Welcome back, folks! Hoping everyone had a nice, relaxing All-Star Break. For me, it was definitely nice to get a nice 4-day break and spend some extra time with family, but I’m ready to get back to business and win some money.
We have a 14-game DFS MLB slate tonight with a ton of interesting options. It’ll be very important to keep an eye on the differences in salaries throughout the industry because the optimal plays are absolutely going to vary from site-to-site.
As of right now, weather should not be an issue for tonight’s slate, but I’d keep an eye out just in case there’s a spot storm or something along those lines that could pop up out of nowhere.
Players are organized from highest to lowest salary at each position using FanDuel pricing.
| CATCHER | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Buster Posey | SF | R | SD | Andrew Cashner | 291 | 85 | 11 | 52 | 42 | 34 | 5 | .292 | .843 | .186 | .301 | .355 | 23.7% | 37.0% | 89.5% | $3,900 | $4,800 | $4,950 |
| Salvador Perez | KC | R | DET | Justin Verlander | 290 | 82 | 14 | 36 | 41 | 13 | 0 | .283 | .818 | .217 | .330 | .345 | 21.8% | 36.8% | 90.0% | $3,400 | $3,500 | $4,650 |
| Stephen Vogt | OAK | L | TOR | Marcus Stroman | 260 | 72 | 7 | 30 | 27 | 15 | 0 | .277 | .763 | .165 | .302 | .325 | 22.2% | 28.4% | 93.7% | $2,900 | $3,700 | $4,200 |
| Cameron Rupp | PHI | R | NYM | Bartolo Colon | 209 | 60 | 9 | 22 | 26 | 9 | 1 | .287 | .836 | .220 | .354 | .355 | 19.6% | 33.3% | 83.1% | $2,900 | $3,700 | $4,200 |
| Geovany Soto | LAA | R | CHW | Miguel Gonzalez | 64 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 0 | .266 | .772 | .188 | .311 | .331 | 31.3% | 36.0% | 86.5% | $2,000 | $2,800 | $4,100 |
Buster Posey is expensive but he flat out crushes Andrew Cashner, batting .429/.484/.714 with two homers over 312 plate appearances. Exactly one week ago tonight, Cashner imploded against another California catcher in Yasmani Grandal. Doubt there’s three home runs involved tonight, but I don’t like his chances against Buster.
Salvador Perez made a big impact at the All-Star Game and gets rewarded with a meeting against the pitcher he has had the most success against in the Majors. He has destroyed Justin Verlander throughout his career to the tune of 22-for-46 (.478 AVG) with two homers, seven doubles, and 13 RBIs.
Stephen Vogt is always one of my favorites because of his super high contact rate packed with a good amount of upside. He has reached base safely in 10 of his last 19 plate appearances and should do fine against Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays.
Cameron Rupp will continue to be one of my favorite plays in DFS because, for whatever reason, he remains very underpriced considering the production he has been able to put forth. According to PITCHf/x, Rupp is the best fastball hitter on the Phillies roster, and Bartolo Colon, has almost exclusively been alternating between his two-seam and four-seam fastballs this season.
Geovany Soto is my minimum price punt at catcher tonight. He should be in the lineup catching Hector Santiago, who was clearly Santiago’s most comfortable battery mate prior to his injury. He still has some power potential and is best used on FanDuel if you need every bit of salary relief possible.
