Thursday, July 15, eases back into the MLB regular season with a marquee matchup between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for the single-game action on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel for daily fantasy baseball lineups.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters, Thursday, July 15
Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Yankees vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez — 5.0 implied runs
Today’s stack is sort of a misnomer with only two teams in the player pools, though it still makes sense to run lineups heavy from one team or the other for the additional synergistic potential.
The month of June was bittersweet for Eduardo Rodriguez, who was knocked around for a 6.23 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP across five starts spanning 26 innings. However, the Red Sox prevailed in each of the games that Rodriguez started, though he himself ended up with just a 1-0 record. The first two starts in July brought a mixed bag, as he shut out the Athletics in Oakland for six strong innings, allowing only three baserunners. Things then took a turn in his final appearance before the All-Star Game, and the Angeles got him for two home runs and four earned runs in five innings at home in Anaheim.
This will be the third time that Rodriguez has faced the Yankees since the beginning of June. In the prior two tilts he kept them in check for 11.1 innings, ceding just a pair of home runs, a 3.97 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and striking out 15. The current Yankees are no stranger to Rodriguez, with 157 at-bats resulting in a .261/.364/.855 triple slash line, 51 strikeouts and nine home runs.
Tonight the Yankees are likely to put out a nearly full right-handed lineup with Brett Gardner likely the lone lefty. With the Yahoo salaries, there will be enough flexibility to allow for any desired hitter. Keep in mind that every other gamer will be able to do the same. The core four will be Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez; that quartet will still leave $15 to spend on any Boston slugger tonight.
For differentiation, gamers could roll with Voit ($15), Sanchez ($17) and Gleyber Torres ($8), which would leave $22 for each of the remaining roster slots. Considering no hitter has a salary higher than $20, there are lot of options available, and leaving extra salary cap unused can create a more unique lineup.
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 to predict the probability of hitters hitting home runs and pitchers reaching a certain number of strikeouts.
Boston Red Sox at RHP Domingo German — 5.0 implied runs
This section has been updated to reflect the projected starter LHP Jordan Montgomery giving way to named starter RHP Domingo German.
Now that the Yankees have announced that Domingo German will be the starter, the trio to target will be J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. Martinez and Bogaerts will be swinging the stick from the right side of the plate and Devers from the left. Each of these hitters has tremendous power against right-handed pitching, with Devers posting an eye-popping .301 ISO, Bogaerts a .227 and Martinez a .203. This is not a mirage, as those figures are from the start of the 2019 season.
Rolling out this triplet formation will cost $60, as each player is $20. This will leave $12 for the remaining two batters, which is still more than enough for two good hitters. Alex Verdugo ($14) will be a popular option if he is batting second, as he has an excellent .196 ISO in the same timeframe. For differentiation, Hunter Renfroe ($17) is a solid play if he is in the Red Sox lineup. Over his last 600 plate appearances he has a .220 ISO against same-handed pitchers, and while he does not make a lot of contact, when he does the ball goes very far. Most gamers tend to focus on him only when he is facing a southpaw, and with his salary created with that matchup in mind, the average gamer is likely to think he is too spendy.
Final Thoughts for the Thursday, July 15, MLB DFS Slate
There will be some gigantic MLB prize pools on Friday with no competition from the NBA and several days of pent-up demand. Be savvy with bankrolls, and do not go overboard tonight with a weekend full of baseball ahead.
