MLB Lineups Advice for Daily Fantasy Baseball (Fanduel) - July 29

by Zachary Thompson - RotoBaller 7/29/13 11:11 AM Follow Zachary

By Keith Allison on Flickr [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Joey Votto

Monday's nine-game MLB schedule isn't as jam-packed as some days, but there is still plenty of punch for fantasy baseball daily leaguers in a schedule that highlights divisional play. The Cardinals-Pirates and Red Sox-Rays are the headliners, but there's plenty of other intriguing matchups as well throughout the night. Since the game at Fenway starts before the typical 7:00 PM lock, many daily leagues aren't including it in their format for tonight, so I'll limit my picks to the other eight games.

Everyday here on RotoBaller.com you can find plenty of fantasy baseball advice, including tips and picks for fantasy baseball daily leagues like Fanduel and DraftKings. You can also check out my daily picks each day at SportsReelBoston.com where you’ll also find a sweet deal for a registration bonus at DraftKings.com. Here are my picks for this Monday, July 29:

Starting Pitcher

High Price - Francisco Liriano (PIT): Liriano has sparkled all season but has been especially good at home where he's 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA. This will be Liriano's first start against the Cardinals this season, but he's been a "big-game" pitcher so far this season. His last time out he allowed just two hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings in Washington and has allowed more than two runs in just one of his last seven starts. The Cardinals are a good team for sure, coming in with a 62-40 record on the year, but they have struggled a little against southpaws like Liriano going just 11-13. Liriano should be in line for a good start tonight in this big-time NL Central matchup.

High Price - Jacob Turner (MIA): Turner is a former Tigers prospect who came over in the Anibal Sanchez trade and has had a solid season so far in his 10 starts. His first start of the year came against the same Mets he faces tonight at Marlins Park. He allowed just five hits in seven shutout innings in that outing on his way to his first win of the year. He's only 3-3 this season due to lack of run support but has a 2.49 ERA with a .237 BAA (batting average against). He's been even better at home where he pitches tonight going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a .204 BAA.

Budget Bargain - Mike Leake (STL): Leake picked up win number ten in his last start despite allowing 12 hits to the Giants in six innings. He only allowed one run as his ERA dropped to 2.73. He's only allowed more than three earned run once in his last 14 starts. Leake was born in San Diego but has never pitched there. I think he'll find Petco and the Padres offense to his liking and turn in another solid outing tonight.

Budget Bargain - Jorge De La Rosa (COL): De La Rosa and the Rockies are in Atlanta tonight as he goes for win number 11. In his last eight starts, De La Rosa has allowed three runs or less. His ERA for the year is down to 2.97. In his four starts this month, he's gone 2-1 with a .226 BAA while striking out 18 in 22 1/3 innings.

Catcher

Carlos Santana

High Price - Carlos Santana (CLE): Santana went 2-4 yesterday to bring his average to .273 on the season. He and the Tribe host John Danks and the White Sox tonight at Progressive. Danks has given up home runs and hits in bunches lately, and Santana should be able to grab a part of that tonight.

Budget Bargain - Derek Norris (OAK): For the month of July, Norris is 9-27 and has hit home runs in back-to-back games. He has seven homers on the year in just 196 plate appearances. Norris plays tonight at home against the Blue Jays and Esmil Rogers.

First Base

High Price - Joey Votto (CIN): Votto and the Reds are in a good matchup tonight in San Diego as they take on Sean O'Sullivan and the Padres. Votto has multiple hits in four of his last six games and is hitting .319 on the year. He's gone 11-32 over his last eight games with three RBI, 2 doubles, a triple, and a home run. In O'Sullivan's limited work, he's struggled with lefties like Votto allowing them to hit .364 (8-22) with four walks and a pair of doubles.

Budget Bargain - Logan Morrison (MIA): LoMo and the Fish host the Mets for a four-game series starting tonight. Morrison has hit safely in four of his last five going 6-17. He's hit better at home all season, although this will be the first time he faces Jeremy Hefner who gets the starting nod for New York. Morrison is hitting .302 on the year against righties with all four of his homers coming in those matchups as well.

Second Base

High Price - Jason Kipnis (CLE): Kipnis went 2-4 yesterday with his 63rd RBI of the season. He is 2-8 with a triple and homer off of John Danks, and has nice home splits where he's hitting .304 - although most of his homers have come on the road. Kipnis and the Tribe are one of the matchups to load up on for tonight's action.