| FIRST BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Chris Davis | BAL | L | TB | Chris Archer | 316 | 75 | 22 | 64 | 58 | 50 | 0 | .237 | .844 | .259 | .303 | .358 | 19.9% | 40.6% | 76.0% | $4,200 | $3,700 | $5,250 |
| David Ortiz | BOS | L | NYY | Michael Pineda | 292 | 97 | 22 | 42 | 72 | 48 | 2 | .332 | 1.107 | .349 | .328 | .451 | 21.2% | 44.6% | 91.0% | $4,000 | $5,300 | $5,500 |
| Mike Napoli | CLE | R | MIN | Ervin Santana | 313 | 76 | 18 | 54 | 61 | 39 | 3 | .243 | .793 | .224 | .326 | .339 | 19.4% | 39.8% | 77.2% | $3,300 | $4,200 | $4,600 |
| Joe Mauer | MIN | L | CLE | Carlos Carrasco | 310 | 84 | 7 | 41 | 28 | 50 | 1 | .271 | .753 | .110 | .313 | .327 | 28.9% | 32.0% | 91.4% | $3,200 | $3,600 | $4,300 |
| Kendrys Morales | KC | S | DET | Justin Verlander | 295 | 76 | 15 | 34 | 47 | 25 | 0 | .258 | .776 | .197 | .280 | .332 | 19.7% | 37.8% | 87.4% | $3,200 | $4,100 | $4,500 |
Chris Davis is a more than reasonable value on DraftKings where he is under $4000. He has a .478 OBP over 23 career plate appearances against Chris Archer.
David Ortiz had homered in three of his previous four games prior to the All-Star Break. We know he still crushes righties and the fact that he’s still a little pricey combined with a meh BvP, he logically should have low-ownership, making him a great GPP option (the matchup is much better on paper).
Mike Napoli used to be Ervin Santana’s personal catcher when they were teammates in Anaheim. I guess it makes sense that Napoli has batted .364/.462/.955 with three homers and 10 RBIs against his former teammate since they left Orange County.
Joe Mauer has been quite productive lately, and is batting a cool .500 with a homer and two doubles through 16 career at-bats against Carlos Carrasco.
Kendrys Morales cooled off from his torrid Interleague performance leading up to the All-Star Break, but he was still swinging the bat extremely well, and gets a decent matchup against Justin Verlander, who he has gone 12-for-37 (.324 AVG) with two homers, four doubles, and 10 RBIs against in their previous meetings.
| SECOND BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Jose Altuve | HOU | R | SEA | James Paxton | 349 | 119 | 14 | 67 | 51 | 41 | 23 | .341 | .954 | .201 | .345 | .400 | 26.4% | 33.3% | 91.0% | $4,100 | $5,100 | $5,500 |
| Ian Kinsler | DET | R | KC | Ian Kennedy | 356 | 103 | 16 | 71 | 52 | 26 | 9 | .289 | .837 | .199 | .320 | .358 | 23.3% | 33.0% | 90.9% | $3,800 | $4,600 | $5,400 |
| Neil Walker | NYM | S | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 291 | 74 | 15 | 36 | 37 | 30 | 2 | .254 | .753 | .175 | .277 | .322 | 19.4% | 36.0% | 87.9% | $3,600 | $3,700 | $4,850 |
| Robinson Cano | SEA | L | HOU | Doug Fister | 364 | 114 | 21 | 64 | 58 | 28 | 0 | .313 | .923 | .242 | .323 | .389 | 20.7% | 35.6% | 93.5% | $3,500 | $4,400 | $5,400 |
| Howie Kendrick | LAD | R | ARI | Patrick Corbin | 256 | 65 | 4 | 34 | 20 | 21 | 7 | .254 | .670 | .105 | .295 | .292 | 19.4% | 31.3% | 89.2% | $3,100 | $3,400 | $4,100 |
Jose Altuve is batting .321/.420/.512 against lefties this season. He is the perfect fit for James Paxton’s repertoire and is unlikely to hurt you if you save enough cash to pay up for him tonight.
Ian Kinsler doesn’t seem to be fazed by Ian Kennedy whatsoever. Not only is he 6-for-9 (.667 AVG) throughout his career against Kennedy, but four of those six hits have also gone for extra bases.
Neil Walker should be considered more on DraftKings where his value is much better. He is 5-for-10 (.500 AVG) throughout his career against Jeremy Hellickson and can provide some major upside for the price.
Robinson Cano is in the middle of a 9-game hitting streak where he has one 15-for-36 (.417 AVG) with two homers, four doubles, seven runs, and four RBIs.
