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DraftKings Early MLB Picks For July 9, 2017

By Mike Marteny

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 28: Starting pitcher Yu Darvish
CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 28: Starting pitcher Yu Darvish /
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DraftKings
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 8: Starting pitcher Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch in the second inning during a game against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park on July 8, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks For July 9

Ten games make up the last Sunday afternoon DraftKings tournament before the All Star Break. We have several solid pitching options available today. Who are the best ones to use to win some cash? Let’s check out some stats!

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The money line yesterday afternoon was down some to 106.6 DraftKings points. My Nationals stack against Julio Teheran failed miserably. The other lineup missed the cash line by 0.75 points. I had really good pitching between Alex Cobb and Aaron Nola, but only Sano and Bruce came through on offense.

The winning lineup was up a ways to 183.75. He used Severino with Nola and the ultra-cheap Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and Clint Frazier brought home the crown.

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 Early Lineup

DraftKings
SAN DIEGO, CA – MAY 2: Trevor Cahill #38 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park on May 2, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

P: Yu Darvish ($11,600): The Angels are only hitting .197 in 127 at bats against Darvish, but they do have five homers. However, they have only scored 11 runs since they don’t really get on base. Darvish also have 45 strikeouts in that span. If that isn’t enough to have you leaning towards Darvish today, he has dominated the Angels this year. He racked up 64.8 DraftKings points in his two starts against them with 20 strikeouts in only 13 innings.

P: Trevor Cahill ($7,700): Cahill had an impressive return from the disabled list in his last start, and now he gets a pretty weak Phillies lineup. The are hitting .261 against Cahill in 23 at bats, but they only have one run. Cahill has never been a high strikeout guy, and he may have his pitches limited again, but for this price, he should turn in a quality performance against the Phillies. A lot of people are on Joe Ross for just $100 more, but I wont be one of them. The Braves may be in the bottom third against righties, but they just took it to two of the best in the last two games in Scherzer and Strasburg. Cahill is much safer!

C: Jason Castro ($3,300): Castro is only 2-9 against Ubaldo Jimenez with two walks, a double, and a run scored. Not great numbers, but Ubaldo is a powder keg that could blow at any time. Any Twins lefties you can fit in your lineups are likely money well spent.

1B: Ryan Zimmerman ($4,100): Sean Newcomb got beat down by the Astros after three brilliant starts to open his major league career. The Nationals aren’t the Astros, but they have quite a bit of right handed pop here as well. That has to start with Zimmerman, who is having a great season after a couple of injury riddled campaigns. The Nats got shut out last night. You can bet they want to erase that today.

2B: Wilmer Difo ($2,900): Difo will likely spell Stephen Drew against the lefty Newcomb. That alone makes him a nice value. Difo is seven for his last 12 with five walks over that span. He should rack up a decent points total today.

3B: Anthony Rendon ($4,400): Rendon is having a season worthy of an All Star berth, but he just missed out. It wasn’t because of faltering at the end of the first half. Rendon is hitting .361 with two homers, five RBI, and a steal over the last ten games.

SS: Trevor Story ($4,000): Carlos Rodon has been solid in his two starts this year, but I want some right handed exposure to him at Coors Field. The Rockies are really expensive, but Story is still at an affordable price. His low batting average makes sure of that, but he still has a lot of power. Enough to make it worth taking the chance against Rodon.

OF: Max Kepler ($4,700): Kepler is 2-4 with a walk, a double, a homer, and three RBI off of Ubaldo Jimenez. Stacking Twins is likely a good idea, but not many will after they got shut down last night. Ubaldo has a good start here and there, but I like every Twins lefty today.

OF: Jay Bruce ($3,700): Bruce has rocked Lance Lynn in his career. He is 14-33(.424) with three walks, a double, two triples, three homers, five runs scored, and 11 RBI against Lynn. The rest of his teammates are just 6-33 with one solo homer by Curtis Granderson. I wouldn’t stack Mets, but Bruce is definitely in play, and so is Granderson.

OF: Seth Smith ($3,600): Smith is 3-11 with two walks, a double, a solo homer, and two runs scored against Kyle Gibson. Gibson has been much better upon his return from the minors so I’m not stacking Orioles, but Smith definitely deserves a lineup spot at this price.

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 2

DraftKings
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 03: Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees pitches in the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

P: Masahiro Tanaka ($9,800): Tanaka has held the current Brewers to a .167 average, but Travis Shaw has hit a homer off of him. At any rate, Tanaka has been impressive lately, especially at home. He has 62.6 DraftKings points in his last two home starts against two solid teams in Toronto and Texas. I like him against the Brewers because he will rack up the strikeouts.

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P: David Price ($9,600): David Price has held the Rays to a .219 average in 114 at bats with only two homers and ten runs. The 27 strikeouts are off of his career pace, but the Rays are striking out at an alarming rate against lefties this year. Price finally had a vintage outing against the Rangers his last time out. Don’t be surprised if he does it again tonight.

C: Welington Castillo ($2,800): Castillo didn’t do much last night, but much like his own pitcher, Kyle Gibson has been prone to

1B: Anthony Rizzo ($4,800): Rizzo is 6-11 with a walk, a double, two homers, four runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Jameson Taillon. Taillon has been outstanding this year, especially since his return from cancer. It is tough to ignore what the Cubs have done against him though. They have hit .324 with four homers and ten RBi in just 68 at bats. A Cubs stack will be an under-the-radar play. I am not doing that, but I am getting my exposure with Rizzo.

2B: Rougned Odor ($4,700): Odor is only 1-6 in his career against JC Ramirez, but I don’t care. He is hitting anything and everything over the last week. I am riding Odor until he cools off. Hopefully the All Star Break doesn’t cool him off!

3B: Josh Donaldson ($3,300): I know that Donaldson is struggling, but he broke out with a homer and three walks yesterday. Will that help turn his season around? It could, considering that he is 4-13 with five walks, a double, a homer, and two RBI in his career against Brad Peacock. Peacock likely wont be in the game all that long, so Donaldson should get a couple of cracks at a bullpen that has given up some runs in this series.

SS: Tim Anderson ($3,600): Anderson already homered once at Coors Field this weekend. Today he gets a shot at lefty Kyle Freeland. I want some exposure to this game, and Anderson is one of the cheapest places to get it.

OF: Mookie Betts ($4,600): Mookie is 10-26(.385) with seven walks, two doubles, two homers, five runs scored, six RBI, and a stolen base in his career against Chris Archer. His price is likely way too low for what he has accomplished against Archer so far in his career.

OF: Carlos Beltran ($3,500): Beltran is 10-32(.312) with three walks, a double, three homers, four runs scored, and six RBI in his career against J.A. Happ. The Astros have slugged five homers against Happ, but have only hit .236 off of him for those of you thinking about stacking. I am going for the cheap exposure with Beltran so I can pay for pitching.

OF: Clint Frazier ($3,100): The rookie has enjoyed the Brewers. He has two triples, a homer, and five RBI in the first two games of this series. Jimmy Nelson will provide more of a challenge, but Frazier looks pretty comfortable in Yankee Stadium so far. He is worth a dart throw at this price.

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!