DFS MLB Lineups for July 26, 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!
7/26/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Grand Slam: $444 buy-in, $400k guaranteed
DraftKings Power Alley: $44 buy-in, $350k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $140k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $666 buy-in, $220k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $55 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $125k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for July 26, 2017
Alex Wood vs. MIN ($11.2k DraftKings, $9.8k FanDuel)
He’s simply the most reliable SP on the board tonight and remains a fantastic bet for cash game lineups despite getting rocked in his last start. That mark Wood’s first blemish to a sparkling 11-1 record, but he’s still rocking a 2.17 ERA with a matching 2.43 FIP and devastating RHB with a .167 BAA and 11.03 K/9 ratio when facing the platoon. That bodes well for his prospects against lefty-killing infielders Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano, and the rest of the Twins lineup should be relatively easy for the Dodgers new superstar southpaw.
Jake Arrieta @ CWS ($9.3k DraftKings, $9.4k FanDuel)
Regardless of his prospects against a relatively weak White Sox lineup, Arrieta is a good bet to produce tonight because the Cubs should provide ample run support against horrific RHP James Shields. Meanwhile, Arrieta faces a team that’s hitting a below-average .249 with the third-lowest wOBA (.304) and a 22.3% K-Rate when facing RHP this season. Current White Sox are just 9-for-45 (.200) in a limited sample size against Arrieta, who has been pitching like an ace again with a .174 BAA and 2.13 ERA over 4 July starts.
Steven Matz @ SD ($7.7k DraftKings, $7.8k FanDuel)
Matz paid off as a value gamble in his last outing and he could exceed expectations even further in a dream matchup tonight. He’s facing a Padres team that ranks dead last in collective batting average (.219) and wOBa (.283) with the fourth-highest K-Rate (25.7%) against LHP this year and most of the Pads have yet to face Matz in their careers. With an above average sinker and plus fastball, Matz has the tools to go deep into ball games and rack up the IP points.
Other pitchers to consider: Carlos Carrasco, Yu Darvish, Carlos Martinez, Ervin Santana, Mike Fiers, Alex Meyer
Best DFS MLB Hitters for July 26, 2017
Adrian Beltre vs. MIA ($4.4k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
When you hit the ball as hard as Beltre does, results tend to follow, especially at the Launching Pad known as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. He’s hitting .368 with 20 RBIs, 12 walks and just 6 K’s over 21 home games this season and comes into tonight’s matchup swinging a very hot bat. Marlins RHP Jose Urena’s xFIP (5.51) belies his mediocre 3.78 ERA and he’s giving up slightly more production with a 15.1% HR/FB ratio when facing RHB this year. Beltre is posting his hardest Hard Contact Rate (36.4%) since 2010 and is a nightmare for opposing pitchers right now.
Ian Kinsler vs. KC ($4.0k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
In the absence of J.D. Martinez, it’s been Kinsler trying to carry the Tigers offense and doing an admirable job with 14 hits (.318 batting average) over his last 9 appearances. He has a chance to flash some category juice in a plus matchup against familiar foe Ian Kennedy, who came back down to earth after a stretch of quality starts by getting tagged for 5 runs by the Tigers. Kinsler is 7-for-18 with 4 doubles and a HR in his career against Kennedy and matches up well against a RHP that depends on a fastball-slider combination to try and fool righties.
Lorenzo Cain @ DET ($3.7k DraftKings, $3.3k FanDuel)
On the other side of the field at Comerica Park, the Royals stand out as an intriguing and cheap stack to consider. They could be all over vulnerable veteran Anibal Sanchez, who has been less of a train wreck of late but is still rocking a troublesome 5.95 ERA with a 2.09 HR/9 ratio on the season. Cain is a true dual threat who could do damage with his bat or his legs.
Other hitters to consider: Mike Trout, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Whit Merrifield, Elvis Andrus, Brock Holt, Jason Heyward, Marcus Semien, Jed Lowrie
7/26/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Cubs vs James Shields
Clearly any team that faces Shields can be considered as a stack since the veteran RHP has a career-worst 6.83 FIP with a 2.31 HR/9 ratio over 9 starts this season. Lefties are hitting .296 with a .442 wOBA and 3.98 HR/9 ratio when facing Shields, so Cubs left-handed hitters make for strong options tonight led by 1B Anthony Rizzo. Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber, and Jon Jay would both serve as quality value plays if they start tonight and Ian Happ has upside despite being over priced on DK right now. Of course you can still use great RHBs such as Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras in this plus matchup.
Athletics vs Marco Estrada
They don’t stand out as an offense you frequently want to stack, but the A’s could add to the troubles of Blue Jays RHP Marco Estrada, who has been rocked to the tune of a 9.46 ERA over the past 2 months. Estrada has allowed righties to hit .292 with a .377 wOBA this year, so the head of this stack could be steady SS Marcus Semien as well as boom-bust infielder Ryon Healy. Rajai and Khris Davis both have success over a limited sample against Estrada and Jed Lowrie is a good value play as per usual.
Other Stacks to consider:
Royals vs. Anibal Sanchez
Cardinals vs. Jeff Hoffman
Rangers vs. Jose Urena
