MLB DFS DRAFT Picks for July 5th from Chris Aliperto and FantasyCPR

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 04: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves applies sunscreen for the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) MLB DFS DRAFT Picks /

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Welcome to today’s edition of MLB DFS 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.

MLB DFS DRAFT Picks – Slate Overview:

Tonight we have an eight-game slate on deck, featuring just one clear-cut ace in Justin Verlander, and the return of Johnny Cueto to the Giants. The pitching is awfully thin today, and while the top couple of hitters are in extremely good spots, I don’t think you can pass on JV today with the first pick. The White Sox will come in to Houston following a decent hitting weekend in Cincinnati. The Reds pitching won’t quite be like Verlander, so I think Sox are in for a tough day at the plate.

Well, I have been holding off on this article waiting for this slate to look better, and hoping DRAFT will update their pitchers to include Johnny Cueto. In my opinion, if he does get added he is the number two pitcher on the slate. That does not mean he is right there with Verlander however. If I do not get Verlander today I will not draft a pitcher until the last round. Cueto would likely be the only exception, but he can not be found in the players pool as of this morning.

The other thing that is a bit strange that is happening today is that we have a super deep outfield position, and a limited selection on stud infielders. I would focus on making infielders a priority in the early rounds of your drafts. Some decent outfielders can be had later in the draft, and we will talk about those in the hitter section of this article.

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 14: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the third inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on June 14, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS DRAFT Picks – Today’s Top Pitching Targets:

I felt like changing this up a bit so welcome to the new format! It is pretty easy to decipher throughout my rankings what that day’s particular strategy will be, so let’s mix it up a bit. Instead of giving you some basic vanilla strategy, like repeating the fact that the Infield position is usually deep throughout, and the outfield position drops off pretty dramatically usually in terms of “lock” type plays, I will opt to point out the guys I am actually targeting and drafting. I think this will be more helpful in terms of understanding why I have certain players ranked where they are. Similar to the rankings, followed by each target will be their overall ranking of 30 in parenthesis.

Justin Verlander – Houston Astros – (1)

I am not going to get too in-depth here. He faces a strikeout prone team at home, as I mentioned above, who just feasted on Reds pitching. I can see fading him on other sites to try to win tournaments and all that, but here on DRAFT, he is likely the only pitcher to crack double-digit DP tonight. On top of that, he has a ceiling over 20 DP. If you get the first pick today I think you have a huge advantage compared to most days. Don’t blow it.

Max Fried – Atlanta Braves – (19)

Well, I am waiting until the last round for a pitcher for the most part, and I am not getting my targets. In my next flurry of drafts coming this afternoon, I will likely be jumping on my pitcher in the fourth round. Fried has had two good starts for the big club a month apart, but may be up to the rotation for good this time. He is coming off an 11 strikeout, 6.2 inning gem in which he scored 21.67 DP. He is far and away my clear-cut number two pitcher today, just on this potential alone. The match-up is decent against Milwaukee, so Fried for me projects as the only pitcher to hit double-digits other than Verlander.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 04: Paul Goldschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks waits to bat in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on June 4, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS DRAFT Picks – Today’s Top Hitter Targets:

IF – Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (2)

Of all the bats on this slate tonight, Goldy once again is my top target. He did go 0-for-3 yesterday in the series finale against the Cards, but was 6-for-8 in the first two games, with 14 and 21 DP, respectively. Arizona will now face Padres lefty Eric Lauer, who sports an ERA north of five, and has just two quality starts in his last seven tries. On a day with limited options, if I land Goldschmidt I am liking trying to pair him with AJ Pollack, who should be well rested after a day off yesterday.

IF – Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves – (5)

For the steal of the day, I present one of the best hitters in baseball. It’s a bit tricky though and if he doesn’t play I believe you will be stuck with him. Freeman was removed early from yesterday’s game after being hit by pitch, and now carries a DTD tag. His projection is 0, so you will have to search to find him, but according to him and his coach, he will play. If he did have a projection he would be swap eligible if not in the lineup, but he does not. I have yet to see how far in the drafts he will last, as I keep grabbing him in the third round.

OF – Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (13)

After the superstars with high projections such as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, I am looking down at a couple of guys whose projections sit at right around eight. First is young Nationals rookie sensation Juan Soto, who will be facing Marlins rookie Pablo Lopez. The Nats are tied with the Twins for the highest implied team total on the slate at 5.3 runs, so this is my top team to target today. Harper loses some value getting moved down in the order to the five spot, but Soto has been moved in to the three-hole, and if I can get this combo today against this rookie pitcher I am all for that. I also like Trea Turner, who can be had awfully late today due to another low projection.

OF – Ronald Acuna – Atlanta Braves – (15)

With Freeman getting ignored today, my first goal is to pair him with Ozzie Albies. After that, I am also turning to the rookie Acuna to complete a 3-man stack. The Braves are in Milwaukee to face the Brew Crew, who will have Jhoulys Chacin on the mound. Chacin has struggled with his control in his last two outings, which led to eight walks,13 hits, and nine earned runs in 9.1 innings. Plenty of pitchers to target on this slate, but I love this Braves young offense today. In six games since his return from the DL, Acuna has had two monster games of over 20 DP, and is a great last round flyer today. Without further ado, I present today’s rankings. Again, sorry for the delay

MLB DFS DRAFT Picks – 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.

Pitchers:

1. Justin Verlander – Houston Astros – (1)

2. Max Fried – Atlanta Braves – (19)

3. Luke Weaver – St. Louis Cardinals – (20)

4. Shelby Miller – Arizona Diamondbacks – (28)

5. Jeremy Hellickson – Washington Nationals – (29)

6. Marco Gonzalas – Seattle Mariners – (30)

Infielders:

1. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (2)

2. Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves – (5)

3. Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (6)

4. Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves – (8)

5. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (10)

6. Jose Altuve – Houston Astros – (11)

7. Jesus Aguilar – Milwaukee Brewers – (12)

8. Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners – (14)

9. Trea Turner – Washington Nationals – (18)

10. Jurickson Profar – Texas Rangers – (25)

11. Eduardo Escobar – Minnesota Twins – (26)

12. Eric Hosmer – San Diego Padres – (27)

Outfielders:

1. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (3)

2. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (4)

3. Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins – (7)

4. AJ Pollack – Arizona Diamondbacks – (9)

5. Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (13)

6. Ronald Acuna – Atlanta Braves – (15)

7. Adam Eaton – Washington Nationals – (16)

8. Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (17)

9. Mitch Haniger – Seattle Mariners – (21)

10. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (22)

11. Wil Myers – San Diego Padres – (23)

12. George Springer – Houston Astros – (24)

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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. Good luck tonight and happy drafting on DRAFT!

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks (DRAFT.com): Thursday, July 5th

By Chris Aliperto | Jul 5, 2018