Major League Baseball starts the final weekend before the All-Star break with a busy Friday night featuring 12 games on the DraftKings main slate, which gets underway at 7:05 p.m. EST. There are four divisional matchups on the schedule along with two marquee interleague matchups. There’s a rare matchup of historic teams in the Bronx to start the evening, and then a battle for Los Angeles to close out the night. Check out my favorite stud and value plays for the day below.
Be sure to keep up with the latest player news and lineups leading up to the first pitch of each game. You can do that by installing the DK Live app and following DraftKings Network on Twitter (@DKNetwork). I’m also on Twitter (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the dog days of summer continue.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$100K to 1st]
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PITCHER
Stud
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers ($9,900) – Abbott had been outstanding since joining the Reds rotation in early June. The 24-year-old lefty has gone 4-0 in his first six MLB starts with a 1.21 ERA and 3.48 FIP. He has 42 strikeouts in 37 1⁄3 innings, but his strikeout rate has been climbing lately — totaling 30 strikeouts in 19 2⁄3 innings over his three most recent outings. He is coming off a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Padres in his last start. Despite the bullpen costing him the win, Abbott still produced a season-high 36.3 DKFP, his third straight start with over 25 DKFP.
Abbott has only given up one run on the road in 17 2⁄3 innings, and he should be able to continue his road success and his strikeout surge in Friday night’s matchup in Milwaukee. The Brewers have struggled across the board on offense this year but have been especially bad against lefties. As a team, they’re hitting just .223 against Southpaws with a .294 wOBA, and both of those totals put them in the bottom three teams in the majors against lefties. On the other extreme, they have the highest K% of any team in the majors against lefties, so it should be a good spot for Abbott to keep dealing
Other Options – Zac Gallen ($9,600), Justin Verlander ($8,600)
Value
Jordan Montgomery, St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago White Sox ($8,100) – Montgomery has also been stringing together some strong starts and is a solid midrange value to target in this matchup against the White Sox. Montgomery has gone 4-0 in his five most recent outings with a 1.38 ERA and 2.52 FIP while piling up 31 strikeouts in 32 2⁄3 innings. He has pitched at least six innings in each of those five stars and allowed two runs or fewer four times.
He doesn’t have the punchout potential that Abbott has showcased, but he has been a solid fantasy contributor by holding hitters to a .188 average and allowing just one home run over that five-game span. His matchup is also not quite as good as Abbott’s, but the White Sox do rank in the top 10 in K% against lefties and are only hitting .230 as a team since June 1 while averaging 3.9 runs per game.
Other Options – Aaron Civale ($7,700), Cole Irvin ($5,000)
INFIELD
Stud
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers at Washington Nationals ($6,200) – Seager has been a great pay-up play at SS since returning from the IL earlier this season and is headed into the All-Star break on a tear. He comes into this weekend’s series in Washington riding a nine-game hitting streak, and during that streak, he has gone 16-for-36 (.444) with five doubles, a home run and a .486 wOBA. He has averaged 11.2 DKFP per game over that stretch and 10.8 DKFP per game on the season. Seager gets a favorable Friday matchup against Trevor Williams ($5,500), who has allowed lefties like Seager to hit .303 against him with seven homers and a .360 wOBA this season. The Rangers’ offense continues to produce on a nightly basis, and Seager is typically right in the middle of all the run production.
Stud
Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics ($4,900) – Devers had his third multi-hit performance in his past five games on Friday night, producing 16 DKFP as the Red Sox took the series win over Seager’s Rangers. Over his past 12 games, Devers is hitting an impressive .364 (16-for-44) with three home runs and a .459 wOBA to average 10.8 DKFP per contest. It’s a little surprising to see his salary under $5K given his recent success and a good home matchup against Luis Medina ($5,800) and the Athletics. Devers is hitting .274 with a .353 wOBA this season at Fenway.
