Underdog Fantasy MLB Picks - Best Picks & Plays for July 15: Luis Robert Looks to Stay Hot
We have a big 13-game MLB DFS main slate on our hands this Friday, July 15th, just a few days before the All-Star break. There are a lot of elite match-ups on the mound and offensively, with elite names everywhere you look. We aren’t dealing with any bad weather spots either, so everything for Friday’s slate should be smooth sailing. Check back with our MLB Weather Center for more details surrounding the latest MLB weather report as MLB daily fantasy lineup lock approaches. To get all the confirmed lineups across baseball, check out the MLB Lineups page as well. To get projections and generate one or multiple daily fantasy baseball lineups, take a look at our MLB daily projections and MLB DFS Lineup Generator. Now let’s dive into the top MLB daily picks and MLB player props for Underdog Fantasy tonight!
MLB Player Props Underdog Fantasy July 15
Luis Robert OVER 1.5 total bases
It was a good start to the 2022 campaign for Devin Smeltzer, but his last five outings have not been great. Over that span, he’s pitched to a 5.96 ERA while allowing his opponents to slash .288/.333/.567. The slugging has been what’s haunted him as he’s served up eight home runs, for an average of 2.8 HR/9. For someone who doesn’t miss bats and relies on pitching to contact, he’s allowing far too much power.
Speaking of power, how about what Luis Robert has been doing lately? It’s not just the power, either, it’s everything. He has three straight three-hit games and has two home runs and two doubles over that span. Over his last 10 games alone he’s hitting .425 with three doubles and four home runs. He’s been extremely good against southpaws this season, batting .383 with a .418 wOBA. There’s no reason to think Robert is going to slow down in this spot.
Alek Manoah OVER 6.0 strikeouts
I know Alek Manoah hasn’t necessarily been a dominant strikeout arm this year, but he’s been solid and has plenty of upside in that department. Yes, he’s only gone over this number six times in 17 starts, but let’s take a look at what he’s working against here.
The Royals are missing 10 players due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. Five of them are everyday players, not to mention Salvador Perez has been out with injury, so they’re realistically missing six starters. They called up a LOT of prospects for this series and we saw the chinks in their armor as Kevin Gausman struck out six Royals in six innings and he hadn’t pitched in a game in two weeks.
Manoah has been dominant at home this season, holding his opponents to a .193 BAA, just 0.51 HR/9, and a 23.3% K-rate. Manoah has been quite good at striking out right-handed bats specifically this year, notching a 29% K-rate against them and the Royals projected lineup has five righties expected to be playing.
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Player News
TJ Friedl was removed from Tuesday’s game against the White Sox with right wrist soreness.
The positive news for the Reds and fantasy managers is that X-rays came back negative for any fractures after Friedl was hit by a pitch on the right wrist. The 29-year-old center fielder is presumably day-to-day for now.
Chris Martin was removed from Tuesday’s relief appearance against the Rockies with right elbow tightness.
Martin faced exactly one batter in the ninth inning of a save opportunity before leaving the contest with a trainer. His departure comes roughly 24 hours after Rangers closer Luke Jackson was hit by a line drive on the right hand, which left him unavailable for this contest. Fortunately, veteran Shawn Armstrong was able to finish off the frame and pick up the save. There should be an update on his status shortly. It’s probably going to be Armstrong, Robert Garcia or Jacob Webb handling the next save situation for Texas.
Justin Turner played the role of hero for the Cubs on Tuesday night, smacking a walk-off two-run double off of Jesús Tinoco in the home half of the ninth inning.
The Cubs entered the ninth inning trailing 4-2, but they got to work as Carson Kelly reached on an error, Dansby Swanson walked and Nico Hoerner smacked a one-out RBI single. That’s when Turner did his damage, sending the home faithful at Wrigley Field into a frenzy. The 40-year-old infielder finished the night 1-for-1 plus a walk and is now hitting .169/.292/.186 with zero homers, nine RBI and one stolen base in his first 72 plate appearances on the season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI on Tuesday night as the Cubs rallied to dispatch of the Marlins.
The dynamic 23-year-old outfielder crushed a 397-foot (108.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Valente Bellozo in the third inning that tied the score at 1-1. Crow Armstrong then tied it again with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that made it a 2-2 ballgame. With his two-hit attack, the burgeoning superstar is slashing .267/.307/.545 to go with 11 homers, 30 RBI and 13 stolen bases on the season.
Ben Brown pitched well in a no-decision against the Marlins on Tuesday, surrendering two runs on five hits over his 5 1/3 innings of work.
Brown racked up six strikeouts on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. He served up a solo homer to Connor Norby in the second inning, then kept the Marlins’ offense off the board until Javier Sanoja plated Norby with an RBI ground out in the fifth inning. The 25-year-old right-hander got seven whiffs on 72 pitches on the night, registering a strong CSW of 32 percent. He’ll look to further improve upon his 4.75 ERA and 1.56 WHIP when he does battle against these same Marlins his next time out in Miami on Monday.
Connor Norby went 2-for-4 with a homer, triple and two runs scored on Tuesday evening as the Marlins fell to the Cubs.
Norby led off the fifth inning with a three-bagger off of Ben Brown and ultimately scored on a ground ball off the bat of Javier Sanoja. He then clobbered a 400-foot (104.5 mph EV) solo shot off of Julian Merryweather to start the seventh inning, giving the Marlins a 3-2 advantage. With his two-hit attack, the 24-year-old third baseman is now hitting .269/.313/.436 with a pair of homers and six RBI in his first 83 plate appearances on the season.