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FanDuel daily picks: Fantasy baseball lineup-July 5

By Zachary Thompson

Jul 4, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Brock Holt (12) is congratulated by first baseman Hanley Ramirez (13) after hitting a two-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 4, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Brock Holt (12) is congratulated by first baseman Hanley Ramirez (13) after hitting a two-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 3, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (10) greets infielder David Freese (23) after his in the eighth inning home run against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 3, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (10) greets infielder David Freese (23) after his in the eighth inning home run against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports /

First Baseman

High-Salary Option: Edwin Encarnacion-Toronto Blue Jays (4,300): Encarnacion and the Blue Jays face the Royals again in Toronto tonight as they take on the struggling Chris Young who comes in 2-7 with a 6.24 ERA.  Encarnacion is 1-4 with a homer against Young in the past and comes into tonight with a crazy .943 OPS at home.  He finished June with a 1.184 OPS and has carried over that rampage into July starting 5-15 with a homer, six RBI and a pair of doubles.  Encarnacion costs less than I thought he would given his recent form and a tasty matchup North of the Border tonight. ∗∗∗

Mid-range Option: Carlos Santana-Cleveland Indians (3,700): Santana has hit safely in each of his last six starts and has over 12 fantasy points in each of his last four contests.  He has started July 7-17 (.412) and is 10-26 (.385) over the last week with a pair of homers.  On the year, his average is up to .247 with a healthy. .827 OPS.  He has a .920 OPS against Tigers’ starter Anibal Sanchez who he’ll face tonight coming into the game 7-25 with a double, triple, home run, three RBI, and five walks agains the Tigers’ righty.  Santana has hit right-handed pitchers much better than southpaws this year, so look for him to keep putting up good fantasy points tonight from this relatively affordable price point. ∗∗∗∗

Mid-range Option: Hanley Ramirez-Boston Red Sox (3,400): HanRam has picked up multiple hits in each of his last there games and four of his last five.  He has definitely shaken off the slump that help him down for most of June, and has started this month red hot going 7-10 with five doubles, and three RBI in his first three games of the month.  He has gone 1-2 in his career with a homer against tonight’s starter A.J. Griffin, so don’t be surprised if he puts up another nice game at Fenway tonight.∗∗∗

Mid-range Option: Kendrys Morales-Kansas City Royals (3,100): Morales has five homers in his last five games and has posted at least 12 fantasy points in eight of his last ten.  He also comes into tonight’s game with a decent history against the knuckleballer R.A. Dickey who he is 5-20 (.250) against with a homer in their previous meetings.  Morales has always been a little streaky, and he is heating things up lately raising his average from .226 to .264 in his last ten games while increasing his HR from just eight to 15.∗∗∗∗

High-Value Option: David Freese-Pittsburgh Pirates  (2,800): Freese comes into tonight 11-22 in his career against St. Louis starter Mike Leake.  He has a homer, a pair of doubles, and five RBI against Leake helping him to a crazy 1.249 OPS.  He has gone 8-22 over the last week with a pair of homers, so look for him to be a nice value play tonight if you have to go under 3K. ∗∗∗∗

High-Value Option: Billy Butler-Oakland Athletics  (2,700): Butler and the A’s are scheduled to take on former-Athletic Tommy Milone tonight in Minnesota.  Butler should be in the lineup against the lefty since he is still crushing southpaws this season going 20-60 (.333) with a homer and ten RBI helping him to an .897 OPS against lefties compared to just a .488 against righties.  In his career, Butler his 9-18 against Milone with a homer and four RBI making him a high-risk, high-reward play for tonight’s contest as long as the weather doesn’t become an issue in Minnesota. ∗∗∗

High-Value Option: Chris Johnson-Miami Marlins  (2,500): Johnson went 3-5 with a pair of runs scored yesterday while starting in place of the banged-up Justin Bour. He is now 7-18 (.389) over the past week and could get another start today against lefty Stephen Matz.  Johnson has been ok against lefties this season, but has historically been a lefty killer. He doesn’t have much history against Matz (just 0-0 with a walk), but if Bour gets another day off Johnson could be a sneaky-solid play. ∗∗∗

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