Howie Kendrick has quietly been killing it at the plate lately. He has a 7-game hitting streak where he has batted .385/.429/.654 with a homer, four doubles, two walks, and five RBIs. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve highlighted a lot of expensive options at second base tonight. I just don’t feel tonight is a good night to put at second base.
| THIRD BASE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Josh Donaldson | TOR | R | OAK | Daniel Mengden | 336 | 102 | 23 | 80 | 63 | 62 | 6 | .304 | 1.017 | .295 | .321 | .424 | 22.7% | 42.6% | 84.3% | $4,600 | $5,600 | $5,500 |
| Jake Lamb | ARI | L | LAD | Bud Norris | 289 | 84 | 20 | 49 | 61 | 35 | 3 | .291 | .983 | .322 | .337 | .407 | 20.5% | 41.9% | 86.5% | $3,500 | $5,500 | $5,100 |
| Kyle Seager | SEA | L | HOU | Doug Fister | 335 | 96 | 18 | 54 | 61 | 38 | 1 | .287 | .902 | .251 | .299 | .376 | 19.9% | 39.1% | 87.2% | $3,200 | $4,900 | $5,350 |
| Anthony Rendon | WSH | R | PIT | Francisco Liriano | 323 | 82 | 9 | 54 | 33 | 43 | 9 | .254 | .746 | .152 | .302 | .326 | 22.0% | 41.0% | 88.8% | $3,000 | $3,900 | $4,550 |
| Jose Reyes | NYM | S | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 24 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .250 | 1.016 | .458 | .176 | .414 | 5.3% | 30.0% | 90.5% | $2,800 | $3,500 | $4,700 |
Josh Donaldson is 12-for-37 (.324 AVG) with two homers, three doubles, and nine RBIs in his nine previous games against his former team, the Oakland A’s.
Jake Lamb has somehow never faced Bud Norris at any point in his career. Well, everything suggests that he should enjoy his first crack against the 7-year MLB veteran. His price is outrageous on DraftKings, but I don’t mind it elsewhere.
Kyle Seager may be my favorite play at third tonight if we’re taking salary in consideration. He crushes the two-seam fastball like no other and that happens to be a pitch that Doug Fister relies on 46.2 percent of the time.
Anthony Rendon has batted .429/.556/.857 over nine career at-bats against Francisco Liriano. I love his value at just $3000 on FanDuel tonight.
Jose Reyes wasn’t all that great in his warmup games in the Minors, but has definitely come out strong in his first week in the Majors. Reyes is 6-for-20 (.300 AVG) with three homers, two doubles, two walks, and five runs over his last five games and is a great value with a great matchup against Jeremy Hellickson.
| SHORTSTOP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Francisco Lindor | CLE | S | MIN | Ervin Santana | 337 | 103 | 10 | 60 | 45 | 33 | 13 | .306 | .823 | .154 | .326 | .351 | 22.4% | 26.3% | 90.5% | $4,000 | $4,100 | $5,150 |
| Jonathan Villar | MIL | S | CIN | Anthony DeSclafani | 319 | 95 | 6 | 44 | 31 | 43 | 31 | .298 | .806 | .129 | .410 | .351 | 22.9% | 32.3% | 84.1% | $3,900 | $4,700 | $4,950 |
| Danny Espinosa | WSH | S | PIT | Francisco Liriano | 284 | 68 | 18 | 41 | 49 | 29 | 5 | .239 | .792 | .218 | .269 | .332 | 19.4% | 35.8% | 82.2% | $3,100 | $4,500 | $4,350 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | R | OAK | Daniel Mengden | 247 | 59 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 26 | 1 | .239 | .769 | .215 | .256 | .328 | 13.9% | 34.8% | 82.9% | $3,100 | $4,200 | $5,000 |
| Brandon Crawford | SF | L | SD | Andrew Cashner | 302 | 85 | 9 | 37 | 61 | 34 | 3 | .281 | .800 | .166 | .321 | .336 | 21.9% | 36.7% | 83.6% | $2,900 | $4,400 | $4,550 |
Francisco Lindor had a 6-game hitting streak leading up to the All-Star Break, where he went 9-for-23 (.391 AVG) with five doubles, four walks, seven runs, and four RBIs.
