Tuesday brings another exciting evening of MLB baseball with 12 games across the main DraftKings DFS slate. Whether you’re looking for a stud pitcher or a power-hitter to build your fantasy baseball lineups around, we’ve got you covered right here.
Check out these three must-start players for Tuesday’s MLB DFS lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
SP Seth Lugo, Royals vs. Braves; $8,700
Kansas City Royals righty Seth Lugo slots in just the sixth-most expensive pitcher on today’s slate, but that doesn’t mean he’s not worth a look. There’s not a single option who averages greater than 19.2 FPPG, so truly elite arms beyond Max Fried at $10,000 are tough to come by this evening. Lugo’s 17.4 FPPG tie him for the fourth-most among lineup options and he sees a better matchup against a struggling Atlanta Braves squad than a couple of competitors against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins (who look like a sneaky-hot team over the last month-plus).
Lugo went for 21.3, 8.7 and 16.5 points in his last three starts, but he also tallied at least 25.05 points in four straight before those. He’s throwing to the tune of a 2.95 ERA and 1.09 WHIP this year with 99 strikeouts, and while not known for his punchout ability, he’s struck out five or more batters in seven consecutive appearances. The opposing Braves are 3-7 since the All-Star Game while batting just .229, 25th in the MLB. They’re a solid matchup for Lugo tonight at home so I like him at this price, especially since he may provide some lineup differentiation.
1B Nick Kurtz, Athletics vs. Mariners; $5,600
Nick Kurtz has been an underrated asset for MLB DFS purposes basically ever since he set foot on a major-league diamond. It’s nice to see him finally getting some much-deserved hype after posting one of the best games in baseball history last week (and I must admit the victory lap after including him in my must-starts for the 76-point performance was a sweet one).
The rookie first baseman averages 10.5 FPPG while slashing .308/.376/.676 on the season with 46 runs, 59 RBI and 23 homers. Over his last 10 games, Kurtz’s slash line looks even more incredible at .561/.600/1.268 with an average of 20.3 FPPG. Yes, you read that correctly. Sure, the fantasy numbers are inflated some by the 6-for-6, four-homer game, but the Athletics’ young talent looks like a bonafide star out there. The Seattle Mariners start Logan Evans tonight (3.64 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) so the matchup feels fine for Kurtz, but he’s playing so well right now that he could probably tee off on any pitcher.
3B Alex Bregman, Red Sox @ Twins; $4,800
The Boston Red Sox saw offseason acquisition Alex Bregman return from an extended injury absence back on July 11. The veteran looks good since reentering the lineup and continues to deliver some really solid fantasy production at a reasonable salary.
Over 10 appearances since the All-Star Game, Bregman slashes .314/.333/.600 with five runs, nine RBI and three homers. He faces the Minnesota Twins tonight, a team he averages 12 FPPG against this season over a small four-game sample. The pitching matchup makes this an even tastier spot since Pierson Ohl just got called up to the majors and seems in line to make his first MLB start. The right-hander threw 22.1innings with a 2.82 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in Triple-A ball, so he could very well have a good outing — it’s always tough to predict how a debut will go though, so I think the Red Sox and Bregman can get in his head in this one.
