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WE ARE BACK! These are words that baseball fans have been waiting to hear for quite some time. For the opening night schedule we will have two games to get things started. The defending World Series champs will face the Yankees starting at 7:08 PM EST, followed by the Giants and the Dodgers. Be sure to double-check the weather and the lineups before finalizing your roster.
When looking at the slate the Dodgers are going to be popular targets vs Cueto while the Yankees and Nationals will split some ownership with the Yankees likely being the contrarian angle vs Scherzer as Max is much cheaper than Cole. If you want to get very contrarian a Giants and Yankees stack could be interesting, but in the end the Giants and anything will be contrarian.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/23/2020. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Gerrit Cole - P, NYY at WAS ($10,000)
What a matchup we have to start off the season between Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer. Both pitchers are very much in play tonight, but Cole is the target in this game. Cole is coming off an absolutely dominant season with the Astros, and then got the bag with the Yankees. Last season Cole finished with a near 40% strikeout rate and will face a Nationals team that loses Rendon and has a 22.6% strikeout rate vs RHP. He is a -130 road favorite with a 3.5 team total for the Nats. Scherzer is much cheaper in this matchup and that should lead to Cole coming in lower owned in this battle of aces.
Clayton Kershaw - P, LAD vs SF ($7700)
It is good to see DraftKings is asleep at the wheel to start the season. There will not be many better matchups across baseball than Kershaw vs the Giants. The Giants will be without Buster Posey all season and will not have Evan Longoria or Brandon Belt to open the season as well. Last season the Giants did not strikeout a lot vs LHP, but when they put the ball in play it was not special with a .304 wOBA. Kershaw should be very popular on a two game slate and will likely be apart of a pairing with Scherzer. Just eat the chalk on Kershaw and get different elsewhere.
DraftKings DFS Infielders
Gary Sanchez - C, NYY at WAS ($4,400)
Paying up for catcher is not always the way to go in lineup building, but the opening two game slate is not your normal lineup building slate. There can be a lot of swing and miss in Sanchez's swing, but there is also a ton of power. Last season Sanchez averaged over two fantasy points per at bat and faces Mad Max who is known to give up a long ball or two. Sanchez will come in low owned and make for a nice GPP play.
Edwin Rios - 1B, LAD vs SF ($3,800)
Rios is a great way to save some money and have a massive power source in your lineup on Thursday, just make sure he is in the Dodgers lineup. Rios has been playing first base, third base, and designated hitter in Summer Camp. The power hitting lefty hit 31 home runs in Triple-A last season and added four more in his short time with the Dodgers in September. He will be facing Johnny Cueto who is coming off an injury riddle 2019 and is a shell of his former "ace" self.
Wilmer Flores - 2B, SF at LAD ($3800)
One strategy to differentiate yourself tonight will be using Cole and Scherzer while stacking the Giants and Dodgers. Kershaw should deal, but the Giants have built a team with a lot of right-handed bats that can hit lefties a little. One of those new accusations is Wilmer Flores. Last season, Flores hit .337 with a .405 wOBA and .279 ISO vs LHP. He has a .312 career average with one home run vs Kershaw as well.
Chris Taylor - 3B, LAD vs SF ($3800)
Taylor has been smoking the ball during Summer Camp, leading to the Dodgers actually sending Gavin Lux to the Taxi Squad. Taylor hit his fourth home run of camp on Wednesday night and should stay hot vs Cueto. Taylor will go under the radar as most will play Justin Turner at third base, making Taylor a nice pivot if you want some pieces of the powerful Dodgers lineup.
Trea Turner - SS, WAS vs NYY ($5,100)
Turner comes in a bit pricey on Opening Night, but will look to get on base and swipe some bags vs the Yankees. Turner is always a nice GPP play as he just has to get on base once and can rack up the fantasy points by stealing a bag or two and then scoring a run. He will be hitting near the top of the Nats lineup with Soto and company to follow.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs SF ($4,900)
Betts will be making his Dodgers debut and what better way than facing Johnny Cueto. He comes in $200 cheaper than his teammate Bellinger and I will take that discount. Betts averaged over 2.3 fantasy points per at bat last season and that is in large part due to the fact Betts can do it all. He can hit with power, steal bags and hit in bunches. Leading off for the Dodgers should allow for a nice double digit fantasy night for Betts.
Austin Slater - 1B/OF, SF at LAD ($3,100)
There are a ton of other top options in the outfield, but Slater is a nice GPP salary saver. Slater is a staple in Giants lineups vs LHP. Last season, Slater had a .355 wOBA and a .200 ISO vs LHP. In this past Tuesday's exhibition game Slater started against Sean Manaea and finished the night with three hits and five RBI while leading off. Slater is a GPP only play but will differentiate your rosters in a big way.
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