July 22 marks the start of official sports season: baseball is settling back in for the second half, the WNBA returns to action after its All-Star break, and most veterans are reporting to NFL training camps today.
In the MLB, plenty of star pitchers are now well-rested after pitching in last Friday’s All-Star Game, so today’s 10-game featured DFS slate is stacked: Jacob Misiorowski ($10,300), Framber Valdez ($10,100), Jacob deGrom ($9,800), and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($9,200) will all take the mound. Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders that I’m targeting from tonight’s MLB action.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $225K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Minnesota Twins, $9,600 – I’m admittedly a little hesitant to back Yamamoto because he averages 1.7 fewer FPTS at home than on the road with an ERA nearly two runs higher, but his DFS salary is below $10,000 for just the second time in the last three months and Misiorowski, Valdez, and deGrom all have tough matchups. Yamamoto had one brutal start on July 7, giving up three earned runs and getting two outs (-8.1 FPTS) on July 7, but he bounced back with a seven-inning shutout gem (26.75 FPTS) and has proven that he’s a top-five pitcher in baseball more often than not. All in all, Minnesota has had roughly a league-average offense.
Value
Davis Daniel, Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants, $6,800 – Daniel will be making his second start of the season after delivering a solid four-inning, two-hit, one-run (14-FPT) effort in the Braves’ last game before the All-Star break, and if he offers something like that again against San Francisco, that will more or less justify his minuscule fantasy salary. The right-hander displayed some strong signs in that start, including an expected batting average that would rank in the league’s top quintile if he’d had enough innings to qualify, and San Francisco has had an ice-cold offense, posting just a .664 OPS since acquiring Rafael Devers ($4,600) on May 19.
INFIELDER
Stud
Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Houston Astros, $5,200 – The 34-year-old Venezuelan must be doing his best to increase his value in advance of next Thursday’s trade deadline, because he’s gone nuclear since the All-Star break, hitting five home runs across his last three games (26.7 FPTS per game) and seven total across his last six. While that form might not quite be sustainable, Suárez has proven himself to be among the league’s best hitters in a huge sample size, posting a 1.044 OPS (10.9 FPTS per game) in 52 games at home. Valdez is a tough matchup, but he’s allowed a 3.86 ERA on the road and has been somewhat worse against righties than lefties.
Stud
Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies, $4,900 – The DFS salary of basically all St. Louis players has skyrocketed for today’s contest because the Cardinals are playing at high altitude against the Rockies, the league’s worst team. Normally, Contreras hovers around $4,000, but he made his $4,900 salary a bargain yesterday with a three-for-five, two-run, one-homer (26-FPT) performance. Today, St. Louis faces an even worse pitcher, Bradley Blalock ($4,500), who’s posted three negative fantasy performances this season, including a 3.2-inning, 12-run (negative-22.75-FPT) abomination on May 10.
Value
Chase Miedroth, Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays, $3,600 – With the rookie, it’s another case of riding with the hot hand, as he opened the series with a four-for-five, three-double (20-FPT) performance yesterday as the White Sox won their fourth straight game. They should have a decent shot of extending their winning streak to five tonight against an out-of-form Drew Rasmussen ($8,400), who’s combined for just eight total innings and six earned runs (1.98 FPTS per game) across his last three starts while his innings were managed. While reports are that he’ll be back to a more typical load tonight, that might benefit Miedroth, as Rasmussen could be rusty in the later innings and he’ll be able to avoid the Rays’ above-average bullpen.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City Royals, $5,600 – PCA took a seat last night with a bruised knee, but all indications are that he should be good to go for tonight’s clash against Kansas City. Of all of Chicago’s outfielders, he’s been in the most decent form, averaging 9.4 FPTS per game across his last 10 games, and he’s also on friendly turf at Wrigley Field, where he’s posted a .943 OPS and 11.5 FPTS per game. The Royals will be starting 45-year-old Rich Hill ($6,000), who ranked in just the third percentile in pitching run value in 2023, the last season in which he pitched a relatively regular load. He’s had just a 5.36 ERA in 42.0 innings for Triple-A Omaha this season, so I don’t expect him to light it up.
Stud
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers at Seattle Mariners, $4,400 – All of a sudden, Milwaukee has the best record in baseball after winning 11 straight games, and Yelich has been a major part of that charge: over his last 10 games, he’s averaged a solid 9.3 FPTS per game. He’s also been far better on the road this season, averaging 9.9 FPTS per game, and he opened up the series yesterday with a 17-FPT effort. Logan Gilbert ($9,200) is a good pitcher, especially at T-Mobile Park, but Yelich has mashed right-handers to the tune of an .883 OPS this season, and Gilbert has been slightly worse against southpaws.
Value
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays, $3,700 – While the Blue Jays, who now lead the AL East by four games, seem to have the Yankees’ number, that hasn’t been Stanton’s fault. He’s been elite over his last 10 games, with a .375/.444/.813 slash line (11.4 FPTS), making his DFS salary a bargain, and he’s even posted 9.6 FPTS per game in five games against Toronto (all losses). Thankfully, his matchup tonight is fairly friendly: Max Scherzer ($7,500), who has pitched to a 4.70 ERA this season and has conceded barrels at a bottom-quintile rate. Stanton would rank in the top sextile in barrel rate if he’d had enough plate appearances to qualify.
