MLB DRAFT DFS Picks (DRAFT.com): Friday, August 3rd

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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:

Tonight we have a 14-game slate, starting at 7:05 ET. After a little break from writing this particular article, we are back again for a Friday to take you into the weekend. We have a few of the top arms in baseball in action tonight, and the pitcher position is nice and deep today. My first thought will be to pass on aces Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom. They both should go in the first round, and there are still plenty of options after those two. This will be a wait until my last pick for a pitcher day, as there really isn’t many hitters in elite spots. The Red Sox scored 15 on the Yankees last night, but will now face their ace Luis Severino tonight. I really hate to say target a guy against Boston but he may be a last round steal today.

New York and Boston probably won’t score over 20 runs again, but if there are any hitters I want to target in this game, it will be Yankees lefties. Boston starter Rick Porcello has been awful against lefties, and is always a spot I like to target. Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, and Brett Gardner are my favorite plays here. On the other side, Mookie and JD will come at a bargain compared to their normal ADP, but they will have a tough go with Severino.

It’s a big slate so of course there are some pitchers to attack. The Nats put up 10 at home yesterday against the Reds, and now will face struggling right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Juan Soto are my favorite targets here, and I likely have a couple of stacks with this group. Oakland, Texas, and Cleveland are some teams that also find themselves in favorable match-ups. After that brief overview of what to expect tonight, let’s find out who I am targeting.

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.

Patrick Corbin – Arizona Diamondbacks – (21)

It seems as though the consensus on DRAFT for MLB DFS as of late has been to wait until the end to draft your pitcher. In a handful of drafts I have done thus far, I have yet to see anyone reach up to get Corbin. Verlander and deGrom are going one, two, then after that we are not seeing many pitchers being drafted ahead of the last round. Corbin has had an up-and-down season for the most part, but certainly more ups than downs. He is coming off of two straight starts on the road in which he looked fantastic, striking out nine Cubs, and eight Padres. I think this is the best match-up overall on the board as far pitchers versus hitters go, and I am hoping he is the guy that falls to me with my last pick.

Marco Gonzales – Seattle Mariners – (22)

Not a big name guy here, but Gonzales is quietly bursting onto the scene. Like Corbin, Gonzales also finds himself in a favorable spot, as his Mariners will host the Blue Jays. He has rattled off five straight victories and quality starts, and has a sparkling 12-5 record with a 3.37 ERA. He is not a big strikeout guy, but the consistency of wins and quality starts makes up for it. The 20 point upside is not really here, but a double-digit floor seems logical. I like Corbin a hair better for the strikeout upside, but this is pretty much neck-and-neck.

Chris Archer – Pittsburgh Pirates – (23)

I can’t quite lump Archer in with the other two targets due to all of the question marks here, but I will not hesitate to take him as the fifth pitcher off of the board if necessary. Archer has been all over the place this year. Now he makes first start as a National League pitcher, as his Pirates host the Cardinals. The strikeout upside is still there for the former Tampa Bay Rays ace, as he has 102 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched thus far this season. The ERA is up over four, but maybe this change of scenery was exactly what he needed to get going again.

MLB DRAFT DFS Picks  – Today’s Hitting Targets:

IF – Didi Gregorius – New York Yankees – (7)

I briefly touched on the Yankees in the overview, and while I am also targeting Stanton, I felt the need to center in on Gregorius. This is my go-to stack for today, as attacking Porcello with lefties at Fenway is higher on my radar than most it seems. The Yankees took their lumps yesterday, and will be looking to get back at their rivals. Didi homered twice yesterday, and is now 7-for-13 in his last three games. A streaky hitter who is hot, in a hitters park, against a guy who struggles at home versus lefties, equals a top play for me.

IF – Eugenio Suarez – Cincinnati Reds – (18)

Suarez continues to mash as his potential MVP season continues. In his last three games, he is 4-for-11, and he connected with his 30 home run on the season yesterday, while bringing his average to an even .300. He is always in play against lefties, and today he will face Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Suarez has faced Gio just 12 times in his career, but is 4-for-10 with a homer. He should make for a great one-off type play today, and is going in the third or fourth round.

OF – Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (2)

With the tough match-up’s or injuries some of the usual top targets are up against, Harper is coming in as my top OF target today. Betts will face Severino, and Trout is day-to-day with a wrist injury and could very well sit another game out. The Nats are heating up, and could also make for a nice stack, as was also mentioned in the overview. Harper hit his 26th home run yesterday, and is averaging a very solid 23 DP per game over the last three. After the night these guys had last night, look for them to be popular today. One last fun fact of note, Harper is now hitting .359 since the All-Star break.

OF – Aaron Hicks – New York Yankees – (16)

Hicks led off last night, but I think we see Brett Gardner back in that role tomorrow. Like Gregorius and Stanton, Hicks also had a nice night at the plate last night despite the ugly loss. Also like those two, he also homered, while taking two walks. Hicks is going kind of unnoticed today with a low projection of 8.6. I like him as a sneaky third or fourth rounder today. In 35 career plate appearances against Porcello in his career, Hicks has just four hits, but two of them are home runs. I like his chances here in this match-up for the same reasons as Gregorius. Lock those three Yankees in with confidence if you can!

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. Jacob deGrom – New York Mets – (14)

2. Justin Verlander – Houston Astros – (15)

3. Patrick Corbin – Arizona Diamondbacks – (21)

4. Marco Gonzales – Seattle Mariners – (22)

5. Chris Archer – Pittsburgh Pirates – (23)

6. Luis Severino – New York Yankees – (30)

Infielders:

1. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (1)

2. Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees – (5)

3. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (6)

4. Didi Gregorius – New York Yankees – (7)

5. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (8)

6. Khris Davis – Oakland Athletics – (9)

7. Rougned Odor – Texas Rangers – (12)

8. Eugenio Suarez – Cincinnati Reds – (18)

9. Trea Turner – Washington Nationals – (19)

10. Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (24)

11. Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees – (28)

12. Niko Goodrum – Detroit Tigers – (29)

Outfielders:

1. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (2)

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

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

4. Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (10)

5. Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins – (11)

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

7. Aaron Hicks – New York Yankees – (16)

8. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (17)

9. Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers – (20)

10. Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – (25)

11. Brett Gardner – New York Yankees – (26)

12. Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (27)

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!