MLB DRAFT DFS Picks for July 20

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 17: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles and the American League and Matt Kemp #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League pose for a selfie in the second inning during the 89th MLB All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard at Nationals Park on July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) MLB DRAFT DFS Picks /

Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games and what better way to kick off the first slate since the All-Star Break!

Welcome to today’s edition of MLB DRAFT DFS 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.

If you are finding this article for the first time, 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 DRAFT DFS Picks – Slate Overview:

Welcome back to MLB DRAFT DFS Picks, after a brief and exciting All-Star Break. I hope PGA and other ventures were good to you, but now its back on the MLB grind for me. We are back in action tonight, and we will have a 14-game main slate starting at the usual 6:05 P.M. CST. We have a couple of rivalry type series of note here for these weekend sets. First would be we have ourselves a New York battle at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and we also have the Bay battle going in Oakland, where the Giants will cross the bridge to play the Athletics.

Coming out of the break, you would think we would have most teams at the tops of their rotations, and plenty of stud pitchers to choose from. However, that really is not the case. Trevor Bauer has been a force up to this point this year, and he will highlight our aces today. He is followed closely by Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who will return from the DL to face the Braves. On the flip side, the Rangers will come out of the break with left-hander Martin Perez and his 7.67 ERA in 29.1 innings of work this season. The Indians will be the benefactor of that match-up, and will be featured later in our top stacks. After that short introduction of what to expect today, let’s move along to the pitching targets.

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 29: Trevor Bauer #47 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on June 29, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Top Pitching Targets

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.

Trevor Bauer – Cleveland Indians – (7)

Bauer might very well be most peoples number two pitcher tomorrow behind Strasburg, but I will take Bauer 100 out of 100 times at this point in the season. There is a much safer feel with Bauer, who has stayed healthy throughout the season, and has amassed a ridiculous 175 strikeouts. Strasburg probably has the better K upside overall, but I like to wait on a guy who will be making his first start off of the DL. Truth be told, I will likely not draft either of these guys much if at al, as I will be grabbing hitters today before I draft a pitcher. If I get at a spot in the 2nd round where I cannot pass on either of these guys, I will draft them accordingly.

Jake Arrieta – Philadelphia Phillies – (20)

I likely will not take a pitcher today earlier than the fourth round, but the one guy I can see myself drafting if staring at me in the third is Arrieta. Arrieta is a shell of his former self, as the K’s just aren’t there anymore, but he still is a good pitcher, and still gets guys out. He is coming off of back-to-back seven inning wins, however, both of those games were on the road. Despite that fact, Arrieta has been better at home overall this season, allowing just a .272 wOBA at Citizens Bank Park. He gets a better than average match-up with Padres, and should easily hit double-digit DP.

Sam Gaviglio – Toronto Blue Jays – (30)

Kind of rolling the dice here a bit. Gaviglio did not look very good his last couple starts before the break. But who could ask for more than a match-up against the strikeout prone Orioles, who also happened to have just traded their best hitter. My favorite tournament pitcher on other DFS sites today without a doubt will be Gaviglio, and with the other options that rank in this area as the last pitcher to draft, this match-up will get the nod for me. With plenty of bats today, I probably won’t wait this long today to draft my pitcher, but I am sure I will have a couple of teams with Gaviglio. On a side note here as far as last pitchers go, I also like Tyler Skaggs a bit. He has a tough match-up against the always dangerous Astros, but he has been very consistent.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 12: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated by J.D. Martinez #28 after scoring a run in the third inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 12, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

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

Boston Red Sox – (Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Steve Pearce, Xander Bogaerts)

Certainly have to watch the weather here, as the forecast is calling for a stormy day in the Detroit area. These guys are worth the gamble, so I wouldn’t rule it out yet. It looks like rain will start well before game time, so there may be time to swap off of these guys if we get an early cancellation. I have them bumped down in my rankings a bit lower than normal due to this weather, but if we get word that skies are clearing, Betts and Martinez are an easy one and two once again in the rankings. With a lefty on the mound for the Tigers in Matthew Boyd, Pearce and Bogaerts are also fantastic plays, and a four man stack is certainly playable if you can pull it off.

