Identifying the top high salary and value first baseman plays from around Major League Baseball for your July 18 DraftKings lineup.
Our goal is to help you win DraftKings contests with consistently strong lineups. To accomplish that, we’ll be highlighting some higher salary players worth paying up for, and some value picks that will help you save salary in key areas. These picks are specifically for DraftKings lineups, so all references to prices and fantasy points are based on DK figures.
As always, be sure to double-check final MLB lineups and monitor weather situations before locking in your DFS lineups.
High Salary
Joey Votto, Reds (4,900): It’s a long season for Cincinnati, and the veteran Votto has had his struggles as well. One pitcher he has not struggled with has been Atlanta Braves right-hander Matt Wisler (4-8, 4.47 ERA). Votto is 3-for-3 in his career against the young Braves starter, and his .288 average against righties this season bodes well for continued success.
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers (4,600): Cabrera’s average has dipped under .300 (.289), but he has a prime opportunity to boost it back up Monday night against Minnesota Twins veteran righty Ricky Nolasco (4-7, 5.22 ERA). “Miggy” has just one double-digit DK outing in a quiet July so far, but Monday’s matchup stands out as one he can exploit.
High Value
Victor Martinez, Tigers (3,700): It could end up being a long, long night for Nolasco against the Tigers. It seems like almost every player in Detroit’s lineup (V-Mart, Cabrera, Nick Castellanos, Cameron Maybin) has terrific career numbers against Nolasco. Martinez, for instance, is 7-for-14 with a pair of doubles. Stacking some Tigers could be a solid strategy on Monday.
Kennys Vargas, Twins (3,600): Minnesota’s 25-year-old slugger has been on a tear since being called up in early July. Through nine games this month, Vargas is hitting .379 with three home runs and four RBIs. That includes a .667 average against lefties (4-for-6), so he’s a reasonable play Monday against Tigers lefty Matt Boyd (0-2, 5.77 ERA).
For more Fantasy Baseball coverage, be sure to visit our hub page.