MLB DFS: Thursday, July 18th has a four game set beginning at 12:10pm ET and then a solid eight game set for our “main slate” at 7:00pm ET on Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel and FantasyDraft. Before you lock in your fantasy baseball lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s MLB rankings and projections. Not a member? Sign up HERE and use Promo Code: MLBSTACKS for 50% off any one month subscription.
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Greetings Gamers! Welcome to the Thursday slate, keep an eye on the weather as it is hot and humid, but there are still some roving thunder storms that could muck with things, particularly on the “main slate” tonight.
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Early Slate
Boston Red Sox vs LHP Thomas Pannone – 6.0 implied runs
Just when you thought the Blue Jays pitching situation could not get any more dismal, LHP Clayton Richards hit the injured list, which in turn left Toronto recalling LHP Thomas Pannone from AAA-Buffalo where he has actually performed well this season with five appearances, four of them starts over 21.2 innings with a 1.66 ERA and 1.015 WHIP and a lofty 12.0 K/9… however, he really struggled with the big club this season in 24 appearances, two starts over 39.1 innings he has a 6.18 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.6 BB/9 though still just over a strikeout per inning. While he does have some underlying talent that he has shown at the lower minor league levels, this is against the Red Sox in Boston.
The BoSox will be popular for good reason, but there are ways to differentiate our lineups elsewhere, so we can focus on Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Michael Chavis, Xander Bogaerts and then for differentiation target Rafael Devers and/or Andrew Benintendi along with whomever is behind the dish.
Main Slate
St Louis Cardinals at RHP Tanner Roark – 4.9 implied run total
The Redbirds have lefties available to them and they are discounted on most sites, but for good reason as they are sorta meh. Matt Carpenter is on the disabled list with a bruised foot, so that opens the door for switch-hitting Tommy Edman leading off and we should see Matt Wieters behind the plate with Yadier Molina on the shelf and then likely a third switch hitter in Dexter Fowler and then lefty Kolten Wong. Paul Goldschmidt, Paul DeJong and Tyler O’Neill are the power righties with upside.
Now for RHP Tanner Roark who has allowed six home runs in his last two starts and since the beginning of last season he has wilted when facing lefties with a .364 wOBA, .196 ISO and 8.5 BB%. The warm weather with 90 degrees and nearly 70% humidity in play make this a dream scenario for hitters and Roark’s lack of an out pitch does not bode well when the righties are at bat with runners ducks on the pond.
Late Slate
Milwaukee Brewers at RHP Merrill Kelly – 4.8 implied run total
RHP Merrill Kelly aka the 30-year old rookie, continues chugging along and with the Chase Field roof scheduled to be closed for the next week with the Arizona heat, we know that the humidor will be helping out the hurlers. Kelly has allowed a home run in eight of his last ten games but he has allowed five runs once and four runs twice, so it is not like he is a complete gas can.
Kelly does allow more power to righties, but the hard contact is still there for lefties and this will probably even out over the remainder of the season. Everything begins with Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas, however do not be afraid to pay the premium for Yasmani Grandal as a differentiation option. If you are looking for a “full-stack” then my next two choices would be amond Lorenzo Cain leading off, Eric Thames as there are other first basemen that should keep his popularity in check, even on the late slate with him likely hitting in the bottom third of the order and then Ryan Braun.
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.
Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac
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