DFS MLB Lineups for July 21, 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!
7/21/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Grand Slam: $444 buy-in, $400k guaranteed
DraftKings Full Count: $55 buy-in, $275k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $125k guaranteed
FanDuel Home Run: $150 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $7 buy-in, $200k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $44 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for July 21, 2017
Max Scherzer @ ARI ($12.7k DraftKings, $11.6k FanDuel)
Since he’s slightly cheaper than the other top option in Chris Sale and is pitching in a National League park, Scherzer gets the nod for me against a Diamondbacks team that’s actually struggled lately with a collective .226 batting average and 22.9% K-Rate over the last 14 days. Scherzer and Sale have both been on a roll in terms of 10+ strikeout performances, but the Nationals bulldog has the edge with his sparkling 2.01 ERA and 0.80 WHIP on the year. He’s also owned Arizona with 47 K’s over 133 career plate appearances against him and held Paul Goldschmidt 0-for-12 with 7 K’s during that span.
Yu Darvish @ TB ($10.6k DraftKings, $9.7k FanDuel)
He was pummeled by Boston to begin July before righting the ship with consecutive Quality Starts. Darvish only posted 6 K’s in meetings with the Angels and Royals, 2 teams that rarely strike out, but tonight he’ll face a Rays squad that is posting the second-highest K-Rate (25%) amongst A.L. teams this year. Current Rays are just 7-for-41 (.171) without 13 K’s and 0 HRs to post a .224 wOBA in their careers against Darvish, who is limiting righties and should do well against Tampa’s lineup once again.
Ervin Santana vs. DET ($8.6k DraftKings, $8.6k FanDuel)
Detroit moved it’s best and some might say, it’s only dangerous hitter to Arizona and without J.D. Martinez in the lineup they will be easy to target going forward. While he hasn’t been pitching like a true ace as he was over the first 2 months of the season, Santana is still leading the Twins staff with a 2.99 ERA on the season. Walks have plagued him lately, but he’s elicited 38 ground ball outs over his last 4 appearances to avoid damage. Santana is the type of pitcher whose real-life performance can outweigh the advanced metrics and tonight and he should continue his success against a Tigers team that managed just 4 ER off him over 3 meetings last season.
Other pitchers to consider: Alex Wood, Jeff Samardzija, Mike Fiers, Ian Kennedy, Steven Matz, Zack Godley
Best DFS MLB Hitters for July 21, 2017
Miguel Sano vs. DET ($4.5k DraftKings, $3.9k FanDuel)
The Twins big thumper is heating up at the right time considering his squad hosts one of the most vulnerable SPs left in baseball tonight. Tigers veteran Anibal Sanchez righted the ship for a few starts before getting tagged for 5 ER on 9 hits in his last outing and he’s been more vulnerability in RvR matchups, as RHB are posting a 2.88 HR/9 ratio with a 44.7% Hard Contact Rate against Sanchez. With a 27.4% HR/FB ratio when facing RHP this season, Sano is a boom-or-bust option who could bomb one off Sanchez tonight.
Dustin Pedroia @ LAA ($4.1k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
Pedroia is on one of his hot streaks and has a nice matchup facing veteran Ricky Nolasco. The Angels RHP is allowing righties to hit .301 with a .382 wOBA and is giving up a 2.81 HR/9 ratio when facing RHB this season. Since coming off the DL in June, Peedy is hitting .337 with a .375 wOBA and he’s in prime position to serve as part of a Red Sox stack out the 2-hole in that dangerous lineup.
Carlos Beltran @ BAL ($4.2k DraftKings, $3.1k FanDuel)
It almost goes without saying that the hottest offense in baseball is worth stacking tonight against Ubaldo Jimenez, so instead let’s highlight a relative value in the Astros lineup. Beltran has been cold lately but should be in the lineup given his extensive success (10-for-28, 3 HRs) in his career against Jimenez. The Orioles RHP is rocking a career-worst 7.01 ERA and giving up a 3.26 HR/9 ratio when facing LHB this year, so Beltran, Marwin Gonzalez and Brian McCann stand out as elite Astros bats that won’t cost too much.
Other hitters to consider: Joey Votto, George Springer, Nelson Cruz, Marcell Ozuna, Carlos Gomez, Andrew Benintendi, Josh Harrison, Brian McCann, Whit Merrifield
7/21/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Royals vs James Shields
Kansas City SP Ian Kennedy is definitely worth a look as a value play tonight because he’s likely to get ample run support from his offense. Shields has been a human piñata for several seasons now and has been as bad as ever with 16 ER and 7 HRs allowed while walking 11 over his last 4 appearances. The Royals offense is really coming around with Whit Merrifield leading the charge and he’s a great candidate to lead this stack along with Lorenzo Cain and potentially a cheap SS in Alcides Escobar. Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are the thumpers to target with the platoon advantage against a RHP giving up a 3.86 HR/9 ratio with a stunning 9.94 FIP when facing lefties this year.
Marlins vs Homer Bailey
Poor Bailey. When it rains, it pours on the Reds RHP and he’s likely to either handle the Marlins lineup at home tonight or get completely shelled as he has in 3 of his 5 appearances this year. It’s not a huge coincidence that those implosions have come at Great American Ballpark given the hitter-friendly confines of that venue and that bodes well for sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna as they look to add to their HR totals. Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon are solid options against a RHP that’s allowed lefties to post a .335 wOBA throughout his career, while Justin Bour could certainly go deep and J.T. Realmuto is a value to consider at the catcher position.
Other Stacks to consider:
Rockies vs. Trevor Williams
Astros vs. Ubaldo Jimenez
Red Sox vs. Ricky Nolasco
Reds vs. Jose Urena
