, so perhaps we can hope for this to be the beginning of something for Phillips. Phillips has a wOBA of .266 against left-handed pitching this year. Phillips could be a great play against Locke.
Pedro Alvarez (3B, PIT) - $3400
Pedro Alvarez is and will always be a boom or bust pick. Alvarez’s propensity for striking out limits his value on DraftKings. However, Alvarez should have a nice matchup against opposing pitcher Michael Lorenzen on the road at Cincinnati. Lorenzen does not have a consistent strike out rate. Lorenzen has been bruised by left-handed batters, who are hitting .336 against him. He has also been prone to the long ball. All this bodes well for Alvarez, who holds a wRC+ of 109 against right-handed pitching on the year.
Alexei Ramirez (SS, CWS) - $3200
Alexei Ramirez looks to be a nice value pick at the shallow shortstop position. He will face opposing pitcher Nathan Eovaldi at home. Ramirez holds a wOBA of .277 against left-handed pitching. Ramirez has hit well in the month of July, holding a .289 average.
DFS Outfielders to Consider for DraftKings
Gerardo Parra (OF, MIL) - $3900
UPDATE: Earlier today Parra was traded to the Orioles. He will not be playing tonight, and should be ignored.
Gerardo Parra should be a very nice play at home against opposing pitcher Jason Hammel. His price tag remains completely manageable, while his production has been great all month. He is hitting .432 with four home runs in July. Parra has hit right-handed pitching extremely well this year, with a wOBA of .382. Lastly, Parra is also a career 9 for 25 against Hammel. With this in mind, Parra should be an excellent pick as your primary or secondary outfielder.
Yasiel Puig (OF, LAD) - $3400
It’s hard to believe that Yasiel Puig has fallen into the bargain bin. However, Puig has too much potential and can easily turn around his play any day, given a good matchup like the one he has on Friday. Puig will face opposing pitcher Hector Santiago at home. Puig holds a wOBA of .398 against left-handed pitching this year. Puig’s power has also certainly still been there this month, so you can’t go wrong with using Puig as your tertiary outfielder.
Marlon Byrd (OF, CIN) - $3400
Marlon Byrd looks to be another nice pick as your tertiary outfielder on DraftKings. Byrd will face Jeff Locke at home. Byrd holds a .383 wOBA against left-handed pitching this year. The key to this matchup is to try to exploit Locke’s struggles. Byrd will look to tack on another homer to his stat line, just as he did yesterday.
DFS Q&A with Max Petrie @ 6 PM on 7/31
Leave your question here and then come back at 6 PM when Max answers everything. For our regular MLB & Fantasy Baseball Chat, click here.
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