Identifying the top high salary and value first baseman plays from around Major League Baseball for your July 19 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
David Ortiz, Red Sox (5,600): “Big Papi” at home against a below-average right-handed pitcher? You know what to do. Seriously, Ortiz is hitting .348 against righties this season, a number eclipsed only his average at Fenway Park (.363). We don’t like the chances here for San Francisco Giants veteran Jake Peavy (5-7, 5.09 ERA).
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (5,000): Encarnacion is on a nice little roll in July, having hit safely in nine of his 12 games. That includes six games of double-digit DK points, and it could become seven after Tuesday’s game in Arizona. Toronto’s expected run total (5.3) is one of the highest on the board Tuesday, so expect them to do some damage against Diamondbacks righty Zack Godley (2-0, 5.28 ERA).
High Value
Brandon Belt, Giants (3,700): Belt’s home run total (10) has been underwhelming this season, but this price tag is simply too low for a lefty-hitting first baseman in Fenway Park. After a brilliant June (.320, five HRs), Belt is struggling through his first 12 games in July (.227, zero HRs). In what could be a high-scoring game on Tuesday, it’s possible that Belt wraps a line drive around Pesky’s Pole down the right-field line.
Victor Martinez, Tigers (3,400): “V-Mart” has now gone hitless in three straight games, a trend that’s unlikely to continue Tuesday against Minnesota Twins left-hander Tommy Milone (2-2, 5.23 ERA). Martinez is 5-for-10 in his career against Milone, and Detroit is due for a better offensive showing after its’ one-run performance on Monday.
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