DFS MLB Lineups for July 18, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this daily fantasy baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster. And if you’re looking for new ways to play DFS, be sure and give BOOM Fantasy and DRAFT a try!
A quick reminder while playing DFS MLB, don’t forget baseball is a game of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even Clayton Kershaw can get lit up, and Mike Trout can still go 0 for 4. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.
Another thing to remember outside of making sure your player is in the lineup, is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!
7/18/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Full Count: $55 buy-in, $555k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $140k guaranteed
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $120k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $444 buy-in, $444k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $66 buy-in, $200k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $9 buy-in, $125k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for July 18, 2017
Clayton Kershaw @ CWS ($14.0k DraftKings, $12.7k FanDuel)
While the White Sox have technically been the most dangerous team in the Majors with a collective .287 batting average against LHP this season, Kershaw is clearly not your average lefty. He got into a fantastic groove with a 0.62 ERA and 44 K’s over his final 4 appearances leading into the ASB and he’s actually earned a win in 7 consecutive starts. With the Dodgers elite offense to back him and a predictable RHP starting opposite him in Miguel Gonzalez, there’s no reason to worry about Kershaw paying off his lofty price tag.
Robbie Ray @ CIN ($11.2k DraftKings, $10.4k FanDuel)
Right behind Kershaw as a truly elite LHP tonight with tons of upside is Ray. He’s been far more reliable away from hitter-friendly Chase Field with a 1.34 ERA, .170 BAA and 12.24 K/9 ratio on the road this season and Cincy’s Great American Ballpark has a much higher Run Factor for lefties, so the southpaw should be able to limit Joey Votto and company. Votto is 1-for-5 with 2 K’s and current Reds are a combined 7-for-33 with 12 K’s in their limited sample against Ray, who is having his best season by far.
Mike Clevinger @ SF ($9.1k DraftKings, $8.6k FanDuel)
The Indians sophomore RHP seems to have figured things out over his last few starts with 4 ER allowed and just 15 hits allowed over 5 outings (27 IP). His longevity leaves something to be desired, but he’s capable of going 6 innings or so against a weak Giants offense that ranks dead last in collective wOBA (.293) on the season. Clevinger’s low 38.6% Ground Ball Rate can create issues, but he’s avoided giving up too many HRs thus far and faces a power-deficient team in a very spacious ballpark this evening.
Other pitchers to consider: Brad Peacock, Michael Wacha, J.A. Happ, Antonio Senzatela, Chris Smith
Best DFS MLB Hitters for July 18, 2017
Aaron Judge @ MIN ($5.3k DraftKings, $4.8k FanDuel)
Clearly Judge is capable of snapping out of his brief post-break slump with a big performance against washed-up RHP Bartolo Colon. And while Colon is sporting an 8.14 ERA and is ripe to target, he might not last very long against a very capable lineup, opening the door for Judge to jump in on Yankees rallies or tee off on one of the Twins’ relievers. He’s still demonstrating tremendous patience with a 16.9% BB Rate and is obviously one of the best bets to go deep on a nightly basis with his impressive .352 ISO Mark.
Travis Shaw @ PIT ($4.4k DraftKings, $3.8k FanDuel)
Something about Shaw’s approach seems to function well against Pirates RHP Ivan Nova, who is generally more vulnerable when facing lefties. Shaw is 7-for-11 with 2 HRs in his career against Nova and is in the midst of a big time year with a .563 slugging percentage and .384 wOBA to provide a nice lefty presence in the middle of Milwaukee’s lineup. Shaw might not continue to terrorize Nova to that degree, but he’s a good cash game option with upside should the slender RHP struggle
Ender Inciarte vs. CHC ($3.9k DraftKings, $3.5k FanDuel)
He was once reliable enough with enough upside to be priced closer to $5K on DK, so Inciarte is a bit of a steal at this price tag. He faces a veteran RHP tonight in John Lackey who has been boom-or-bust all season. Inciarte is a pretty hot hitter with a .364/.404/.545 slash line over his last 10 appearances and his floor has been high all season with a .310 batting average, 29 walks and 11 SB.
Other hitters to consider: Jose Altuve, Corey Seager, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo, Willson Contreras, Matt Adams, Whit Merrifield, Jed Lowrie, Marwin Gonzalez
7/18/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Dodgers vs Miguel Gonzalez
Most of the Dodgers will be facing Gonzalez for the first time in their careers but there’s plenty of film on the 33-year-old RHP and it’s generally been easy to hit him over the last few seasons. Lefties and righties have been productive against his straight-line fastball, which grades -6.9 runs below average according to Brooks Baseball’s data. Justin Turner should be productive in this RvR matchup while young killer lefties Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger are very much in play for tournaments. Yasmani Grandal has upside with the platoon advantage and Logan Forsythe has been coming around as a value in the Dodgers lineup.
Astros vs Sam Gaviglio
Poor rookie Sam Gaviglio draws the hottest offense in baseball as he comes out of the break and he’s likely to raise his 5.11 road ERA even higher. Gaviglio has given up more production to RHB this year so look for Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer to continue leading Houston, while Yuli Gurriel remains a very solid cash game play at a modest price tag on DK. Brian McCann is a catcher with some upside in this matchup and you might want to look at switch-hitting utility man Marwin Gonzalez as well.
Other Stacks to consider:
Yankees vs. Bartolo Colon
Diamondbacks vs. Sal Romano
Nationals vs. Dylan Bundy
Indians vs. Ty Blach