Jonathan Villar has just about cemented his spot as the Brewers leadoff hitter. Not only does he match up well against Anthony DeSclafani, but he is coming off of an extremely productive last five games prior to the All-Star Break, going 8-for-21 (.381 AVG) with four doubles, four runs, and five stolen bases.
Danny Espinosa has been criminal against left-handed pitching recently. While 11 of his 18 home-runs have come from against righties, he has been much better against southpaws lately, and has been rocking a .638 slugging percentage as a right-handed hitter this season.
Troy Tulowitzki appears to be the Troy Tulowitzki of old, if we’re basing it on his July so far where he has batted .357/.417/.571 with three homers and 12 RBIs. Still too good of a price on FanDuel to ignore.
Brandon Crawford has a sub-$3k salary on FanDuel and has a career 1.064 OPS and .452 wOBA against Andrew Cashner of the Padres.
| OUTFIELD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Bats | Opp | Opp Pitch | AB | H | HR | R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | LD% | Hard% | Z-Cont% | FD | DK | Aces |
| Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | R | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 288 | 87 | 21 | 47 | 52 | 31 | 2 | .302 | .955 | .281 | .344 | .398 | 25.4% | 42.7% | 86.5% | $4,000 | $5,200 | $5,250 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | HOU | Doug Fister | 328 | 92 | 23 | 55 | 58 | 38 | 0 | .280 | .909 | .262 | .322 | .381 | 16.9% | 35.4% | 83.5% | $3,800 | $4,500 | $5,400 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | R | STL | Jaime Garcia | 279 | 65 | 20 | 40 | 50 | 38 | 0 | .233 | .823 | .262 | .294 | .348 | 15.6% | 39.9% | 79.8% | $3,700 | $4,900 | $5,200 |
| Mookie Betts | BOS | R | NYY | Michael Pineda | 385 | 117 | 18 | 75 | 59 | 24 | 15 | .304 | .869 | .221 | .314 | .367 | 19.0% | 34.5% | 95.5% | $3,600 | $4,300 | $5,000 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | BOS | L | NYY | Michael Pineda | 301 | 89 | 14 | 51 | 55 | 35 | 7 | .296 | .926 | .252 | .342 | .389 | 17.2% | 38.2% | 84.9% | $3,500 | $4,300 | $4,850 |
| Kole Calhoun | LAA | L | CHW | Miguel Gonzalez | 337 | 97 | 10 | 55 | 47 | 37 | 2 | .288 | .801 | .151 | .330 | .348 | 24.2% | 33.9% | 85.9% | $3,500 | $3,500 | $4,550 |
| Stephen Piscotty | STL | R | MIA | Wei-Yin Chen | 319 | 94 | 11 | 53 | 48 | 32 | 4 | .295 | .849 | .185 | .337 | .366 | 19.5% | 33.5% | 86.0% | $3,300 | $4,900 | $4,850 |
| Yasiel Puig | LAD | R | ARI | Patrick Corbin | 246 | 63 | 7 | 32 | 28 | 17 | 4 | .256 | .705 | .130 | .299 | .308 | 17.1% | 31.4% | 82.7% | $3,300 | $4,000 | $4,600 |
| Jeff Francoeur | ATL | R | COL | Jorge De La Rosa | 198 | 52 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 13 | 1 | .263 | .703 | .136 | .320 | .299 | 19.1% | 32.9% | 81.7% | $3,200 | $3,200 | $3,750 |
| Peter Bourjos | PHI | R | NYM | Bartolo Colon | 237 | 65 | 4 | 28 | 18 | 12 | 4 | .274 | .734 | .148 | .353 | .314 | 18.5% | 24.6% | 83.9% | $2,900 | $3,400 | $3,900 |
| Corey Dickerson | TB | L | BAL | Yovani Gallardo | 252 | 58 | 13 | 24 | 35 | 19 | 0 | .230 | .739 | .226 | .265 | .308 | 15.8% | 33.9% | 76.3% | $2,900 | $3,300 | $4,350 |
| Carlos Gomez | HOU | R | SEA | James Paxton | 244 | 53 | 4 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 9 | .217 | .614 | .115 | .312 | .268 | 23.5% | 30.5% | 77.8% | $2,800 | $2,900 | $4,400 |
| Brandon Drury | ARI | R | LAD | Bud Norris | 248 | 67 | 9 | 27 | 22 | 12 | 0 | .270 | .756 | .177 | .310 | .320 | 21.4% | 34.2% | 90.8% | $2,400 | $3,800 | $4,500 |
| Daniel Nava | LAA | L | CHW | Miguel Gonzalez | 88 | 22 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .250 | .648 | .068 | .318 | .292 | 26.9% | 40.3% | 92.6% | $2,000 | $2,300 | $3,400 |
Yoenis Cespedes should be a game-time decision tonight, but if does get the nod, I just really like the upside. He is 5-for-12 (.417 AVG) with two homers, lifetime, against Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies.
