Griffin Wong dives into Friday’s 11-game featured MLB slate to find players to use in your DraftKings lineups.
After a long — but incredibly fun — All-Star Week, the MLB regular season is back. Gone are robot umps and swing-offs to determine the winner; back is human error and extra innings. As fun as the swing-off was, it’s baseball, and we love it all.
Though all 30 teams will play today, only 22 teams will be part of today’s 11-game featured DFS slate at DraftKings. Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders I like from today’s action.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals at Miami Marlins, $9,300 – The Quarterrican has been on point in recent weeks. His six-inning, two-run (16.5-FPT) effort on July 8 was his worst start of his past five, as he’d previously recorded 25 or more FPTS in each of his last four starts. To be fair, Lugo has gotten extremely lucky this season — his 2.67 ERA is far better than his expected 4.58 mark — but the Royals’ second-ranked defense is no fluke and should persist through the season’s second half. Miami’s offense has been about league-average, ranking 13th-to-last in OPS both overall and since the start of July, but since he’s going against Sandy Alcantara ($6,000), I like his chances of picking up a win.
Value
JP Sears, Athletics at Cleveland Guardians, $6,200 – Sears has produced two excellent starts in his last three, pitching 11.2 innings of scoreless ball across two games (24.1 FPTS per game), and though his most recent start wasn’t as spectacular — five innings, four hits, three runs, 14.85 FPTS — it also isn’t atrocious value and came against a talented, even if out-of-form, Atlanta Braves offense. This Guardians offense is less talented and equally cold, ranking third-to-last with a .636 OPS so far in July after posting a putrid .606 mark in June. Sears has been somewhat better away from Sutter Health Park, while Cleveland has been even worse at Progressive Field.
INFIELDER
Stud
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros, $6,100 – Since the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t part of the featured DFS slate and I can’t pick Kyle Schwarber, I’ll go with the other star of the weekend. Big Dumper was the favorite entering the Home Run Derby and went on to win, out-slugging Junior Caminero ($5,000) in the final. He’s a true three-outcomes guy: he either walks, gets out, or hits a home run, and he’s hit five in his last 10 games (10.7 FPTS per game) despite hitting just .143 across that span. Brandon Walter ($7,700) is a southpaw who has given up a home run in six of his seven starts this season, and Raleigh has been far better from the right side this season, with a 1.235 OPS.
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $4,400 – I’ll be honest — there’s not much logic behind this one. Betts is slumping through a miserable season in which he failed to make the All-Star team for the first time since 2015 (discounting 2020, when there was no All-Star Game but he finished second in NL MVP voting), and he shows no signs of turning it around. But maybe having a midseason break for the first time in a decade will serve him well. He’s been better at home, averaging 8.5 FPTS per game at Dodger Stadium and 6.6 FPTS per game elsewhere, and Quinn Priester ($7,900)‘s ERA has been more than a full point worse on the road than at home.
Value
Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks, $3,900 – Though Donovan is hitting just .297, he ranks second in the National League in batting average, and that’s only rising over his last 10 games, as he’s slashed .316/.372/.500 (8.2 FPTS per game). His power is limited by his 11th-percentile swing speed, but his contact metrics are elite, and he should be a good matchup against Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt ($7,700), who has missed bats at just a 25th-percentile clip. To be fair, Pfaadt has been somewhat better at home, but Donovan has averaged 1.2 more FPTS per game on the road, and his OPS has been 298 points higher against righties than lefties.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Juan Soto, New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds, $5,900 – Of all the snubs from All-Star action, Soto was absolutely the most egregious. Though he hasn’t had the best season of his career, he’s been lacing the ball all season, ranking in the top decile in nine of the 13 Statcast categories. He ranks second in expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, and expected wOBA. Finally, in recent weeks, his luck has started to turn around, as he’s slashed .306/.405/.583 in his last 10 games (10.7 FPTS per game), and though Nick Lodolo ($8,400) is a decent pitcher with a platoon advantage against Soto, I’ll ride with the hot, rested, and motivated hand.
Stud
Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Francisco Giants, $4,500 – Barger has had three double-digit fantasy efforts in his last six games for a relatively hot Blue Jays team still holding onto first in the AL East over last year’s pennant-winning New York Yankees and a quickly-charging Boston Red Sox. The 25-year-old can absolutely lace the ball when he makes contact, and he ranks in the league’s sextile in seven different Statcast categories. Plus, he has a platoon advantage against 42-year-old Justin Verlander ($6,500), whose Hall of Fame career is limping to a close with a 4.81 ERA.
Value
Harrison Bader, Minnesota Twins at Colorado Rockies, $3,900 – It wouldn’t been a failure if a Twin didn’t make this lineup somewhere, given how awful Colorado has been, especially at home and especially in games started by Kyle Freeland ($5,000), who is tied for third in the National League with 10 losses. Byron Buxton ($6,500) was a little too expensive for my liking, but Bader is a solid choice: he’s slashing .300/.344/.700 with four homers in his last 10 games (8.8 FPTS per game), and Freeland has pitched to a 6.69 ERA in eight starts at home and has given up an OPS 145 points higher to righties.
