MLB DRAFT DFS Picks (DRAFT.com): Thursday, July 26th

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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:

In today’s edition of MLB DRAFT DFS Picks, we will focus on the main slate, which is a nine-gamer starting at 7:05 ET. Well I was loaded up with Red Sox so my night went sour pretty quick last night. Been a rough stretch for me as of late, but baseball is a funny sport and that will happen. I have been stacking less, and attacking more individual spots, and it just has not worked out well. I went back to stacking tonight, and ended up all over the Red Sox. Was feeling pretty good there for a couple innings but the rain was too much for the game to continue. Nothing you can do but move on to the next slate.

Well we should not have another postponement anywhere as the weather looks to be OK. Only minor threat at this time looks to be in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates will host the Mets. It looks like we may see a short delay, but no major threats. Again, it is way too far out to have any accurate idea at this moment. But just a heads up on where to give an extra look to.

Well to sum up this slate pitching wise, we have Stephen Strasburg in an above-average match-up with the Marlins in Miami, and then we are pretty much throwing darts. Any time Sonny Gray is one of the top projected pitchers on the slate, just forget about it and focus on hitters. Only other pitcher I look to have any real confidence in other than Stras is Rich Hill. Hill should have a slight advantage over the lefty heavy Braves.

Not much changes here for me today as far as hitters go. I will say I am back to stacking, and waiting on pitching to try to get back to what works. What stands out on this slate right away again is the Red Sox. The Twins will come into Fenway with Kyle Gibson in line to start. Mookie Betts has homered off of Gibson three times in just 12 at-bats, and is my top hitter on the slate. JD Martinez has also hit Gibson well, going 9-for-27 with two home runs. Both are clear cut first rounders.

Another great spot to target more for mid-round hitters looks to be the Dodgers. Anibal Sanchez has been surprisingly good this year, but I still keep attacking him. I just hope I am the only one left for when it finally pays off. Max Muncy, Manny Machado, and Joc Pederson looks like the way to go. Cody Bellinger is also draftable in the late rounds in my opinion.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Top Pitching Targets

For my targets, instead of giving you some basic strategy, 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.

Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals – (1)

Other than the nice match-up, Strasburg also has a couple of other things going in his favor. First, it won’t be too hot out. Stras tends to struggle a bit in the warmer weather. Second, this game is on the road, and he his been a much better away from D.C. this season. With an ERA of 5.21 at home, and just 2.33 on the road, this is a pretty extreme split. Coming off of two bad starts in a row, I think Strasburg bounces back, and he is my top overall target today.

Rich Hill – Los Angeles Dodgers – (26)

If I do not get Strasburg, I will almost 100% wait until the last round to draft my pitcher. While Hill is my second favorite by a mile, his projection is lower than others. Therefore, I am just hoping he falls to my last pick. The Braves are dangerous, but not exactly hot. I think Hill should be able to at least rack up some K’s and grab a W in this spot. He is coming off a fantastic start on the road in Milwaukee, where he struck out nine, and gave up just one earned in six innings. On a slate with some ugly pitching, Hill checks in as second best for me. In a case where I get a nice stack with my first three picks I may consider Hill in the fourth if he is still there, and there is a hitter I know will be there with my last pick.

Nick Kingham – Pittsburgh Pirates –  (29)

Kingham has been pitching lights out his last three starts, and today he will get the pleasure of facing the Mets at home. Over his last three starts, he has averaged almost 14 DP per outing, and has hit double-digit DP in all three. Pitchers score so little on DRAFT unless they dominate, which actually makes the value on Kingham seem so worth it. Sorting through some rough options with the last couple pitchers to have to pick from today, Kingham seems to be exactly the bright spot I am looking for in this mess.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks  – Today’s Hitting Targets:

IF – Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers – (10)

I briefly touched on my interest in the Dodgers stack in the overview, and with the projections on Muncy and Machado, I am putting my focus for my first pick on outfield. Muncy continues to be on another level, as he connected with his 24th home run yesterday to go with his increasing .272 batting average. Also mentioned, was the fact that Braves starter Anibal Sanchez has been really good this season. I think that only helps the availability here. Drafts are pretty dead right now, but I will likely end up with about 50% Dodgers today, with Muncy as my top target

IF – Mike Moustakas – Kansas City Royals – (25)

If someone snipes my Dodgers or I reach up and grab Hill with my fourth rounder, a guy I will be taking a good look at with my last pick will be Moose. He gets a plus match-up against Sonny Gray in lefty hitter friendly Yankee Stadium, and this could very well be the audition Yankees brass needs to pull the trigger on trading for Moustakas. The rumors have been swirling, and a Moose bomb seems likely tomorrow because baseball.

OF – Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (5)

Other than the likely favorites in Texas and Oakland again today, I really am liking Nationals tomorrow as well against Dan Straily. Harper connected on his 25th home run yesterday, but it was his only hit of the game as he continues to struggle a bit. As you can see I have him ranked fifth overall. If I end up taking him with my first pick, I will likely grab our next target or Adam Eaton to pair with him.

OF – Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (18)

Despite all of the tasty match-up’s to choose from, Nationals and Dodgers just seems like the spots to attack tonight. Like Harper, Soto also connected on a home run yesterday, giving the young rookie 10 on the season. The future superstar Soto also is still keeping that average above .300 after a little rookie wall, as it sits at .301. I am not quite going to the three man stack here, as the infielders available for the Nationals just do not have the upside as some others. Like Moustakas, Soto can also be had with your last pick, so if you like the idea of pairing him with Harper, you can always grab your pitcher earlier.

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.

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Pitchers:

1. Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals – (1)

2. Rich Hill – Los Angeles Dodgers – (26)

3. Dereck Rodriguez – San Francisco Giants – (27)

4. Sonny Gray – New York Yankees – (28)

5. Nick Kingham – Pittsburgh Pirates – (29)

6. Tyler Mahle – Cincinnati Reds – (30)

Infielders:

1. J.D. Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (3)

2. Khris Davis – Oakland Athletics – (7)

3. Eugenio Suarez – Cincinnati Reds – (8)

4. Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees – (9)

5. Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers – (10)

6. Manny Machado – Los Angeles Dodgers – (11)

7. Matt Olson – Oakland Athletics – (12)

8. Jed Lowrie – Oakland Athletics – (16)

9. Rougned Odor – Texas Rangers – (21)

10. Didi Gregorius – New York Yankees – (22)

11. Joey Gallo – Texas Rangers – (24)

12. Mike Moustakas – Kansas City Royals – (25)

Outfielders:

1. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (2)

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

3. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (5)

4. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (6)

5. Shin-Soo Choo – Texas Rangers – (13)

6. Joc Pederson – Los Angeles Dodgers – (14)

7. Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (15)

8. Cody Bellinger – Los Angeles Dodgers – (17)

9. Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (18)

10. Adam Eaton – Washington Nationals – (19)

11. Andrew McCutchen – San Francisco Giants – (20)

12. Brett Gardner – New York Yankees – (23)

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!