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Mike Schwarzenbach highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 7/31/20, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
It's Friday which means another jam-packed MLB slate. We've got 12 games on the main slate which will provide no shortage of options on how to build our lineups. A rainout between the Reds and the Cubs on Thursday adds two more intriguing arms to the Friday slate as Luis Castillo and Yu Darvish will join a deep collection of high-upside pitching options. Throw in our first Coors Field game and there are a lot of different routes to take to find success on this slate.
Given the way this week started with the news of the coronavirus outbreak with the Marlins, I'm happy we still have baseball to watch on a Friday night so let's set some strong lineups that will help us walk into the weekend with some extra beer money.
In this article, I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 7/30/2020. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports too.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Luis Castillo - CIN @ DET ($10,100)
Castillo is the most expensive pitcher on this slate, but his combination of safety and upside is worth chasing here. Castillo diced up the Tigers last Saturday to the tune of 11 strikeouts in six one-run innings. Thanks to his Thursday start getting rained out, Castillo is in line to tame the Tigers again. Detroit has struck out at a 33 percent rate as a team this season and Castillo is a good strikeout pitcher as he averaged 10.67 K/9 last season. Yes, Detroit will have some familiarity seeing Castillo again, but even if they score more than last game it's hard to see Castillo not pitting up fantasy points via some strikeouts. This is a good pitcher, facing a bad team, in a good pitcher's park. Don't overthink it.
Mike Minor - TEX @ SF ($8,700)
If the price tag for Castillo is too much, Minor is a fine pivot with an equally tantalizing matchup. Minor heads to one of the best pitcher's parks in the game to face a lineup sporting a team on-base percentage under .290 thus far in 2020. Minor only lasted five innings in his first start this season but was effective as he allowed only one run and struck out six. Expect him to go deeper into this game as 21 of his 32 starts last season lasted at least six innings. Given the matchup, expect Minor to be a relatively safe pitcher at a fair price to squeeze some higher-priced bats into the lineup.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Jose Abreu - 1B, CWS @ KC ($3,100)
Abreu has quietly gotten off to a nice start in 2020 as part of an improved White Sox lineup. With all of the excitement surrounding Chicago's young hitting studs, it's easy to forget about a steady veteran like Abreu but he should be at the center of any White Sox-stack vs Royals lefty Kris Bubic. Bubic will be making his Major League debut despite not pitching above High-A. Abreu mashed left-handed pitching last season putting up a 1.009 OPS vs southpaws. He is wildly affordable as the number three-hitter in a lineup with a high projected run total.
Jose Peraza - 2B, BOS @ NYY ($2,500)
A mid-summer, Friday night Yankees/Red Sox game just feels like it'll take four-plus hours and feature a ton of runs, doesn't it? I'm not alone in that assessment as Bovada has the over/under set at 11 runs as both teams will feature back-of-the-rotation starters. In that scenario, give me all the Jose Peraza at $2,500. Peraza has been leading off for Boston and will undoubtedly be in the one-hole Friday vs a left-hander. Peraza batted .287 vs lefties last season and has gotten off to a nice start this year.
Corey Seager - SS, LAD @ ARI ($3,300)
Don't look now, but Corey Seager has homered in back-to-back games after what was a hot start even before he found his power. Seager is hitting .346 on the young season and has now reached base safely in all but one game this year. He doesn't have the easiest matchup vs Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, but Seager is reasonably priced as the 10th most-expensive shortstop and has been swinging a hot bat. Gallen is good, but not enough to scare me off Seager given his recent history.
(Tim Anderson is another great SS option, especially if stacking White Sox. Anderson has good numbers vs LHP and will bat leadoff for Chicago)
Yoan Moncada - 3B, CWS @ KC ($3,600)
Yoan Moncada is a switch-hitter will bat second for Chicago vs Bubic and a bad Royals bullpen. He took his first O-fer of the season in his last game, but before that, he had seven hits in his first four games. He's still striking out a bit too much but is sporting a solid 15.4 percent barrel rate with a 53.8 percent hard-hit rate when he does make contact.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
J.D. Martinez - OF, BOS @ NYY ($4,000)
Martinez is in a prime position Friday night facing a lefty at one of his favorite ballparks to hit in. Martinez has a .596 career slugging percentage at Yankee Stadium and will be facing lefty Jordan Montgomery, at least early in the game. Martinez led all qualified batters with a 1.381 OPS vs left-handers last season so he is in a great spot to do damage in a game that should feature a lot of scoring.
Trent Grisham - OF, SD @ COL
We couldn't get past the first Coors game without getting some exposure right? Grisham is off to a hot start this season with hits in six of his first seven games. He has been batting second for a good San Diego lineup, yet is priced lower than everyone else projected to bat top-three in the order in this game. He's been a high-OBP guy throughout his minor league career thanks to a double-digit walk rate so expect him to be on base in front of the Padres heavy hitters in an extreme environment for producing offense.
Whit Merrifield - OF, KC v. CWS (3,500)
Whit Merrifield has been tearing the cover off the ball in this young season. He's sporting a 45 percent line-drive rate so far which has him among the league leaders in xBA (.388) and xWOBA (.455). The 31-year-old is batting .333 with a .667 slugging percentage while manning the leadoff for the Royals. He'll have the platoon advantage against lefty Dallas Keuchel who he is 6-for-12 against in his career.
Yoshi Tsutsugo - OF, TB @ BAL ($2,800)
If we're looking for value in the outfield, Tsutsugo is a good shot to look for cheap power. He'll be playing at homer-happy Camden Yards vs a pitcher in Alex Cobb that served up 1.42 HR/9 the last time he pitched a full season. Tsutsugo has made 43.8 percent hard contact so far this season and will hit near the top of a Rays order with a high projected run total.
