Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games!
Welcome to today’s edition of MLB Top DRAFT Picks from FantasyCPR. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.
I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, you roster one starting pitcher, two infielders, and two outfielders. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 10-man drafts that start upon filling. Also, they have a tournament format, where one contest will span a few days. The further you advance, the more you win. I play mostly the six-man contests for cash games, which payout to the top two spots.
My goal here will be to give you my strategy for drafting today on DRAFT, followed by my top 30 overall rankings. Strategy of course changes day by day, depending on what type of slate we are working with. I always start with my pitcher, as everything else revolves around that. After having completed my rankings for today and done a few six-man drafts, here is how I am attacking this slate.
DRAFT – DFS Strategy
We are again today getting use of the full field, as we have a complete 15-game slate kicking off at 1:05 ET. DRAFT will also run a 10-game slate for the evening games, but our strategy and rankings will usually try to cover the largest slate of the day. It is looking like the weather will cooperate again, as there are no threats in site. We don’t have a ton of great arms on the slate, but there are certainly pitchers I am targeting. It is definitely a “best player available” type of day, which I will now explain further, as we breakdown our strategy for drafting pitchers and hitters.
DRAFT picks – Pitcher Strategy:
So we have a couple of “Aces” on the mound today in Cookie Carrasco and Aaron Nola. Carrasco will face the strikeout prone Brewers, and will likely garner a high draft pick. Nola will face the Cubs on the road in the tough Wrigley atmosphere, and while he will also likely require a high draft pick, he is not on my radar today. My favorite arm on the slate is without a doubt rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani. He has logged 45.1 innings thus far striking out 57, while compiling a 4-1 record with a 3.18 ERA. He is at home tonight in the final game of the series with the Royals. Andrew Heaney held them to one-hit last night, on his way to a compete game shut-out.
Lance McCullers is also on my radar, with his strikeout potential, and the fact that he is in good position to pick up a win. His Astros are heavy favorites at home against the Mariners tonight, and will no doubt be looking to rebound after last night’s 7-1 upset.
It is going to be a wait and see type of day when it comes to drafting. I will likely go right by my rankings, which could essentially mean I will be drafting my pitcher in pretty much any round. Ohtani in the first round is an option as high as three for me, but he would be the only pitcher I draft in the first round today. I just think you are better off waiting someone like Mike Foltynewicz in the pitcher friendly PetCO park ,or Dylan Bundy who faces the currently offensively challenged New York Mets.
Both pitchers can be had around the 4th or 5th round, and waiting for one of them will allow you to complete a nice stack, or simply grab your top bats. It isn’t a stack type of day for me, as it just seems to be a day to target the great hitters in great spots. Let’s move on to the hitters and I will elaborate further.
DRAFT picks – Hitter Strategy:
Before we get into the hitter strategy today, I will start by saying their kind of isn’t one today. Once you make the choice you aren’t going with a full 4-man stack or even a 3-man, you should really identify your top bats. I do this by looking at the match-ups and trying to predict home runs. The Yankees struggled yesterday, but Aaron Judge had the day off, and I look for him to return with a bang. JD Martinez remains on fire, homering again yesterday, and Manny Machado remains under projected, making him a steal in most drafts. These are my top individual targets, but let’s look my favorite stacks, should things change over the course of the day.
I mentioned Judge above. Pairing him with Giancarlo Stanton where possible, and adding Greg Bird or Brett Gardner should make for a top stack, as they face Blue Jays right-hander Sam Gaviglio, and currently have a 5.2 projected run total. If I end up stacking, this is my top choice.
Two other mini-stacks I may target are with the Twins and the A’s. Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano face White Sox journeyman lefty and former Twin Hector Santiago, and are two of the highest projected infielders of the day. They will likely garner around a second and third round pick if you like the match-up and want to make that happen. The A’s have a few more options today it looks like. They will be in great hitting weather, in a great hitting park, facing the ageless vet Bartolo Colon. Matt Olson and Khris Davis are the top picks here, but also consider Jed Lowrie, and even Matt Chapman
DRAFT – Today’s Rankings
My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 30 overall. We will go six deep at pitcher, and twelve deep at IF and OF. Rankings are broken down into positions, and following each players name will be their overall ranking in parenthesis.
1. Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels – (3)
2. Carlos Carrasco – Cleveland Indians – (5)
3. Lance McCullers – Houston Astros – (9)
4. Mike Foltynewicz – Atlanta Braves – (16)
5. Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies – (20)
6. Dylan Bundy – Baltimore Orioles – (29)
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Infielders:
1. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (4)
2. Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees – (6)
3. Matt Olson – Oakland Athletics – (10)
4. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (12)
5. Brian Dozier – Minnesota Twins – (13)
6. Miguel Sano – Minnesota Twins – (14)
7. Jed Lowrie – Oakland Athletics – (15)
8. Anthony Rendon – Washington Nationals – (17)
9. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (19)
10. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – (25)
11. Jose Altuve – Houston Astros – (26)
12. Carlos Correa – Houston Astros – (30)
Outfielders:
1. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees – (1)
2. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (2)
3. Charlie Blackmon – Colorado Rockies – (7)
4. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (8)
5. Tommy Pham – St. Louis Cardinals – (11)
6. Marcell Ozuna – St. Louis Cardinals – (18)
7. George Springer – Houston Astros – (21)
8. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (22)
9. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (23)
10. Brett Gardner – New York Yankees – (24)
11. Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins – (27)
12. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (28)
That is all for today’s MLB Top DRAFT picks on FantasyCPR. If you have any questions regarding any of my rankings, reach out to me on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond. If you want to give DRAFT a try for the first time sign up here http://playdraft.com/JuanBond . Good luck tonight and happy drafting on DRAFT!