FanDuel MLB Daily Fantasy Picks 7/1/19
Contents
MLB DFS is a high variance game, but one of the more fun fantasy sports to play. Cash games you want to find consistent high floor pitchers, and the same goes for hitters. Tournaments you want to find lower owned bats and pitchers that carry huge upside. This article will point you in the direction of both.
Pitchers
Logan Allen ($9,300) – Tonight’s slate doesn’t leave us with great options, but we can look to the young lefty at home against San Francisco. The Giants have under a four implied total, and the Padres are -164 favorites. Allen has pitched well in his first two big league starts, and has an above average fastball and slider. He carried about a 24% strikeout rate in the minors, although digging back to single-A stats he had over a 30% strikeout rate. The Giants rank dead last in wRC+ against left-handed pitching, and have a 24% strikeout rate. While I wish the price tag was a bit cheaper, Allen is a solid play on a small slate.
Cash Hitters
Joey Votto ($3,300) – As mentioned below, Adrian Houser has been better off against righties, and everything changes against left-handed hitters. The groundball rate drops quite a bit, and a .363 wOBA is now on the table. He has also allowed a .184 ISO to lefties this season. Joey Votto continues to be a nice bargain player, and has a .363 wOBA and .186 ISO against right-handed pitching this season. Lefties have a .454 wOBA and .391 ISO against Houser’s fastball, which he throws 49% of the time to left-handed hitters.
Jason Heyward ($3,300) – Jason Heyward has a .381 wOBA and .208 ISO against right-handed pitching this season, yet nobody seems to notice. Heyward has been on a hot streak lately, and I like him in this spot against Trevor Williams. He won’t break the bank, but brings you some strong upside. Williams is allowing a .332 wOBA to left-handed hitters, with a 37% hard-contact rate. Heyward has a .356 wOBA off his fastball range, and at $3,300 he is another bat that won’t kill your lineup.
Eugenio Suarez ($3,200) – Adrian Houser is better against righties, and has a solid sinker that he uses to right-handed hitters. Eugenio Suarez has a .374 wOBA and 84% contact rate against sinkers. His ISO sits over .200 against right-handed pitching this season, and he is one of the top hard-contact bats in baseball. Suarez is a bit too cheap for me in this spot still, and even against a decent right-hander he offers up some value in the best offensive game of the night. $3,200, he projects to be one of the better values at the position.
Tournament Hitters
Joey Gallo ($4,300) – Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, Joey Gallo has double dong potential in this one. He faces a lefty, and that isn’t a big deal given he has a .456 wOBA and .393 ISO against southpaws this season. The 39% strikeout rate isn’t cool, but we are chasing upside here. Jose Suarez is a major flyball arm, sporting a 26% groundball rate so far this season. It is a small sample size, but he is allowing a .267 ISO and .376 wOBA to lefties. Moving into a tough ballpark, and allowing six home runs over four starts, this is not an appealing spot for him.
Eric Thames (2,800) – Lets go back to the well with a cheap Eric Thames, who get a nice ballpark for lefty power. Thames has over a .250 ISO dating back to last season against right-handed pitching, and the strikeout rate is also just as high. Tyler Mahle has allowed a .382 wOBA and .282 ISO to lefties this season, and we have been picking on Mahle with lefties the last few years because nothing has changed. Thames is still below $3,000, and a strong option in all formats, even though he is listed in the tournament section.
