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Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top MLB DFS Value Plays – Thursday, July 18

By Chris Aliperto

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images /
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CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 23: Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) strikes out swinging to end the fifth inning of the Major League Baseball interleague game between the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians on April 23, 2019, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 23: Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) strikes out swinging to end the fifth inning of the Major League Baseball interleague game between the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians on April 23, 2019, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – Fantasy Draft

IF – Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – $8,300

Today we have an eight-game main slate on Fantasy Draft, and while I do not see any free squares to offer up this early, I do see my favorite stack of choice here as far as value goes. The Indians are hot coming out of the All-Star break as they slowly narrow the gap between themselves and the Minnesota Twins in the A.L. Central, and while they have a tough-looking match-up on paper against Tigers ace Matthew Boyd, I think he will struggle with this lineup tonight.  We know Lindor at this price relative to the stud prices on Fantasy Draft is a flat-out bargain against any pitcher, and we know he is a great hitter, so let’s talk about why I want to go at Boyd a little bit.

Boyd has been lights out in his last three starts, striking out a whopping 34 hitters in just 19.1 innings, but he has also been susceptible to the long ball, giving up five total in that span. I want to stress that all three of those starts came against strikeout heavy teams in the White Sox, Royals, and Rangers, so double-digit strikeout games against those opponents were almost expected. However, if you go back one more start, Boyd faced the Indians and wasn’t quite as effective.

That match-up was back on June 21st, and Boyd was nowhere near as dominant as he has been as of late, surrendering five earned runs on seven hits, allowing three home runs while only striking out six. Carlos Santana, Jordan Luplow, and Tyler Naquin all took Boyd deep that day, and I am expecting two or three or more bombs tomorrow, hopefully starting here with Lindor.

OF – Oscar Mercado – Cleveland Indians – $8,100

Mercado has been on a tear, and I have been playing him quite a bit here on Fantasy Draft as of late and reaping the benefits. He has become a mainstay in the two-hole of this Indians lineup and poses the rare threat of speed and power. The rookie is having a huge series thus far as the Indians look for the four-game home sweep of the lowly Tigers, and I love the fact that he should continue to go unnoticed here in this match-up coming off of a “quiet” game last night.

Mercado only posted seven fantasy points last night with an RBI single that drove in a couple of runs, but if you missed what he did in the first two games of this series, you missed an impressive two-game stretch in which he scored a total of 61 fantasy points. He was 4-for-7 with three home runs, walked twice, and added two stolen bases to boot. This team is hot, this kid is for real, and I will be playing him a fourth day in a row.