Tuesday, July 5, brings a delightful 12-game featured slate with a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch. 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 (7/5)
Main Slate: Baltimore Orioles vs. RHP Spencer Howard — 4.7 implied runs
Oh my, Spencer Howard is b-a-d, BAD! Over 80.2 major league innings with Philadelphia and Texas, he has been saddled with a 7.36 ERA, and 1.64 WHIP while issuing a free pass every other inning. Though he has pitched well enough in Triple-A Round Rock (10 starts, 46.1 innings, 3.69 ERA) to get a callup, we have all seen how this movie ends.
The top of the Orioles lineup is solid with Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and rookie phenom Adley Rutschman finally rounding into form. Depending on their spots in the lineup, Trey Mancini, Rougned Odor and Austin Hays can be used for differentiation.
Check out Ben Rasa’s best MLB bets today. See why Ben is targeting the Guardians vs. Tigers game with his MLB prediction today.
ÂEvening Slate: Houston Astros vs. RHP Zack Greinke — 5.3 implied runs
The new Stokastic Top Batters Tool is highlighting several Astros in their matchup against the venerable Zack Greinke. This is the swan song season for the 38-year-old after 19 MLB campaigns. Currently, he is getting by with guile and deception, with weak contact and groundballs being his priority. Though he lucked out in his last two starts, allowing just one run each to the Athletics and Rangers, the Astros should be able to post crooked numbers on the scoreboard tonight.
Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez are all at or near the top of the list for their respective positions. Alex Bregman and reigning American League Batting Champion Yulieski Gurriel are solid options as well. Plus, on DraftKings, we can roll with Jake Meyers ($2,100) and Chas McCormick ($2,800) as discounted access to the fun.
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Late Slate: San Francisco Giants at LHP Tyler Gilbert — 4.6 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Stacks Tool has bestowed the best stack score upon San Francisco in their matchup with Tyler Gilbert. The 28-year-old is no longer considered a prospect and this may be his last hurrah in The Show after a couple of dreadful outings earlier this season. In 11 games with Triple-A Reno, Gilbert has posted a 7.57 ERA and a 1.795 WHIP. This could be tough sledding tonight and the visiting team will be bringing the fireworks.
Tonight, with a lefty on the mound, the Giants will be moving their right-handed hitters towards the top of the order. That means Austin Slater, Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf and Evan Longoria should all be well positioned to have a chance at five plate appearances tonight. If Austin Wynns or Yermin Mercedes is behind the dish, both are solid discount dandies on DraftKings.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers Today
Top Target: RHP Luis H. Garcia vs. Kansas City Royals — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,500 | FanDuel $10,000
After a long weekend filled with top-tier pitchers and favorable matchups, Tuesday’s options are landing flat. Luis H. Garcia has been in this article series, though usually as a secondary selection and with a more favorable salary. However, the one fun thing about DFS is that we are all working from the same player pool with the same salary cap.
Garcia posts solid numbers in most starts and he has allowed more than three runs only twice in his 14 outings. However, Lady Luck has been on his side, as he has six solo shots among his last eight home runs allowed. Kansas City has a low 17% strikeout rate against southpaws this season, but its lineup is still not particularly daunting for above-average talent like Garcia.
Secondary Target: RHP Cal Quantrill at Detroit Tigers — 4.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,300 | FanDuel $8,200
This is not a sexy recommendation, as Cal Quantrill tends to dance on the edge of disaster at all times. In his last 31.0 innings spanning five starts, he has tallied a 4.06 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP with seven home runs allowed and only 18 strikeouts. Typically, his strategy is to pitch to contact and let his defense bail him out. Fortunately, he gets a dream matchup in the Tigers. Detroit has a dismal offense against right-handed hurlers, creating runs 29% less efficiently than league average. The Tigers have no power (.104 ISO) and their 24.5% strikeout rate is the third highest in the league. Roster Quantrill, but do yourself a favor and do not watch this game tonight.
Late Target: LHP Alex Wood at Arizona Diamondbacks — 4.0 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel $8,000
In a rare twist, it is the FanDuel salary algorithm that appears to have enjoyed the holiday weekend a little too much as they have missed the boat Alex Wood. This season Arizona has a 91 wRC+ against southpaws, which is the fifth worst in the league. The Chase Field roof is scheduled to be closed, which further dampens offensive upside.
Wood has been all over the place with his results this season, and his six starts in June were shaky at best. Across 30.1 innings, he was saddled with a 5.34 ERA accompanied by only 26 strikeouts. Some of this was bad luck, as he ceded only three home runs and a reasonable 1.21 baserunners per inning, however, Atlanta was the only playoff contender among his recent opponents.
That leaves Wood as a better selection for the late-slate action, though with pitching looking pretty sparse tonight, the bold can consider Wood in tournaments.
Check out Eytan Shander’s best NRFI picks today. See what games Eytan is betting on with his No Run First Inning predictions.
ÂOther Pitching Options
- RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. Los Angeles Angels (Early)
- RHP Jameson Taillon at Pittsburgh Pirates (Main)
- RHP Ian Anderson vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Main)
- RHP Jason Alexander vs. Chicago Cubs (Evening)
- LHP Yusei Kikuchi at Oakland Athletics (Late)
One-Off Hitters
- Jesus Sanchez vs. RHP Noah Syndergaard (Early)
- Josh Bell at LHP Cristopher Sanchez (Main)
- Corey Seager at RHP Austin Voth (Main)
- Omar Narvaez vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (Evening)
- Teoscar Hernandez at RHP Adrian Martinez (Late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
After good weather for most of the holiday weekend, we, again, have some areas of concern in the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic. Chicago, Cincinnati and Detroit are all worth monitoring up to lock, as a delay or even a postponement could be in the cards. Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have varying degrees of storm risk, though only Boston looks in danger of a postponement at this time.
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