MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks for Friday, July 2

Friday, July 2, has a 14-game main slate, and again there will be some tricky weather situations. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.

Be sure head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS home page for all the best written daily fantasy baseball content, including daily article like Spotlight Pitchers, MLB DFS Tournament Strategy and MLB Cheat Sheets for all the major DFS sites.

MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Friday, July 2

Yahoo Stack of the Day: Houston Astros at LHP Sam Hentges — 5.2 implied runs

Whenever Houston is facing a southpaw, they should be on the radar. Tonight, however, they are carrying some lofty salaries on Yahoo, which in turn should keep their popularity in check. Rookie Sam Hentges has struggled this season both as a short starter and while working out of the bullpen. In 35.2 innings spanning six starts and seven relief outings, Hentges has a 7.32 ERA, 1.99 WHIP and 20 walks. There is a hint of promise with his 38 strikeouts, but he has a long way to go with a lot to learn.

Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez each have ISOs of at least .238 in righty/lefty matchups over the last two-plus seasons. Carlos Correa should be in the heart of the order, which will likely provide several RBI opportunities. Lefties Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker more than hold their own in same-handed matchups. Finally, Abraham Toro is a salary saver who should once again be manning the hot corner with Alex Bregman on the shelf.


Awesemo’s MLB DFS experts have created a new MLB Home Run & Strikeout Player Prop Tool that can help when making MLB DFS picks and offer some action down in the sports betting market. This expert tool is designed for predicting the probability of hitters to hit home runs and pitchers to reach a certain number of strikeouts.


Late Slate

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. LHP Keegan Akin — 5.4 implied runs

It is warming up in California, and the local 6:38 p.m. start has a first-pitch forecast of 80 degrees with a 5 to 8 mph breeze blowing out to left field. On the mound is Keegan Akin, who is doing his best impression of the punching bag. In his 38 innings this season he has allowed 14 extra-base hits, including seven home runs. This has contributed to a 7.11 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Similar to Hentges, Akin has shown glimpses of strikeout potential, but he is also behind on the learning curve with the minor league action being suspended last year.

Shohei Ohtani is leading the league in home runs while also pulling double duty as the Angels’ best pitcher. Anthony Rendon is starting to get his power back after injuries and an early-season slump had him looking lost at the plate. David Fletcher looks to have returned to the top of the order, which should all but guarantee him five plate appearances tonight, and Jared Walsh has been in a groove and looks comfortable in lefty/lefty matchups. Then there is Taylor Ward, who had a promising 2019 with Triple-A Salt Lake, posting 27 home runs and 11 stolen bases. However, he just can’t seem to put it all together in the majors.

Spotlight Pitchers

Top Target: RHP: Lance Lynn at Detroit Tigers — 3.9 implied runs

  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $10,000 | DraftKings $9,700

While the Tigers’ offense showed some life on Wednesday with 16 runs scored in their doubleheader with Cleveland, they have not become world beaters overnight. This season they have the second-highest strikeout rate against righties at 26.1%, while their .151 ISO and 93 wRC+ are both below league average. Although Lance Lynn has come back to earth somewhat in June, he still has a 2.06 ERA and 0.99 WHIP for the season. He has also ceded a mere eight home runs and 18 earned runs through 78.2 innings, and he also is recording career-best strikeout numbers.

Secondary Target: RHP Kyle Gibson at Seattle Mariners — 4.0 implied runs

  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $7,200

Just when it looked like Kyle Gibson may be lost without the sticky stuff, he spun a gem of seven shutout innings against the Royals, allowing just two hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Those were his most strikeouts since he notched 11 in Toronto back in May 2019. Saying the Mariners have been lucky is an understatement considering they are four games above .500 despite a negative-42 run differential. Mitch Haniger, Kyle Seager and Ty France are the only bats that may give Gibson any problems, and they are not particularly terrifying by any stretch of the imagination.

Wild Card Option: RHP Logan Gilbert vs. Texas Rangers — 4.0 implied runs

  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $7,200 | DraftKings $6,600

The Yahoo salary algorithm is giving a lot of love to rookie Logan Gilbert, but gamers can definitely give him consideration as a second pitcher on DraftKings. On FanDuel he is an intriguing differentiation option that will allow for allocating most of the salary cap to big bats. Though he has allowed three home runs in 19.1 June innings, Gilbert has suffered only six total earned runs and has posted a 2.79 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The top half of the Rangers offense is solid, though after Joey Gallo everyone else is replacement level at best.

Final Thoughts for the Friday, July 2, MLB DFS Slate

There are too many weather scenarios to list in full detail, though most games are looking at delays as a worst-case scenario rather than a full postponement. As always, be mindful that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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