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We have another bizarro Saturday of MLB slates in the DraftKings universe. The Diamondbacks and Cubs meet early in Wrigley. We also have a four-gamer that starts at 4:00 Eastern and a "turbo" for those rebellious teams that start an hour earlier than everyone else at 6:00 Eastern. This will cover the "main" slate, which is trimmed down to ten games that gets underway at the normal start time of 7:05 Eastern.
Rain might keep the roof closed in Milwaukee, but the rest of the games will be free of the wet stuff. However, it will be hot and humid in Houston and Kansas City to make for some nice hitting weather. We have a nice breeze out to left in New York for the Blue Jays-Mets game in Queens. Weather will be a help instead of a burden tonight.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 7/24/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Carlos Rodon - CWS at MIL ($10,100)
The Brewers offense hasn't been all that good for much of the season and they strike out a little more than 30% of the time against lefties. Enter Rodon, who has racked up 128 strikeouts in just 90.2 innings pitched so far this year. His 2.74 home ERA is nice enough, but the 1.69 road ERA and 5-0 road record in eight road starts highlights just how well Rodon has pitched this year. He's worth the five figures with the super high strikeout rate and sub-1.00 WHIP. He's not giving away free points, which has been a huge problem for the high-priced pitchers since the break.
Luis Castillo - CIN vs. STL ($7,500)
Castillo has a sparkling 1.76 ERA in nine starts since June 1. His ERA was nearly 8 on Memorial Day. HIs strikeout rate is still under his career mark and he's still walking too many batters, but the Cardinals are a notoriously impatient team. Their K/BB ratio is nearly four-to-one against RHP this season. Castillo isn't the dominant pitcher that he was in 2019, but he's not priced like it either. We've seen dozens of worse pitchers priced higher than this just this week alone. I'm jumping on Castillo for this price. The strikeout potential alone helps alleviate the lost points he gives up with baserunners.
Other Options: Chris Bassitt ($9,900), Kevin Gausman ($9,700), Logan Gilbert ($7,800)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Eric Haase - C/OF, DET at KC ($4,300)
Haase will see more time behind the plate with Jake Rogers landing on the IL, but I still expect the Tigers to keep his bat in the lineup on his days off behind the plate. The fact that he has homered in back-to-back games assures that. The Tigers need his power in the lineup. They are playing well enough that they might have an outside shot at making the wild card, which is just nuts considering where they started the season. This whole offense is playing well right now. I want the power bat in the middle of that order.
Pete Alonso - 1B, NYM vs. TOR ($5,800)
You know, if I have to pay more than $5k for a first baseman anyway, I'm going with the guy with the most power upside. The Home Run Derby has continued into the second half of the season for Alonso, who has four homers in seven games since the break, six in his last 11, and eight in 18 July games. Ten of those homers have come in just 83 at bats against lefties this year. Yes Toronto, throw another lefty out there. Us DFS players thank you.
Jack Mayfield - 2B/3B, LAA at MIN ($2,000)
Mayfield has homered in back-to-back games and has three homers since the break. No, that price isn't a typo. He's still minimum price on DraftKings. I don't care who he's facing. Mayfield is going to get at least one at bat against one of the worst bullpens in baseball. I'll take my chances for minimum price.
Eugenio Suarez - 3B, CIN vs. STL ($4,000)
Suarez is kind of expensive for a guy hitting .172 on the season, but we're after the power. He has faced Jake Woodford twice earlier this season and hit two of his 18 homers on the season off of him. That's really the only reason I can think of to play Suarez right now.
Chris Taylor - 2B/SS, LAD vs. COL ($5,700)
Wow, the Dodgers are expensive. You could legitimately make a case for any Dodger righty tonight. Kyle Freeland has struggled against them be it in L.A. or at Coors, especially against the righties. Taylor himself has two homers against Freeland in 19 at bats. Justin Turner smokes him too, even though he hasn't hit a homer off of him. Unless I'm running a full stack of Dodgers though, I'll chase the power upside of Taylor over Turner.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
AJ Pollock - OF, LAD vs. COL ($4,000)
The Dodgers are a bit beaten up right now, but somehow Pollock still stays this cheap. He shouldn't be. Forget for a minute that he is 9-25 in his career against Kyle Freeland with two homers, a steal, five runs scored, and four RBI. Pollock is hitting .417 with four homers in his last ten games. That's without considering what he does to left-handed pitching.
Mike Yastrzemski - OF, SF vs. PIT ($3,800)
Some Pittsburgh pitchers are improving – just look at Chad Kuhl last night – but Wil Crowe doesn't appear to be one of them. He hasn't given up less than two runs in any start and has an ERA over 7 since June 1. Yaz has four homers since the break already. We're chasing power on DraftKings today (like most days). With so much good pitching on the slate, I see little reason to chase the high-priced bats that don't always produce. Let's stick in the mid range and chase the amazing upside of some of these pitchers, shall we?
Michael Brantley - OF, HOU vs. TEX ($3,600)
I will be taking appropriate shots at Kyle Gibson again tonight. The Tigers pounded him for 13 runs in the last two starts. Gibson regression is in full swing. It was bound to happen. He's a solid pitcher, but he was pitching way over his head. Brantley is a cheap way to get some shots in. It also doesn't hurt that Brantley is hitting .342 in 38 at bats against Gibson with a homer, two steals, seven runs scored, and six RBI.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Kyle Freeland
- Detroit Tigers vs. Carlos Hernandez
- Cincinnati Reds vs. Jake Woodford
- Sneaky Stack: Houston Astros vs. Kyle Gibson
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