On Tuesday, a grand total of 11 games make up the main MLB DFS slate on DraftKings. With plenty of contests on the docket, daily fantasy baseball players have no shortage of lineup options to consider as they cook up their squads for the day.
Come along as we dive into three must-start options for fantasy baseball lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
SP Lance McCullers Jr., HOU Astros vs. CHI White Sox, $8,500
A ton of DFS players will likely flock to Max Fried ($10,500) and MacKenzie Gore ($10,000) as the top couple starters on the board. They’ll have some very high roster numbers even with their expensive price tags, so let’s zig where other zag to try and go a little cheaper with similarly-high upside.
That brings us to Lance McCullers Jr., a lefty who’s quietly bounced back a little bit since a pretty horrible blow-up game last month. He averages 13 FPPG but posted 29.1 points in his last outing — a seven-strikeout, two-hit, scoreless showing across six innings against the Pirates. While there’s certainly some risk involved with taking McCullers Jr. tonight, the matchup against the lowly White Sox does look good. The team slashes just .228/.277/.267 against lefties and ranks within the bottom half in strikeouts. With eight, 12, and seven punchouts in each of his last three outings, McCullers can take advantage here.
C Cal Raleigh, SEA Mariners @ ARI Diamondbacks, $6,000
Everyone loves a catcher who can mash the ball, right? Cal Raleigh’s rise to the top of the MLB’s home run leaderboard has been an incredibly fun journey this season, and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down.
While Raleigh is the third-most expensive batter on the slate today, he provides an edge that most other catchers don’t. He’s slashing .266/.373/.641 with a 1.014 OPS this year, including a league-best 26 home runs. While Raleigh bats a good deal better against lefties than righties, the Diamondbacks’ Brandon Pfaadt has given up 14 earned runs across just three innings over his last two games. Raleigh should capitalize on the vulnerable pitcher this evening, so insert him into lineups accordingly.
SS Zach Neto, LA Angels vs. Athletics, $5,200
Zach Neto might not be the top pick at shortstop tonight with Bobby Witt Jr. ($5,500) and Francisco Lindor ($5,600) available for lineups, but there’s reason to believe he can outproduce both.
Neto averages 9.7 FPPG but comes off a 17-point outing with two hits, two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base. Slashing .277/.312/.503 on the season with 10 homers, he’s playing pretty well and has a little bit of pop to his bat, too. The reasoning for taking Neto over those other two elite players at short is both his slightly cheaper price, as well as the matchup this evening. The Athletics will start Mitch Spence, meaning this will be a bullpen game. Spence last started on June 5, going five innings while allowing three hits, a homer, and a walk while striking out four. He’s fine enough in the spot start, but getting to the Athletics’ bullpen with their MLB-worst 6.03 ERA and 1.65 WHIP should excite fantasy players with Neto in the lineup tonight.