Cleveland Indians – (Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Edwin Encarnacion)

With Lindor and Ramirez likely sticking around at the top of drafts as we hit the second half of the season, it will be unlikely to score them both in the same draft. I think grabbing one and trying to pair them with Encarnacion for a mini-stack might be a good approach for the slate. The Indians will be in hitter friendly Texas, facing arguably the worst pitcher on the slate in Perez which was mentioned above. E5 has a healthy projection today however, so you may have to make Indians your first two picks to complete the mini-stack. It may pay off well against Perez though.

Bonus Stacks:

Since we have a full slate, and the top two stacks are so hard to make work, I have decided to add a couple more stacks that I am targeting. Always changing it up here to give you the best I can!

Colorado Rockies – (Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story)

Washington Nationals – (Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon)

FanDuel MLB: PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 12: Jesus Aguilar #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers is greeted in the dugout by Jonathan Villar #5 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 12, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Today’s Individual Targets:

IF – Jesus Aguilar – Milwaukee Brewers – (13)

The big man kind of disappointed in the home run derby, as he was slowly becoming the favorite in the hours leading up to the event. Well at least according to my Twitter timeline anyways. Aguilar was upset in the first round as the top seed, and if anything, certainly saved a ton of energy by not advancing. Tonight the Brew Crew return home to Milwaukee, and will face the Dodgers and lefty Rich Hill. He actually has shown more power against right-handed pitching this year, but I think his disappointing showing in the derby will lead to a deep shot today, just so we don’t forget about him too fast.

IF – Brian Dozier – Minnesota Twins – (14)

Well he started out ice-cold, as he tends to do. Right before the All-Star break however, Dozier seemed to have found his swing. In the final game before the break, he went 2-for-6 driving in five, while amassing 27 DP. He also hit his 16th home run on the season, and seems to be repeating his usual patterns here. If history repeats itself, Dozier is primed for a big second half, as he has gone through these motions in years past. He is a great one-off against Royals left-hander Danny Duffy, and can usually be had in the last couple of rounds.

OF – Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (16)

Although he keeps disappointing me over and over, I will keep drafting Hoskins when he is in good spots. The Phillies are at home hosting the Padres, and will face lefty Clayton Richard. There are a few players that I expect to turn it on after an underachieving first half, and Hoskins will be one of the headliners of that group. He is hitting just .252 on the season at the break, but he has slugged 14 home runs. Hoskins is the key cog of the Phillies offense, and they will need him to have a better second half to compete.

OF – Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (25)

Castellanos has been destroying lefties at home all year. This is one I am still being careful because of the weather outlook, but if this plays, I like Castellanos’ chances of taking Red Sox starter David Price deep. At home versus lefties this season, Casty is 19-for-43 for a .442 batting average with three home runs. Overall he has been a better hitter on the road this season, but in the few games the Tigers have faced lefties at home, Castellanos has excelled. He could make for a great sneaky last pick with his low projection.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: Pitcher Stephen Strasburg /

MLB DRAFT DFS 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. Trevor Bauer – Cleveland Indians – (7)

2. Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals – (8)

3. Jake Arrieta – Philadelphia Phillies – (18)

4. Tyler Skaggs – Los Angeles Angels – (28)

5. Nathan Eovaldi – Tampa Bay Rays – (29)

6. Sam Gaviglio – Toronto Blue Jays – (30)

Infielders:

1. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (1)

2. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (2)

3. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (6)

4. Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies – (9)

5. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (10)

6. Edwin Encarnacion – Cleveland Indians – (12)

7. Jesus Aguilar – Milwaukee Breweres – (13)

8. Brian Dozier – Minnesota Twins – (14)

9. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – (17)

10. Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (19)

11. Xander Bogaerts – Boston Red Sox – (23)

12. Trevor Story – Colorado Rockies – (27)

Outfielders:

1. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (3)

2. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (4)

3. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (5)

4. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees – (11)

5. Shin-Soo Choo – Texas Rangers – (15)

6. Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (16)

7. Charlie Blackmon – Colorado Rockies – (20)

8. Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (21)

9. David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks – (22)

10. Steve Pearce – Boston Red Sox – (24)

11. Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (25)

12. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (26)

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That is all for today’s MLB DRAFT DFS 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): Friday, July 20th

By Chris Aliperto | Jul 20, 2018