RADIO
Greetings RotoBallers! Nothing too newsworthy happened in Major League Baseball yesterday, right?
I'm kidding of course. After the uncertainty of last year's season, it was refreshing to see the excitement and some of the bold moves around the trade deadline again. As it impacts DFS, I do hope all traded players from yesterday make into their new team's lineups tonight. However, I do remind you that sometimes it requires another a day or two before we see a traded player playing in their new uniform.
Meanwhile, let's about talk the ten teams playing today, shall we? We got a split schedule today with some teams off, some playing day games, and another ten teams playing tonight. As usual, I will be focusing on the main evening slate. Read below to find which teams I will be stacking, who I will be avoiding, and whom I like as I provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 7/29/2021.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game Pitching Option:
Freddy Peralta, MIL at PIT ($9,700)
Tonight's Cash Game Play is brought to you by Captain Obvious. But just because it's obvious, doesn't mean it's wrong.
Good match-up? Check. The Pirates have the fewest runs in that league and that was with hits leader Adam Frazier in the lineup. Strong season stats? I would say a 2.29 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 140 Ks in 102 IP qualifies. Check. High floor? Peralta has given up three runs or less in every game he's pitched except for one five-run blip back on Cinco de Mayo. Check. I expected Peralta to be priced at $10K or more and he's only $9700. So there's some value there too. Add in the player movement on both these teams leading to a likely win and Peralta is an easy and obvious choice for tonight.
GPP Play
Alexander Wells, BAL at DET ($5,500)
Alexander Wells is never going to be described as a flame thrower. If his fastball exceeds 90, you might want to check the calibration on the radar gun. It does however have extremely good vertical movement and his changeup might be his best pitch. He recently developed a slider and his curveball is starting to come along. So the potential is there. And that's important because, on a small slate, I'm definitely looking for a leverage play at pitcher. And few will be less owned than Wells.
Nobody is going to jump on a pitcher with a 1.60 WHIP and 4.35 ERA. And his peripherals are not great either. His FIP is over a run higher at 5.86 and he's managed to have a BABIP of .258 so far in the majors this year and we know that low mark won't last. He looks a lot more like the kind of pitcher I often recommend you stack against than one I will have in my lineups. And yet....
He's only pitched three games this year and not even 11 innings. And he's only had one start, but it was nothing to sneer at, striking out 7 in just under six innings. He walked two and gave up five hits, but given his $5500 price, he doesn't need to do much more than that to give us a profit. And at $5500, we can load our lineup with Shohei Ohtani, a top of the order Toronto stack, Xander Bogaerts, and still have $$5600 left for two spots.
Plus, it's not like Detroit has the most formidable lineup in baseball. They have struck out 993 times, the second-most in MLB this year. It's risky, but Wells might be what we are wishing for on Thursday night.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Omar Narvaez - C MIL at PIT ($2400)
I think its safe to say that Narvaez is hitting the ball really well right now:
Omar Narvaez - Milwaukee Brewers (9) pic.twitter.com/KEjSlw8zew
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) July 27, 2021
That would have been an HR in all 30 ballparks and Narvaez deserves credit for hitting that ball as hard he did. But you can hold off printing the Narvaez first-ballot Hall of Famer credentials for now. His splits are eye-opening. Against left-handers, he is slashing a laughable .161/.297/.290. On the flip side, he is murdering right-handers to the tune of .308/393/.476.
Here is where I mention that tonight Narvaez will be facing Chad Kuhl. Kuhl is right-handed.
Jake Cronenworth - 2B/1B SDP vs COL ($2900)
Cronenworth is just the first of many Padres I will be stacking tonight. But unlike some of his teammates, Cronenworth is a bargain coming in at a sub-$3K price for a player hitting .277 with 13 jacks and four swipes to boot. He's actually cooled off a little, but with five hits over his last five games, I would be surprised if he doesn't get a sixth hit tonight and a whole lot more.
Manny Machado - 3B SDP vs COL ($3900)
Machado meanwhile probably doesn't want the month to end, as he has had a smoking hot July. He is having a personal best month of six HRs and eight doubles, and remember a) the month is not over yet and b) there was the All-Star break. He's slashing .356/.427/.693 to bring his season totals to .278 and 18 HRs to give him an OPS of .860. He also has stolen nine bases.
The right-hander will be facing the left-handed Kyle Freeland tonight who sports 4.85 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. I don't see any reason why Machado would cool down tonight, do you?
Fernando Tatis Jr. - SS SDP vs COL ($4600)
You can't really stack Padres without stacking Tatis can you? The right-handed Tatis will also be facing Freeland obviously. Like Machado, I am struggling to find a reason why Tatis won't have a decent night tonight. He should add to his already NL MVP contending .290 average, 31 dingers, and 23 stolen bases. He might even hit 40/40 this year! And this is the kind of game that should help him get there. If you want to start Peralta and avoid Toronto players, you can still get Tatis in your lineups tonight. And I recommend doing so. He's my cover player for a reason.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Tommy Pham - OF, SDP vs COL ($3200)
The cavalcade of Padres is not over. I am rolling with Tommy Pham in both my cash and GPP entries, that's how much I like him on Thursday night. Or maybe I just like him because of this heads up play you probably missed:
Never get into a staring contest with Tommy Pham. You will NOT win. pic.twitter.com/irvAFMpEYb
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 25, 2021
I wish Pham was coming in a little hotter, but $3200 is not an outrageous price for a .254 hitter with 11 HRs and 13 stolen bases likely hitting near the top of one of the best lineups in baseball. Unlike Tatis and Machado who could be heavily owned tonight, Pham is another way to get a piece of the Padres and at lower ownership.
Cedric Mullins - OF, BAL at DET ($3,100)
Mullins however will be one of my favorite ways to save money on my Peralta rosters, but I also like him on my Wells entries too. If I'm gonna bank on Wells giving us some points, it will help tremendously if he gets the win. And for him to get the win, the Orioles need to score. Enter the potential fantasy MVP. Shohei Ohtani and Vlad are amazing, but they cost you a pretty penny on draft day. Did Mullins even get drafted in your league? Even if he did, I guarantee you his owner did not expect him to be hitting .319 with 17 HRs entering the last weekend in July!
He also swiped another base yesterday, bringing his total to 16 on the year already. Maybe his owners expected that. Maybe not. But I can guarantee you no one saw Mullins have a wOBA of .393! But it is his ability to draw walks that is making the difference. After a BB% of less than 5.5% each of the last two seasons, he is now seeing a solid 8.1%, which is actually far more in line with his early career. But he's now added an Isolated power of .226, which is making quite the difference this year. Given the LvR advantage he has on Thursday night, I'm willing to roll with Mullins instead of the luxury of Ohtani where needed.
Avisail Garcia - OF, MIL at PIT ($2800)
One last cheaper option for you. Garcia has been a Runs machine and you think he might benefit from the addition of Starling Marte to the lineup? What I like about Garcia is that he contributes across the board. He has four stolen bases to go along with his .262 average and 17 dingers. Chad Kuhl has a 4.38 ERA, but even that might be wishful thinking against Garcia. For you BvP-ers, Garcia has gone 3-for-4 with a longball against Kuhl. For those going with Peralta tonight, Garcia is a cheap but underpriced option I'd strongly recommend for tonight.
Good luck with your entries!
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