Nelson Cruz has a career .906 OPS and .400 wOBA against Doug Fister of the Astros. With so many options available tonight, I feel he’ll be overlooked when he shouldn’t be.
Giancarlo Stanton probably didn’t do his long-term outlook any favors by taking the world by storm with his Home Run Derby performance. Nevertheless, he had been as hot as a ghost pepper leading up to the Derby, maintaining a 7-game hitting streak, going 10-for-27 (.370 AVG) with five home runs, a triple, double, four walks, seven runs, and 10 RBIs.
Jay Bruce is 12-for-32 (.375 AVG) with three homers, four doubles, and nine RBIs against Matt Garza throughout his career.
Mookie Betts has been on fire. He is batting .368/.394/.588 with three homers and four stolen bases over his last 15 games. Plus, four of his five hits off of Michael Pineda have gone for extra bases, with two of those going out of the yard.
Jackie Bradley Jr. is working on 6-game hitting streak where he has gone 9-for-28 (.321 AVG) with a homer, three doubles, seven runs, and five RBIs. Bradley has also batted .400/.500/.700 over 12 career plate appearances against Michael Pineda.
Kole Calhoun is only $3500 on DraftKings tonight and has homered against Miguel Gonzalez in the past.
Stephen Piscotty was a little banged up to close out June, but has been rock solid in July. Over his last 10 games, he has batted .341/.370/.614 with three homers, a triple, double, and nine RBIs. Love his value on FanDuel.
Yasiel Puig, baby! Don’t look now, but Puig has been rocking a .404 OBP over his last 15 games. He gets a great matchup against Patrick Corbin, who is now giving up an outrageous 38.8% Hard Hit Rate to go with his 4.44 xFIP.
Jeff Francoeur, somehow, someway, was the most productive hitter on the Braves roster entering the All-Star Break, and is no longer a platoon player. The journeyman has a 7-game hitting streak where he has gone 8-for-25 (.320 AVG) with two home runs, two doubles, three walks, five runs, and six RBIs. He also gets a nice matchup against Jorge De La Rosa, who has regressed mightily this season.
Peter Bourjos is still a thing! Bourjos matches up quite well against the Baked Potato. In his last 15 games, he has batted .407/.462/.661 with two homers. He is a pretty reasonable value throughout the industry, and will surely have low ownership (when has Peter Bourjos been chalk, ever?).
Corey Dickerson humiliated Yovani Gallardo a couple weeks back, and is now 4-for-6 (.667 AVG) with a homer and four RBIs against him throughout his career. Just an incredible value if you’re looking to save in the outfield tonight.
Carlos Gomez is batting below the Mendoza line against righties but is a…. I’ll say, respectable, .260/.316/.397 against lefties. His best value is on DraftKings where he is below $3000.
Brandon Drury snapped a 6-game hitting streak on Sunday, where he had gone 8-for-26 (.308 AVG) with a homer, four doubles, and four RBIs. Like the price and like the matchup against Bud Norris.
Daniel Nava should be a great punt play tonight. He matches up quite well against Miguel Gonzalez, and is very consistent at the plate.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Fantasy Alarm Daily Lineups page to confirm that your players are starting.
If you guys have any questions, you can always reach me on Twitter @kle18. Good luck!