Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks For July 17

Jul 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; The sun peaks through Wrigley Field during game two of a baseball doubleheader between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

With all of the teams in the big tournaments tonight, it is important to find all of the information you can to give you a leg up on the competition. These picks are made to maximize value at DraftKings. It is important to note the major differences between DraftKings and FanDuel. They are very different animals.

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The biggest difference is pitching. DK gives you twice the value for strikeouts and innings pitched, but also docks you for hits allowed and docks you twice as much for earned runs. You want to find a high strikeout pitcher who doesn’t allow a lot of base runners.

For the hitters, you want to chase homers in DK since they don’t count outs against you. The major difference is that caught stealing will cost you two points. Chasing cheap steals like Billy Hamilton or Dee Gordon are good strategies at FanDuel. Not so much at DraftKings.

Today we have a lot of FanDuel picks! Dave Fuqua, Chris Brent, and myself all picked our favorites. Check out my pitcher picks too!

Let’s get to the DraftKings picks for July 17!

Next: Pitchers

Jul 9, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) smiles in the dugout during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Fernandez, Masahiro Tanaka, Noah Syndergaard, Ervin Santana, James Shields, and Lance Lynn are the only scheduled starters today that have more than a strikeout per inning pitched on the season. We can eliminate Ervin Santana and his 6.00 ERA, and James Shields because of his ERA over 4 and bad history against Colorado. That leaves Fernandez, Tanaka, Syndergaard, and Lynn as the best options.

You can also add Sonny Gray and his stellar 0.96 WHIP and ERA just over 2. Fernandez also has a WHIP right at 1.00, but his is still a small sample size of two starts. It is no coincidence that those five (Tanaka, Fernandez, Syndergaard, Lynn, and Gray) are the top five prices of the night in both DraftKings and FanDuel. I don’t advocate doing this very often, but I would take two high priced pitchers tonight. If you are inclined to gamble a little, I like Ervin Santana’s career numbers against Oakland.

Syndergaard and Lynn face each other. I like Thor, but I don’t trust him against St. Louis. He will still get good strikeouts and pitch well, but when you handicap him four points against Lynn, Lynn is the better option. I am just going to avoid it completely.

My picks:

Fernandez and Tanaka ($19,500)

Next: Infield Options

Jul 5, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) reacts as he crosses home plate after hitting a two run home run against the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning in an inter-league game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Since outs don’t count against you in DraftKings, Robinson Cano ($3,900) is a decent option. He only has one hit in 7 at bats off of Masahiro Tanaka, but that one hit is a homer

Nolan Arenado ($4,700) only has 11 career at bats off of James Shields, but in those 11 at bats, he has three home runs. His 7 hits sure won’t hurt you either.

Victor Martinez ($4,500) has three home runs and nine RBI in 24 abs off of Ubaldo Jimenez in his career. The only bad part about this is that VMart is no longer eligible at catcher for the DraftKings games.

Pedro Alvarez ($3,800) only has three hits in 11 at bats off of Mike Fiers, but two of those hits are home runs and he has driven in four.

Billy Butler ($3,200) has torched Ervin Santana. He is 8 for 31, but five of those eight hits are home runs. He has also walked six times and driven in nine. Butler is a great bet to get some good points today.

Adam LaRoche ($3,700) is a sorry 4 for 30 in his career off of Chris Young, but again, outs won’t hurt you. Two of those four hits are home runs, and he has driven in five.

Next: Who Are The Best Of The Rest?

Jul 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp (27) reacts after striking out to end the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The Pirates won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Gonzalez ($4,500) is 6 for 14 with two homers and three RBI off of James Shields.

Matt Kemp ($4,000) has hit three homers and driven in a whopping 16 runs off of Jorge De La Rosa in his career. The 18 hits in 44 at bats won’t hurt you either. Kemp may be the best bargain at any level with his relatively low salary.

Andrew McCutchen ($5,300) has smacked four home runs in 16 at bats off of Mike Fiers. The nine RBI won’t hurt either. If you can swing Kemp and McCutchen, you are going to be ahead of the game.

Matt Wieters only has three at bats against Anibal Sanchez, and ended up with one hit. That hit is a three run homer.

These are just the best options. If you find someone else, feel free to use them. Good luck tonight!

Next: Top 100 WRs in PPR Leagues

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