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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on July 28, 2022. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a busy Thursday on tap with eight games on the main slate after a two-game afternoon warmup. We've got a great slate on tap for the main slate with DraftKings still getting stupid with prices. More on that later.
Coors is on the slate, but with rain expected in and around Denver most of the day. Chalk Rockies may not be chalk after all with the specter of weather hanging over the Rockies. Hey, taking Coors off the slate is never a bad thing, especially when it's the Dodgers visiting the Mile High City. Keep a close eye on that game. We have nice weather for the other seven, so let's get to it.
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Tuesday's main slate locks at 7:05 pm EST on 7/28/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Shohei Ohtani vs. TEX ($8,900 DK, $11,100 FD)
Using Ohtani at this price on DraftKings feels like cheating. We actually have to think about it a little bit on FanDuel. He has seven straight starts over 20 DraftKings points. Six of those cleared 30 DK points. Texas wrecked him in Arlington back in April, but I'll trust the recent games more. He was serviceable against the Rangers in May, also in Arlington.
It was after that when Shohei really took off. He has at least ten strikeouts in five straight games. That piles up the points in a hurry. His ERA at home is more than a run and a half lower than his road mark. I think Ohtani continues his hot streak and gets his revenge on the Rangers tonight.
Zack Wheeler at PIT ($10,200 DK, $10,700 FD)
The Pirates have stumbled out of the break, hitting just .179 with three homers and 11 runs in five games. Not only that, but they are striking out at a 30.8% clip. That's not a good thing when facing a pitcher like Wheeler.
If you take out his start in Toronto just before the break, Wheeler has at least 15 DraftKings points in every game since April 23, clearing 20 in all but two of those. When blowing 1/5 of my cap on a pitcher, I want that kind of security. Wheeler doesn't pile up at many strikeouts as he used to, but he could come close to a ceiling game against the ice-cold Pirates.
Also consider: Jameson Taillon, Yusei Kikuchi, Alex Wood
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Freddie Freeman - 1B, LAD at Jose Urena ($5,800 DK, $4,300 FD)
Freeman is a career .283 hitter in Coors Field and is 14-for-34 (.412) with four homers in his career off of Urena. Strangely enough, Freeman doesn't hit Coors as well as most of his peers do. However, Urena is his own private pitching machine. Put that pitching machine in Coors Field, and there could be a ton of fireworks for Freeman. The fact that Freeman is cheaper than C.J. Cron on FanDuel seems nuts.
Jose Altuve - 2B, HOU vs. Logan Gilbert ($5,100 DK, $4,200 FD)
Gilbert's 2.77 ERA is a bit misleading. He still allows a lot of hard-hit balls and his four-seamer, while thrown hard, has been hit equally hard. Altuve's best pitch to hit is a four-seamer, followed by a slider. Gilbert throws those two pitches 78% of the time. It's no surprise that Altuve is 7-for-16 with a homer lifetime off of Gilbert. We all know that Altuve's home/road splits (.329 to .234) are rivaled only by Rockies players. This is the time to pay the premium for Altuve.
Jeimer Candelario - 3B, DET at Yusei Kikuchi ($2,600 DK, $2,400 FD)
Jeimer feasted on the Padres, logging eight hits in the three-game series that just concluded yesterday afternoon. He has four homers in seven games since the break. Candelario is prone to hot streaks. Run him when he's hot, especially against a lefty. Although Candelario is a switch-hitter, he hits 23 points higher against southpaws.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kris Bryant - OF, COL vs. Tyler Anderson ($5,000 DK, $3,800 FD)
If this game in Coors plays, we can't go without playing anyone from that game. While most will (rightfully) be on the Dodgers side of this, I'll have some shares of Bryant. Bryant is hitting .325 with five homers and 10 RBI since coming off the IL 19 games ago. On top of that, Bryant has four career homers in just 24 at-bats against Anderson and sports a strong .375 average. With this strong of a sample and the fact that most of those games took place at or near sea level, Bryant is a nice way to run back some Dodgers.
Steven Kwan - OF, CLE at Kutter Crawford ($3,900 DK, $3,200 FD)
The few days off did the rookie some good. Kwan has started the second half as hot as he started the season. Kwan is 13-for-29 with a homer, four RBI, two steals, and seven runs scored in six games since the Midsummer Classic. He has little power to speak of, but Kwan is putting up a lot of crooked numbers batting leadoff for an offense that is finally getting going. I'm a big fan of Kwan in the mid-range.
Darin Ruf - 1B/OF, SF vs. Justin Steele ($3,200 DK, $2,600 FD)
Leody Taveras is no longer a free space on DraftKings (it only took two weeks!), so we need another strong play on the cheap. With lefty Justin Steele on the mound, it's pretty clear that guy is Ruf. Ruf is hitting 75 points higher against lefties this season and has nine of his 11 homers against southpaws. He also pounds sinkers, which is Steele's third pitch of choice. You can do much worse than Ruf tonight.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them):
Toronto Blue Jays - I didn't single out any Blue Jays because they are low-hanging fruit. Tyler Alexander does a decent job of keeping the ball in the yard, but he's not stretched out and the Tigers' bullpen is still awful. I prefer the usual suspects, but don't sleep on the red-hot Raimel Tapia on the cheap to make the rest of the pieces fit.
New York Yankees - Brady Singer has improved a lot over the last month or so, but a youngster heading to Yankee Stadium facing a team stacked with All-Stars is very intimidating. On top of that, the Royals' bullpen has had its share of struggles this year. Aaron Judge is the obvious pick here with Rizzo and Gleyber Torres close behind.
Los Angeles Dodgers - The Dodgers aren't my favorite stack, and it's not all because of the weather. Urena did well against the Dodgers in L.A. about three weeks ago and has only given up two homers in 16 innings at Coors this year. My love of the Dodgers is mostly because they will get at least three innings of arguably the worst bullpen in baseball in the most hitter-friendly venue on the planet.
Honorable mention: Philadelphia Phillies
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.
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