Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Late MLB Picks For July 2

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JULY 01: Ricky Nolasco #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is embraced by Albert Pujols #5 after getting the final out of a complete game shutout against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 1, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Late MLB Picks For July 2

We only have five late afternoon games today, but we still have some really good pitchers going, including the ace of the day. Is he worth paying for? Who can we pair with him to make a cash worthy lineup? Let’s check some stats!

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The money line last night was solid at 118.15. I had less than half that thanks to a failed Mariners stack and two average pitchers.

209.8 DraftKings points took this one down. He used Greinke and completely rolled the dice with Ricky Nolasco, who pitched a shutout at only 6% owned. A Dodgers stack separated him from the rest of the pack.

These picks are based mostly on statistical analysis . If you have a gut feeling, then by all means, follow that. This is not an exact science. The best lineups usually have a mix of proven stats and hot players. Check out this post from Matt McGarvey for great tips about whether to use a hot player in DFS or not.

For you first time players, if you would like $10 worth of free entry tickets, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn that $10 into more!

Next: DraftKings Late Lineup

PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 27: Starting pitcher Carlos Martinez #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a warm up pitch during the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 27, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

P: Carlos Martinez ($10,900): It’s always tough when the aces are facing each other, and though the Cardinals have struggled of late, they have managed to hit Max Scherzer pretty well. They are hitting .278 against Scherzer in 54 at bats with two homers and 11 RBI. Those numbers aren’t worth the premium attached to them, so I will move to Martinez, whom the Nationals only have four hits against in 32 at bats with only two runs and nine strikeouts.

P: Sean Manaea ($8,000): I really considered paying down for Jhoulys Chacin and his 1.89 home ERA, but what the Dodgers have done in the first two games of this series scared me off. They scored 18 runs in the first two games of the series. Manaea seems like the much safer pick. He has only allowed four runs combined in his last two starts. So what, right? That’s not a huge deal. Well, it is when both of those starts were against the Astros!

C: Bruce Maxwell ($3,000): Left handed batter? Check. Didn’t start yesterday? Check. Facing Julio Teheran, who has allowed 12 homers in only 184 at bats to lefties this year? Check. Maxwell has a great shot at notching his first homer of the year here.

1B: Paul Goldschmidt ($5,300): German Marquez has been solid against Arizona this year, but Goldschmidt has still managed to hit him well. He has four hits in seven at bats with two walks, two homers, three runs scored, and four RBI against him. Look out in the left field bleachers or the pool area!

2B: Jed Lowrie ($4,000): Do I need to go through the checklist again, or do we all still remember? Stacking a team with such a cavernous home park is not always the smart thing to do, but when you have a guy who struggles against lefties like Teheran does, they don’t need to hit homers to be of value to the lineup. And, well, the A’s are cheap, which allows me to pay for pitching.

3B: Kyle Seager ($4,500): Seager is only 5-21(.238) against Jesse Chavez, but he has four walks, a double, two homers, six runs scored, and five RBI off of him. Nelson Cruz left last night’s game with knee discomfort, otherwise he would be in here too. The team will likely hold him out, but on the off chance that Cruz is in there, I’m adding him. Cruz is 7-17 with a walk, a double, three homers, six runs scored, and eight RBI against Chavez.

SS: Dansby Swanson ($2,700): I needed a cheap shortstop, and Swanson fits the bill. He raised his average 28 points in the month of June, so he may finally be starting to figure things out. He wont have a field day against Manaea, but a hit and a steal would do just fine.

OF: Matt Joyce ($3,900): Nothing like starting off a game against Teheran with a lefty. Joyce has some pop, but his real asset is that he gets on base. Lefties have a .878 OPS this season against Teheran. You see where this is going.

OF: David Peralta ($3,900): Peralta is only 1-7 against German Marquez so far, but at this price, it’s very hard not to use him. There is a lot of potential here, and Marquez does have an ERA over 5 on the season. It’s not like we are trying to decide on whether we should use Peralta against Scherzer or Strasburg here.

OF: Hunter Renfroe ($3,800): Renfroe does most of his damage against lefties, but he is 2-6 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Kenta Maeda. Maeda was brilliant in his return to the rotation, but he was at home against an Angels team that was missing Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. It may be best to temper your enthusiasm for a bit.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have plenty of NFL stuff to get you ready for football!