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Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 7/20/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
I do enjoy the All-Star break, but forgive me for wanting it to end almost the second the final pitch is thrown in the All-Star game. Waiting for regular season games to come back in the dead of summer is no fun. I honestly had no idea what to do with myself Wednesday and Thursday. Anywho, we've got all 30 teams in action Friday, with the Cardinals and Cubs playing a matinee and the other 14 games taking place under the lights.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 7/20/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Trevor Bauer - SP, at TEX ($12,200)
We've got three pretty premiere arms in the Main slate tonight with Trevor Bauer, Stephen Strasburg and Noah Syndergaard all manning the bump. While Bauer's price is the steepest, he's my top choice tonight as his matchup is one of the best, while Strasburg faces the Braves and Syndegaard (who may also have pitch count concerns) is facing off against the Yankees. Bauer's opponent, the Rangers, have an implied run total of just 2.9 and their strikeout rate against right-handed pitching sits over 27% this season. Bauer has been fantastic too - through the first half of the season, he's posted a 3.08 SIERA (best of any starting pitcher throwing tonight), a 31.4% K rate, and just 35% hard contact with a 0.4 HR/9 allowed.
Domingo German - SP, vs NYM ($7,000)
In GPP formats Friday night, German is piquing my interests. I'm not sure many realize just how talented this kid's arm is. He's had his troubles, as most young pitchers who pitch primarily in an offensive park environment do (1.5 HR/9), but the upside is enormous (parituclarly at this really low price) and the threat of opposing team offense is lower when your opoonent is the lowly Mets. On a slate that includes a trio of premier arms I mentioned above, German has the highest swinging strike rate at 14.9% (!!) and he also has a strong SIERA (3.65) and K rate at 27%. German and his 11.2 K/9 face a Mets team whose projected lineup has a 24% strikeout rate against righties and has struggled greatly to produce offense with a 94 wRC+ (just ask Jacob deGrom!).
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Yan Gomes - C, at TEX ($2,300)
Gomes has been a pretty steady producer this year and we get him at near minimum cost Friday night in a matchup I really like. He and his teammates get an offensive park upgrade and face off against Martin Perez, a lefty with the worst SIERA on the slate. Gomes has a 59% hard hit rate over his last eight starts and for the season, he's got pretty strong numbers against southpaws - .381 wOBA and a .229 ISO.
Jakob Bauers - 1B, vs MIA ($3,300)
Bauers and the Rays have one of the more opportune matchups Friday night, as opposing starter Dan Straily has been pretty dreadful. He has allowed a lot of hard contact to both sides, and hitters from the left side have fared the best with a .357 wOBA allowed. Bauers has a hard hit rate in his last 10 starts over 50%, and he has some really good numbers for his splits against right-handers, highlighted by a .383 wOBA and a .263 ISO.
Brian Dozier - 2B, at KCR ($3,700)
The Twins right-handed batters should be feeling pretty good about their matchup against Danny Duffy on Friday night in Kansas City. Duffy has surrendered a .557 slugging percentage split to righties at home this season, and we all know Dozier can crush southpaws. For the season, he owns a .405 wOBA split paired with an attractive .271 ISO.
Jake Lamb - 3B, vs COL ($2,800)
If you're spending up on pitching in Cash tonight - which I certainly reccomend - we're going to have to find some positon players with "bragain bin" type prices that still have upside. Lamb fits the profile really well, as he faces off against German Marquez in Arizona. He's got good lineup order position value and although he's struggled a little in returning from the disabled list, he has a respectable .328 wOBA split and a .198 ISO. Marquez has allowed 1.5 HR/9 to lefties away from Coors Field this season.
Francisco Lindor - SS, at TEX ($4,500)
As I mentioned in the Gomes' writeup, the Indians are in a good spot for offense tonight - perhaps the best spot. Martin Perez is no match for this lineup, and Lindor, while expensive, is a good value at the leadoff spot considering the upside in Arlington Friday night. He has posted a 40% hard hit rate and a 43% fly ball rate in his last 10 games to go with strong season-long splits against lefties (.403 wOBA, .203 ISO).
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Curtis Granderson - OF, vs BAL ($2,600)
The Blue Jays don't roll out many left-handed bats with power, but they sure are in a great spot against Dylan Bundy. Bundy has been solid overall this year, but really struggles with the lefty bats as he's allowed a .378 wOBA and .505 slugging percentage to that group. Granderson is a nice value play here with home run upside, as he boasts a .343 wOBA and .228 ISO split.
Mookie Betts - OF, at DET ($5,000)
Mookie is my favorite spend-up play in the outfield (and perhaps overall) as he gets a date with Matt Boyd in Detroit Friday night. This is actually a sneaky-good power park for right-handed batters, and Betts has been ridiculously good against southpaws this season. He entered the All-Star break with a 52% hard hit rate in his last 10 games and his wOBA and ISO splits (.487, .339) scream high floor and upside.