Budget Bargain - Donovan Solano (MIA): Solano has gone 7-21 over his last six games with a double and a home run along with five RBI. Solano is 3-9 with a double of the Mets starter Jeremy Hefner and is one of the better cheap options at a shallow 2B position today.

Third Base

High Price - Pedro Alvarez (PIT): Alvarez is a high-priced option but one to build your team around for today. He and the Pirates return home to take on the Cardinals and Jake Westbrook. Alvarez comes in with a seven-game hitting streak with seven runs scored, two home runs, three RBI, and three walks over that span. His strikeout-rate is still high, so be cautious if your league counts off for K's. The main reason to go with El Toro today is his history against Westbrook. In his career, Alvarez is 12-21 (.571) with two home runs and eight RBI.

Budget Bargain - Junior Lake (CHI): Lake went 0-for-San Francisco after going 0-12 in his last three games - but is still 15-43 (.349) over his first 10 MLB games. He and the Cubs face Kyle Lohse and the Brewers at Wrigley tonight, where Lake will make his Chicago-debut. He'll probably be at the top of the lineup which makes him a bargain at a thin 3B spot.

Shortstop

High Price - Troy Tulowitzki (COL): Tulo collected multiple hits in his last two games along with a homer in each. Tonight he and the Rox are in Atlanta taking on Brandon Beachy fresh off the DL. In his career Tulo is 3-5 with a double and a homer off Beachy. He's pricey, but he's heating up and is a good investment for tonight.

Budget Bargain - Jordy Mercer (PIT): Mercer had his 11-game hitting streak snapped Saturday in Miami and took the day off yesterday. He should return to the lineup tonight as he looks to continue his solid play as of late. In the last week he's 8-20 with three doubles and four walks. If he's in the lineup for the Pirates tonight at home, he makes a nice value play against the Cardinals.

Outfield

High Price - Mike Trout (LAA): Trout has reached base safely 20 games in a row, and is still hitting over .340 for the month despite going 0-4 yesterday. The Angels have plenty of issues as they head to Texas, but Trout's production isn't one of them. Among the most expensive outfielders, Trout offers so many ways to get points he's worth the investment if you have the money to lay out here.

High Price - Andrew McCutchen (PIT): McCutchen didn't start yesterday but did go 0-1 off the bench. He'll be back in the lineup tonight as the Bucs return to Pittsburgh. He's hitting .300 with 14 homers on the year and over .330 this month with five of those long balls tin July. He has gone 9-25 (.360) against Jake Westbrook in his career and is a .346 hitter at home. Look for a big night from Cutch tonight.

High Price - Norichika Aoki (MIL): Aoki has hit in nine straight games and has a pair of homers in his last four. He's hitting well over .300 this month, and also offers speed with four stolen bases in his last seven games - giving him 14 on the year. Aoki has a good history against Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija hitting .500 in his 10 career at-bats with a double and a triple. Aoki and the Brew Crew head to Wrigley where Aoki went 4-9 with a pair of doubles earlier this season.

Budget Bargain - Dayan Viciedo (CHW): Viciedo is underpriced in many formats and is starting to pick things up after a slow start. He's hit safely in five in a row going 9-18 with a double and a homer. He and the Sox take on Zach McAllister of the Indians tonight, after McAllister struggled in his first start coming off the DL. I expect there to be plenty of runs tonight in Cleveland which makes Viciedo a solid value play.

Budget Bargain - Christian Yelich (MIA): Yelich has started all six games since being called up for Miami, going 7-25 (.280) with a double and a pair of RBI. He'll most likely start and hit second as the Fish take on the hittable Jeremy Hefner making him a solid play if you need a cheap OF.

Budget Bargain - Caleb Gindl (MIL): Gindl went 2-4 for the second day in a row yesterday, and has a hit in four straight starts. He's hit four doubles in his last four games and makes a sneaky value play as the Brewers take on the Cubs. Double check to make sure he's in the lineup, but if he is take advantage especially given Samardzija's splits at home and against lefties like Gindl.

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As always, remember to check your MLB daily lineups before they lock and make sure you are doing your own research, too, for optimal performance! The most successful daily leaguers are grinders who are constantly tweaking their lineups as the day goes on and fantasy news gets released. Good luck today, RotoBallers!