On Friday night, the MLB has a nice 10-game slate to start the weekend off with plenty of fantasy baseball goodness. DraftKings has a wide variety of ways to get a piece of the fantasy baseball action, including GPPs, Tiers and Pick6. For this post, we’re focused on some prime picks for MLB DFS cash games.
This style of contest gives managers the opportunity to double the entry fee since almost half of the players are paid out. These 50/50 or “double-up” contests are best suited for lineups with high floors and as little risk as possible. In on-diamond terms, we’re looking to hit singles with these lineups, not home runs. Variance is not as much of a factor here as we look for players with high floors regardless of their ceilings. In short, these should be the safest and most consistent MLB DFS plays of the slate.
With all that in mind, let’s dive into my top picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Single Entry $5 Double Up.
SP Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals, $8,500
Shlittler has been very solid for the Yankees this season, going 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA and an impressive 0.54 FIP. He has racked up 30 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings, and many of his metrics indicate that he has been unlucky to give up the six runs on 15 hits he has surrendered.
In each of his four starts, Schlittler has earned at least 16 FPTS. He gave up three runs on seven hits to the Rays and three runs on five hits to the A’s in his last two starts, but still had solid fantasy totals since he had 15 total strikeouts in those two contests. His strikeouts give him a high floor, and if he can get back to the form he showed in his first two starts, he also brings a very high ceiling. He didn’t give up a run to the Giants or Mariners and earned 31.4 and 31 FPTS in those two outings.
The Royals’ offense hasn’t been lighting the scoreboard up this season with just 3.4 runs per game, the fourth-lowest average in the league. They have a decent K% but don’t have a ton of power with a .124 ISO and 83 wRC+ that place them in the bottom six in the MLB in those categories as well. Their lack of power raises both the floor and ceiling for Schlittler on Friday night, and he’s a solid mid-range pitcher to build around for cash game lineups in the first game of this AL series in the Bronx.
1B/2B Ildemaro Vargas, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Toronto Blue Jays, $3,700
Vargas is averaging 10.3 FPTS per game on the season for the Snakes and has hit safely in all 12 of his games. He is 18-for-47 (.383) with five doubles, a triple, two homers, 10 runs scored and eight RBI.
The 34-year-old switch-hitter is 10-for-26 (.385) against lefties, and his Statcast metrics back up his solid surge in production this season. He has a 40% hard-hit rate and a 7.5% barrel rate. The utility man can move all over the field, and as long as his bat keeps cooking, he’ll be a versatile value with good upside at this salary under $4,000.
OF Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals at Houston Astros, $4,500
Getting elite production from a player whose salary is below the rest of the elite options can be a key to building a balanced roster with a high floor, which is ideal for cash game strategy. Jordan Walker has been delivering elite fantasy numbers from his mid-range salary for his managers and has also been a huge piece of the Cardinals’ success in the early part of the season due to his premium power production.
Walker is crushing everything this season, and he comes into his series in Houston with an 11-game hitting streak. During that stretch, he is 17-for-46 with a double, seven home runs and 14.5 FPTS per game. His metrics are off the charts, as demonstrated by the tweet below, and his matchup against fill-in starter Peter Lambert.
