Thursday, July 29, brings East Coast weather concerns impacting both ends of today’s split-slate action. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Thursday, July 29
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Detroit Tigers vs. LHP Alexander Wells — 4.5 implied runs
Fortunately for DFS gamers, there are no precipitation concerns in Detroit where it will be in the upper-70s with a 10 mph breeze out to centerfield. Tonight will mark the fourth appearance and second start for rookie Alexander Wells. He is already in the “crafty lefty” phase of his career, with a middling fastball accompanied by an array of breaking pitches. While the standard forecasting models disagree on the ceiling of his mediocre strikeout potential (5.6 to 7.2 per nine innings), they agree he is going to give up home runs at an aggressive rate (1.9 to 2.2 per nine innings).
Jonathan Schoop (back) was a late scratch yesterday, but he is also a trade candidate, so if he is in the Tigers lineup being showcased, he can be in DFS lineups as well. Eric Haase has a dominant .446 ISO in his last 67 at-bats against southpaws, though he is coming in with a lofty $20 salary on Yahoo. Rookie Akil Baddoo is still looking for his first extra-base hit against a fellow southpaw, but he has hits in 16 of his last 21 games, including 10 multi-hit games. Fellow youngster Zack Short ($10) is fine as a discount dandy, and Jeimer Candelario, Robbie Grossman and Miguel Cabrera can be used to round things out for a full stack.
Be sure to head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS home page for all the best written daily fantasy baseball content, including daily articles like MLB DFS Tournament Strategy, and MLB Cheat Sheets for all the major DFS sites. Awesemo features free premium tools and data every day, so don’t miss out on the free MLB DFS Top Pitchers Tool today.
Early Slate
Chicago White Sox at RHP Carlos Hernandez — 5.5 implied runs
Kauffman Stadium is going to feel like a blast furnace this afternoon, with temperatures in the mid- to upper 90s and a 10 mph breeze to right field. Carlos Hernandez will be making his third consecutive start and 15th overall appearance today. While he is stretched out enough to approach 70 pitches, it is unlikely he will last that long against a fierce White Sox offense. Eloy Jimenez leads the way; while he was removed early on Wednesday with a groin injury, the team said it was just a precautionary move. Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson at the top of the order round out the core four.
In the event Jimenez gets the afternoon off, Adam Engel should be in the lineup, and he has some pop and provides salary cap flexibility. Gavin Sheets has been swinging a hot bat, as has Andrew Vaughn, and they can be used to round out a full stack depending on positional need and whether they are in the lineup. Finally, Brian Goodwin tends to be overlooked by DFS gamers, but he too is a bargain option if his names lands on the lineup card.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics at RHP Dylan Bundy — 4.3 implied runs
Alex Cobb is dealing with a blister on his throwing hand, so Dylan Bundy will be starting in his stead tonight. Bundy has made only four appearances since moving to the bullpen at the end of June, so even though he has spent most of his career as a starter, it seems unlikely he will throw more than 70 or 75 pitches. Last year it seemed that Bundy had found his stride with a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts during the abbreviated season. However, the wheels definitely came off the wagon in 2021, with a career-worst 6.69 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 2.18 home runs allowed per nine innings.
Starling Marte is slated to make his Athletics debut tonight, though he is currently only available in the DraftKings player pool. His addition ideally will drop Elvis Andrus back to the bottom of the order, which is good for Oakland and DFS gamers alike. The addition of Marte will also bump Tony Kemp back to his super-utility role, and Seth Brown is likely to become the fourth outfielder.
Mark Canha, Matt Olson, Mitch Moreland and Ramon Laureano will round out full-stack priority targets. On the late slate, with only two games, differentiation will be harder to come by. However, rolling with Moreland over Olson will be a good start. Jed Lowrie, Sean Murphy and Matt Chapman can be worked in based on positional and salary cap constraints.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top Target: RHP Freddy Peralta at Pittsburgh Pirates — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $56 | FanDuel $9,700 | DraftKings $10,000
The breakout continues for Freddy Peralta, who has top-five marks with his 2.29 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The Pirates recently dealt Adam Frazier, and they are looking to move more veterans. This season they have been a bottom-five offense against right-handed pitchers. While they will use as many lefties as they can, this is far from a daunting situation for a pitcher the caliber of Peralta.
Secondary Target: RHP Frankie Montas at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — 4.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $38 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $9,000
On Wednesday the Angels added Jared Walsh to the injured list, where he joins Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. That leaves Shohei Ohtani as the lone dangerous hitter in the Angels’ lineup. Justin Upton and Brandon Marsh have both been very uneven in their performances this season, which plays into the favor of Frankie Montas. While Montas is far from trustworthy himself, there are no weather concerns in this game, and he has notched double-digit strikeouts in two of his last three starts. That level of performance is by no means guaranteed, though it is nice to see him in good form.
Wild Card: RHP Joe Musgrove vs. Colorado Rockies — 3.8 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $8,200
While Joe Musgrove has clearly struggled since the MLB crackdown on pitchers using foreign substances, this is a dream matchup. The Rockies have the worst offensive numbers in the league against right-handed pitching, and their road numbers are well behind league average. Musgrove has a very favorable salary, although that also means he is going to be popular with only five games on the main slate. Do not be afraid to take a hitter or two against him, even in the same tournament entry. Additionally, it is also worth having a stack or two of the top of the Rockies order to gain leverage on the field.
Final Thoughts for the Thursday, July 29 MLB DFS Slate
There continue to be some tricky weather spots on the East Coast. Keep an eye on the forecast as it gets closer to first pitch for the games in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
