DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy baseball lineup-July 27

High Salary SP

Yu Darvish-Texas Rangers (11,300): Darvish has shown a little bit of rust the last two starts he has made since coming off the DL, but there is definitely plenty of upside here as well.  Darvish has lost both starts he has made in July allowing five runs on nine hits in 10.1 innings, but he has shown why he can be so valuable as well with 20 strikeouts in those 10.1 innings.

Tonight, Darvish will look to beat the A’s at home in Arlington where he has always had a much better ERA than on the road (where his last two starts have come).  Darvish does have an iffy history against Oakland as well since he is 1-8 against the A’s in his career with a 4.94 ERA in ten starts.  He should again be a good source of strikeouts tonight with the upside for more if he can get a “W” to go with his K’s, but he is a little risky given his current form and career history against Oakland.∗∗

Adam Wainwright-St. Louis Cardinals (10,900): While Wainwright doesn’t have Darvish’s elite strikeout stuff, he is definitely trending the right direction for the Cardinals after a slow start to the season. Wainwright started the season with a rough April going 1-3 with a 7.16 ERA, but he has been excellent in July going 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and 27 K’s in his 29 innings.

He has struggled on the road this year, but I think he’ll be able to keep his current momentum going tonight as he takes on the Mets at Citi Field.  This will be the first time Wainwright has faced the Mets this season, but he has gone 2-1 against them over the past three season with a 1.35 ERA and a solid 17 K’s in 20 innings.  He doesn’t have quite as high a ceiling as Darvish does due to his high strikeout rate, but Wainwright is a much safer option as he and the Cards look to take the series from the Mets after splitting a double-header yesterday.  Wainwright should have a shot at a win since he’ll be taking on Mets’ starter Logan Verrett.∗∗∗∗

Jon Gray-Colorado Rockies (10,500): Gray has been looking great lately, but he’s risky due to his matchup against the hard-hitting Orioles. Rockies starters don’t make this list often, but Gray has been on a mission to change that lately.  So far in July, the Oklahoma product is 1-1 with a very nice 2.05 ERA to go with 28 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.  He has qualified for a quality start in each of his four starts this month even though two have come int he rarified air of Coors Field.  He won’t have that issue tonight as he visits the Orioles in the Queen City, but he will have to deal with the O’s bats which have been hot all season especially at home where they always seem to put up good run totals with several home runs. Gray has lots of upside based on his form, but facing the Orioles is always risky.∗∗

Lance McCullers-Houston Astros (10,100): The Astros have been getting great pitching from McCullers this month, and I like him to post another nice start tonight at home against the surging Yankees.  McCullers has allowed exactly one run in four of his last five starts and has picked up eight strikeouts or more in three of hist last four outings.  His last start was probably his best of the year as he held the Angels to just one run on four hits in eight effective innings while also piling up ten strikeouts for a dominant 35.2-fantasy-point total. He may not be able to quite duplicate that performance tonight, but he should be able to put together another strong outing and has good punch out potential.∗∗∗

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