Saturday, July 23, is loaded with afternoon baseball, culminating in a featured slate at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (7/23)
Main Slate: New York Yankees at RHP Jordan Lyles — 5.3 implied runs
Between game time temperatures in the low-90s with a light breeze out to left-center field and last year’s home run leader Jordan Lyles on the mound, New York should not be dramatically impeded by the off season renovations to Camden Yards. The Yankees have a league leading 163 home runs with Aaron Judge (36), Giancarlo Stanton (24) and Anthony Rizzo (22) all in the top nine. Lyles has allowed multiple home runs in four games and his pedestrian 7.6 strikeouts and 1.42 baserunners per nine inning rates are doing him no favors.
Matt Carpenter has seven home runs in his last 50 at bats and Josh Donaldson has four multi-hit games in his last 10 starts. That still leaves two-time Batting Champion DJ LeMahieu and switch-hitting Aaron Hicks to round out the top seven in the Bronx batting order. Fortunately DraftKings did boost the salaries with all but Hicks being assigned a cap hit of $4,900 or more.
According to the Stokastic Top Stacks Tool, the Yankees still have a positive leverage score on DraftKings. This is mainly because the field is looking to double down on ace pitching while loading up on discounted Tampa Bay and Arizona bats. If you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly and do not follow the fish tonight.
Late Slate: Washington Nationals at LHP Madison Bumgarner — 4.1 implied runs
On the two game late slate, most gamers will be looking the Diamondbacks against Anibal Sanchez or the Rangers in Oakland taking on the enigmatic James Kaprielian. That leaves the Nationals looking somewhat underrepresented in their matchup with the venerable Madison Bumgarner. Though the 32-year-old southpaw has limited home runs, he is still allowing his fair share of extra base hits to opposite-handed hitters. Since the start of last season in 798 plate appearances, righties have logged a .197 ISO with only an 18.0% strikeout rate. Lane Thomas, Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz are the trio to target along with Juan Soto who may be moved to another team prior to the trade deadline.
Late Afternoon Slate: St. Louis Cardinals at LHP Mike Minor — 6.0 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Batters Tool is elevating several St. Louis at or near the top of their positions in this delightful matchup against Mike Minor. In only 42 innings, the 34-year-old southpaw has managed to allow a dozen home runs which works out to an absurd 2.57 per nine innings rate. While that is likely to recede, it may not happen this afternoon in the most home run friendly park against a lineup loaded with right-handed power. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have a long track record of success against lefties and they easily top the list. Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill can be used in full-stacks, while Albert Pujols is a differentiation option as it will come at the expense of Goldschmidt on most DFS sites.
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Primary Target: RHP Brandon Woodruff vs. Colorado Rockies — 3.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,000 | FanDuel $10,300
Tonight Brandon Woodruff gets the nod as the top pitching option. Colorado is one of the worst teams against right-handed pitching and they also are anemic when away from their home park. This double whammy bodes well for Woodruff who has racked up 31 strikeouts i his last 22.2 innings. Gerrit Cole is the pivot if you are not a fan of Woodruff.
Secondary Target: RHP Kyle Wright vs. Los Angeles Angels — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,100 | FanDuel $10,500
Mike Trout (ribs) is unlikely to return from the injured list this weekend. That weakens an already top heavy Angels roster and leaves Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh as the two hitters of any concern. Kyle Wright has been stellar this season with a 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and nearly a strikeout per frame. The projected lineup for Anaheim has nearly a 30% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season and the Halos have plated only five runs in their last four games.
Late Afternoon: RHP Joe Ryan at Detroit Tigers — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,400 | FanDuel $8,700
Joe Ryan has shown flashes of upside this season as he embarks on his sophomore campaign. Across 75.1 innings he has a sterling 2.99 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Though he has allowed six home runs in his last six starts, he has kept the walks to a minimum. Detroit is the perfect team for him to show out against and they were also the opponent in his best outing of the year back in April. In that start he allowed one hit and one walk on his way to seven scoreless innings on 90 pitches, punctuated by a season high nine strikeouts.
Additional Opportunities
Madison Bumgarner has seen his strikeout rate fall over the last few seasons and his 4.5 over/under on his strikeout prop is not as low of a bar as it may appear at first glance. The Stokastic MLB Projections have him for 3.8 strikeouts, giving him a 65% probability of failing to surpass the over. The Nationals projected lineup has only a 17% strikeout rate over the last two seasons against lefties. Bumgarner has logged five strikeouts three times this season and more than five just twice in his 19 starts.
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Other Pitching Options
- RHP Justin Verlander at Seattle Mariners (Early)
- RHP Zack Wheeler vs. Chicago Cubs (Late Afternoon)
- RHP Gerrit Cole at Baltimore Orioles (Main)
- LHP Jose Quintana vs. Miami Marlins (Main)
- RHP Anibal Sanchez at Arizona Diamondbacks (Late)
Other Hitting Options
- Teoscar Hernandez at RHP Kutter Crawford (Early)
- Max Kepler at RHP Michael Pineda (Late Afternoon)
- Rowdy Tellez vs. RHP Jose Urena (Main)
- Josh Naylor at RHP Lance Lynn (Main)
- David Peralta vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez (Late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
The Midwest has potential thunderstorms that could impact the second game of the Cleveland at Chicago White Sox doubleheader as well as the game in Cincinnati. The East Coast continues to have potential humidity showers in the early evening with Baltimore and Atlanta carrying the most impact, though these games would only see a delay and are unlikely to be postponed.
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