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Main DraftKings MLB picks July 31: Can’t go wrong with deGrom

By Mike Marteny

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 08: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning at Citi Field on August 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 08: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning at Citi Field on August 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /
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DraftKings MLB
HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 20: Yuli Gurriel #10 of the Houston Astros receives high fives from Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros after hitting a three run home run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on July 20, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Shark’s road splits aren’t keeping me off of this. I’m just not really sure I trust him in Philly. Eight games is still enough to pick and choose, and the Phillies have hit him well enough. Nick Williams, Cesar Hernandez, and Jean Segura have the homers, but Segura is about the only one of those three I would play. Scott Kingery and Rhys Hoskins have been much better than Bryce Harper (3-18) against Samardzija. Those are the guys I’m after.

The days of using pitchers against the Giants are pretty much over. Velasquez has been solid at home, but all of the lefties in this lineup make me nervous. Smyly defied the reverse splits last night, but I’m not sure Velasquez can. Brandon Crawford, Alex Dickerson, and Mike Yastrzemski are all on my radar.

Jose Urquidy has established himself as a good part of the Astros rotation (or trade bait), but I’m not going out of my way to start him in Cleveland. I think he’ll have a decent game, but decent is a relative term. Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez are my main targets here. Oscar Mercado is worth a look as well.

Given Plesac’s track record at home, it seems silly to go after him with slumping guys. Well, the only key piece of Houston that is slumping is Bregman. Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve, and Yordan Alvarez are all raking and Springer isn’t far behind. For this reason, I’m not using Plesac, but it is worth noting that Bieber pitched very well against Houston last night.

I’m coming just short of stacking Rays against Porcello. I have three guys that will likely be in my lineups though. Avi Garcia is hitting .407 in 27 at bats with two homers and seven RBI. Both d’Arnaud and ji Man Choi have a homer and a pair of RBI against Porcello. They are both worth a look, but I don’t know that I want to pay that price for a catcher.

Sandy Alcantara is a decent pitcher, but I need more than that to use him against a team like the Twins. The only thing saving the Marlins here is that Nelson Cruz is sitting in the NL park. That is enough to consider Alcantara, but I’ll still err on the side of Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Polanco.

The Rangers have struggled against lefties, but Wade LeBlanc isn’t one of them. LeBlanc also has a nasty 6.91 ERA on the road this year. Surprisingly, Nomar Mazara has the only Rangers homer against LeBlanc. Danny Santana and Elvis Andrus have hit him very well though, and will be scattered throughout my lineups.

Jordan Lyles pitched well against Oakland earlier this year, but that may as well have been in another lifetime. It was also in a NL park. Marcus Semien is pretty much a lock for me here. Ramon Laureano is a favorite if he plays. A really really really cheap Khris Davis is so tempting…..

I don’t see a real reason to drop all the way down to Brett Anderson with no Coors and no Yankee Stadium on the slate. The Brewers are struggling against lefties, but so were the Rangers until they beat on Anderson last week. This could be a time for the likes of Jesus Aguilar and LoCain to get back on track. I really like Keston Hiura here as well if you can afford him.