Happy Sunday, everyone! Let’s keep the start of July going with some winning MLB DFS lineups. Today we get a 9-game main slate on DraftKings starting at 1:35 PM EST, and then on FanDuel, you get a bonus game with the Coors field game making the slate as well, with the Detroit Tigers taking on the Colorado Rockies at 3:10 PM EST making it a 10-game slate. We are down to about a week left before the all-star break, with teams starting to figure out if they are legit contenders this year or not as we get excited to watch all of the stars take the stage for the all-star game and home run derby. Plenty of stars to watch today as well in a big day of baseball, with some of the best pitchers in the game taking the mound in Spencer Strider, Gerrit Cole, and Kevin Gausman. Some exciting matchups going on this holiday weekend and endless ways to build your lineup, whether you are playing cash games or gpp tournaments, so let’s jump into today’s playbook! Be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS rostership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

 

MLB DFS Playbook July 2

MLB Weather Updates

San Diego Padres vs Cincinnati Reds: Some thunderstorms rolling in but shouldn’t hit until at least 2 hours after game time so shouldn’t be a problem.

 Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs: Currently raining hard but should be clear well before start time. 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Spencer Strider, Gerrit Cole, and Kevin Gausman are all on a tier to themselves today with them being ranked in that order, but you will have to pay up if you want to get them in your lineups. They are so good with such incredible upside, though, that I am willing to fit any of the three into a lineup. There are a few other pitchers highlighted below to either pair with one of the top-tier studs or to take instead of them to focus more salary on hitters. As for hitters, some of my favorite offenses to target today include the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Guardians, and both the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies if you are playing on FanDuel. 

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Spencer Strider vs Miami Marlins

Kevin Gausman vs Boston Red Sox

Gerrit Cole vs St. Louis Cardinals

Yu Darvish vs Cincinnati Reds

Best Odds for a Win

Ranger Suarez vs Washington Nationals

Tony Gonsolin vs Kansas City Royals

Spencer Strider vs Miami Marlins

Kevin Gausman vs Boston Red Sox

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

This one may be a bit controversial, with Sandy Alcantara having an extremely frustrating season for both Miami Marlins fans and fantasy owners. He had a solid outing in his last start against the Boston Red Sox, though, giving up only one run through 7 innings. He still comes at a huge discount with home much he has been struggling, and there obviously is plenty of risk with how he has been pitching and facing the Atlanta Braves today, but we know how good Alcantara can be when he is pitching well. I am willing to take the discount and bet on some positive regression to continue today. 

Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies

Ranger Suarez has been pitching great lately. Over his last 4 starts, he has racked up 30 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, along with a 1.03 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. That has been against some quality opponents, including both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on the road. Today he gets to face the Washington Nationals, who, even if they don’t strike out a ton, are still a decent team to pitch against. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Detroit Tigers vs Connor Seabold (FanDuel Only)

Colorado Rockies vs Matt Manning (FanDuel Only)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Brady Singer

Texas Rangers vs Shawn Dubin

Philadelphia Phillies vs Trevor Williams

Milwaukee Brewers vs Rich Hill

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Gary Sanchez, C San Diego Padres

Gary Sanchez is a bit of an all-or-nothing guy, but at catcher you have a lot of guys that will be giving you nothing on any given day, and the upside with Sanchez is at least better than most. Over his last six starts, he has 7 hits, including a home run and two multi-hit games. He is one of the best home run hitting catchers in the league still and is hitting in the best home run park in the league, so I am going to take a shot on getting the all today and not the nothing, and he can put one over the fence. 

Josh Naylor, 1B Cleveland Guardians

Josh Naylor has been cleaning up in the 4-hole for the Guardians recently. Over his last 10 games has slashed .395/.422/.674 with 2 home runs, 6 doubles, and a stolen base. Jameson Taillon has struggled to keep the ball in the yard this season, with a 1.84 HR/9 to go along with his 6.90 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. The Guardians and Naylor should be able to do some damage against him today, and Naylor seems like a steal at his price with the run he has been on at the plate. 

Matt McLain, 2B/SS Cincinnati Reds

The Reds might be the most exciting team in all of baseball right now, and Matt McLain is a big contributor to that. Over the last 7 games, McLain has had 12 hits, including 4 home runs and 5 doubles, along with 7 runs and 13 RBIs. Yu Darvish has been under the weather as well, so could be a rough game for him today in Cincy if he isn’t fully healthy, and I expect the Reds to put up a fair number of runs regardless.  

Alec Bohm, 3B Philadelphia Phillies

Alec Bohm is seriously locked in at the plate right now. He has 11 hits over his last 5 games and is coming off a 4-hit game, including 2 home runs, and tallied 3 runs and 6 RBIs. I think Alec Bohm can follow up his incredible performance yesterday with another great game today against Trevor Williams who has a 1.8 HR/9 on the season and will likely have a tough time keeping the Phillies in check today. 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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