Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks for July 2
By Rich Pelesky
Jun 29, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) celebrates with third base coach Gary DiSarcina (9) after hitting a home run during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks for July 2
Welcome back to the best place to get DAILY expert fantasy baseball picks for DraftKings. The results for our picks from my last DK column (6/29) speak for themselves:
Hitters:
– OF Mike Trout (LAA) home vs. NYY for $4,900: 21 FP, 4.3 FP/$1K
– OF Alejandro De Aza (BOS) at TOR for $3,900: 14 FP, 3.6 FP/$1K
– SS J.J. Hardy (BAL) home vs. TEX for 3,600: 7 FP, 2.0 FP/$1K
– 1B David Ortiz (BOS) at TOR for $4,200: 0 FP, 0.0 FP/$1K
Next: Picks for Thursday, July 2nd DraftKings Contests
Jun 29, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox left fielder Alejandro De Aza (31) slides safely into third base with a triple as Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson waits for the throw in the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
If you haven’t joined DraftKings yet and want to play in their exciting contests, use this link to sign up and you will earn a bonus with a minimum deposit of just $5. DraftKings will even match your initial deposit up to $600.
My selections are tailored toward DraftKings scoring system but these picks can also be helpful in H2H formats with daily rosters where some of my recommended players may be available to pick up off the Waiver Wire. Also, a majority of these selections would also be recommended for FanDuel, but you should first understand the differences between each baseball scoring system before plugging players in both.
Without further ado, here are my best pitcher and hitter selections for the DK contests on July 2nd, 2015.
Good Luck!
Next: Pitchers
Jun 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Chris Young (32) throws against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Pitchers:
Max Scherzer (WAS) at ATL for $14,500: Scherzer (9-5 1.80 ERA, 0.79 WHIP) is by far the costliest SP tonight but the strike-out machine (130 K in 110 1/3 IP) is worth the price. The star righty (30.8 FPPG – tops in DK) is having a Cy Young year and has been on an unprecedented tear of late, averaging a ridiculous 47.6 FPPG in his last 3 starts. He and the Nationals face Atlanta (21st in ML w/ 3.96 rpg) as an enormous -200 road favorite. Scherzer is simply pitching too good to pass up right now regardless of price.
Live Feed
Around the Foghorn
Chris Young (KC) home vs. MIN for $5,500: The Royals’ crafty veteran has pitched very well this season with a 7-3 record, 2.71 ERA, and 0.99 WHIP. His 12 FPPG isn’t bad considering his salaries are usually in the $4000s. Young rebounded from a bad start on 6/21 vs. BOS with a winning 20.5 FP effort against OAK last time out. Young faces the same Twins at home that he beat on the road on 6/9 with 5 1/3 scoreless innings and 19.9 FP. He and the Royals are a big -155 favorite today against Minnesota, who were 25th in batting in June with a .240 average. Young is not going to strikeout a lot of batters or go real deep but in the right matchup he can get you around 20 FP and this is such a spot. If you are spending the big money of Scherzer (which you should), you can save some cash back here and still have decent money left for your bats.
Next: Infielders
Jun 26, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (10) hits hits his secnd homerun of the game against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Infielders
1B Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) home vs. BOS (Miley) for $4,400: Encarnacion (.241, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 7.9 FPPG in 74 games) is facing Wade Miley (7-7, 4.38 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) in a R/L matchup at home in hitters’ paradise Rogers Centre. Encarnacion went 3 of 4 with a walk in his only other appearance vs. the Boston lefty. With his salary at a very reasonable price, the Blue Jay is a must start today and could easily get you 20+FP.
Tips for New Daily Fantasy League Players
3B Yasmany Tomas (ARZ) home vs. COL (Rusin) for $4,500: The young, talented Cuban rookie has impressed with a .316 BA in 60 games along with 4 HRs and 4 SB. Tomas has been hot lately too going 5 for 16 and averaging 10 FPPG over his last 4 games. He faces lefty Chris Rusin (4.69 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) at home in Chase Field where he’s hitting .322 for the season. Hitting in the cleanup spot, Tomas is hard to pass up today in a matchup (Vegas run line of 9.5) that has the potential to be a slugfest.
Next: Outfielders
Jun 21, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock (11) hits a two RBI single in the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Outfielders
Live Feed
Call to the Pen
OF A.J. Pollock (ARZ) home vs. COL (Rusin) for $4,500: The Diamondback OF has hit .294 with 9 HR, 35 RBI, and 16 SBs in 76 games for a respectable 8.5 FPPG. He is a consistent producer near the top of Arizona’s lineup and has a good R/L matchup vs. Rusin who he went 2 of 5 against in one previous matchup. In Chase Field (8th in Park Factor Runs at 1.13) tonight, Pollock is a good bet along with other Diamondbacks in a hitter stack.
OF Alejandro De Aza (BOS) at TOR (Boyd) for $3,700: De Aza continues his career trend of starting off strong with new teams, hitting .31 in 21 games for Boston. He has been on fire lately, on a 6 game hitting streak during which he is 10 for 22 with 3 HRs and is averaging a whopping 16 FP. Grab him today against Boyd (3 HR & 4 ER allowed in 5 2/3 IP in his MLB debut on 6/27) while his performance is still high and salary is relatively low.
See you back here tonight for Friday’s DraftKings Picks. Bookmark our Fantasy Baseball Page and/or follow me on Twitter so you get the picks as soon as they come out.
Need help with your daily or Head-to Head fantasy baseball team? Contact me on Twitter @Rich_Pelesky and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, start/bench decisions, and the waiver wire!