Other Options – Freddie Freeman ($6,300), Francisco Lindor ($4,900), Ha-Seong Kim ($4,400)
Value
Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians ($3,400) – Garcia has added SS eligibility over the past week and can now work at either spot on the left side of the infield. The 23-year-old has also been getting more regular playing time in the leadoff spot after catching fire early in July. He had a disappointing 0-for-3 to start the series with Cleveland but still had two walks, a stolen base and hit his one ball in play hard. He is hitting .333 (32-for-96) over his past 25 games with two doubles, two home runs and nine stolen bases. Over his past seven games, he has averaged 12.7 DKFP per contest, and he should continue to be a great value with a high ceiling, especially if he keeps leading off.
Value
Jordan Diaz, Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox ($2,100) – The 22-year-old 2B is a great play near the minimum salary since he does bring some good power potential in Boston, where he’ll face the Red Sox on a bullpen day. Diaz is also a candidate to hit leadoff for the A’s while Esteury Ruiz (shoulder) is sidelined. Since being recalled from Triple-A, Diaz has gone 7-for-17 (.412) with one home run and a .446 wOBA. In his 20 games in June for the Las Vegas Aviators, Diaz hit .307 with three home runs and a .355 wOBA. He has multiple hits in three of his past four games and is a great way to save big-time salary to spend on bigger bats while still getting good potential from Diaz as well.
Other Options – Jordan Westburg ($3,200), Casey Schmitt ($2,600), Kyle Farmer ($2,300)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels ($6,600) – The Dodgers and Angels face off at Dodger Stadium before the break, and Betts will look to continue his recent power surge. Betts has smashed six home runs and seven doubles over his past 13 games, going 15-for-44 (.341) with a .568 ISO, .517 wOBA and two stolen bases thrown in for good measure. Betts has a 61.9% hard-hit rate and 19.0% barrel rate over that span, and he has also been bouncing around between 2B, SS and OF. He can fill either SS or OF for you on Friday as he faces Griffin Canning ($8,000). Betts has a .419 wOBA at Dodger Stadium this season and typically seems to thrive against the cross-town Halos.
Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals vs. Texas Rangers ($5,000) – Thomas has flown a little under the radar since the Nats have been struggling, but the 27-year-old righty has been doing damage over the past month. In his past 25 games, Thomas is hitting .363 (37-for-102) with 11 doubles, a triple, five home runs, and a .431 wOBA. He has become Washington’s everyday leadoff hitter but only stole one base in two attempts over that span. Still, his power production has been enough to make him a good fantasy option to consider, especially against lefties. He has hit .377 this season against southpaws including seven of his 14 homers and a .463 wOBA. He will face Rangers lefty Cody Bradford ($4,000) tonight and is a solid play for just $5K.
Other Options – Fernando Tatis Jr. ($6,400), Kyle Tucker ($5,300), TJ Friedl ($4,700)
Value
Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics ($3,500) – Continuing the focus on productive options at the top of their team’s lineup, Duran has been heating up for the Red Sox and he typically leads off against righties. He has gone 14-for-30 (.467) in his past eight starts with five doubles, a triple, a home run and five stolen bases to average 13.6 DKFP per start. After a disastrous stint with the Sox last season, Duran has had an incredible turnaround so far this year, hitting .309 with four homers, 16 stolen bases and an average of 7.7 DKFP per contest. The Red Sox offense has been producing lately, and Duran in the leadoff spot against the A’s seems like a bargain at this salary.
Value
Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins ($2,800) – Cowser made his MLB debut on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with nine DKFP, and made another start Thursday, going 0-for-3 but still producing eight DKFP by reaching base three times. The top prospect was tearing up Triple-A before being called up, hitting .330 with 10 homers and a .439 wOBA. While he may end up in a platoon eventually, the lefty should continue to get plenty of playing time, especially against right-handed starters like the O’s will face this weekend, starting with Bailey Ober ($8,300) on Friday.
Other Options – Jack Suwinski ($3,600), Luis Matos ($2,900), Henry Davis ($2,700)
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
