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Sunday afternoon, Major League Baseball has a great slate of action with nine games on tap as part of the featured DraftKings fantasy baseball slate, which gets underway at 1:35 p.m. ET.
To keep up with pregame lineups and player news, install the DK Live app and follow DK Live on Twitter (@dklive). I’m also on Twitter (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the season continues.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
PITCHER
Stud
Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians ($9,600) – Cease has produced over 20 DKFP in seven of his past eight starts including an outing against the Guardians that resulted in 30 DKFP. He has gone 9-4 in 19 starts this season with a 2.15 ERA, a 2.68 FIP and a 12.90 K/9 rate. Cease has been stacking up strikeouts with at least eight in seven of his past eight starts for a total of 69 punchouts in 46 1⁄3 innings. Cease has held opponents to a .181 average at home with 88 strikeouts in 56 1⁄3 innings. Twelve of his 19 starts have been daytime outings, and he has a 1.30 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 69 1⁄3 innings in those games. His consistent results and high strikeout production give him an extremely high ceiling and make him a great centerpiece to build around Sunday afternoon.
Other Options – Sandy Alcantara ($10,000), Nestor Cortes ($8,700)
Value
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Miami Marlins ($6,800) – Keller hasn’t been as consistent as Cease and doesn’t have quite as high a ceiling, but he comes at a very affordable price and offers more upside than many similarly-priced options. The 26-year-old is only 3-7 with a 4.55 ERA and 3.87 FIP on the season, but he has been much more effective lately, allowing five hits or fewer in four of his past six starts and racking up 31 strikeouts in 34 innings with a 3.71 ERA and 3.20 FIP. He posted over 20 DKFP in each of his past two outings, one of which came against these same Marlins. In that outing, Keller got a win and 24.2 DKFP with seven strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits while striking out five.
Other Options – Eric Lauer ($8,300), Ian Anderson ($6,500)
INFIELD
Stud
Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Angels ($5,800) – Riley gets another matchup against a lefty as the Braves take on Reid Detmers ($6,900). Coming into Saturday night’s game, Riley had eight home runs, a .315 average and .464 wOBA vs. LHP. He’s also been swinging a hot stick all summer, with 12 multi-hit performances over his last 19 games coming into Saturday. During that span, Riley had gone 33-for-78 (.423) with seven doubles, nine home runs and a .553 wOBA. He kept right on rolling Saturday, going 3-for-4 with his 28th homer of the season and 24 DKFP.
Stud
Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals ($4,800) – Since there’s no need to fear the lefty-lefty matchup (described below in stacks), this is a great spot to target Lowe as he continues to put together a strong comeback. Lowe had multiple hits in each of his first three games back after missing two months on the injured list with a back injury. He went 8-for-13 (.615) in those games with two doubles, a walk and an RBI. His strong return bumped his average up to .252 with a .337 wOBA coming into Saturday’s contest, and he’s a solid option to consider Sunday as well.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Brandon Lowe is not in the lineup for today’s game vs. the Royals.
Other Options – Gleyber Torres ($5,100), Amed Rosario ($5,000)
Value
Yoán Moncada, Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians ($3,100) – Moncada’s season numbers are still very low due to his slow start and multiple injuries, but he has started performing much better lately. He hit .300 (12-for-40) with two doubles, two home runs and a .382 wOBA over his 10 most recent games coming into Saturday’s doubleheader. He went 1-for-5 with a double and 9.0 DKFP in Game 1 and followed that with 11.0 DKFP more in the second game by going 1-for-3 with another double. Normally, Shane Bieber ($9,300) would be a matchup to avoid, but Moncada has actually hit him well in the past, going 9-for-33 (.273) with a pair of home runs against the Guardians’ Ace.
Value
Donovan Solano, Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals ($2,600) – Solano had three more hits on Saturday against the Cardinals after homering on Friday. The affordable 3B has gone 13-for-28 (.464) in his past nine games with that home run and five RBIs. Solano has hit safely in seven straight starts with multiple hits in four of those contests. Solano has moved around the lineup but has found ways to stay productive.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Donovan Solano is not in the lineup for today’s game vs. the Cardinals.
Other Options – Joey Wendle ($3,700), Ramón Urías ($3,300)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles ($6,100) – Judge continued to put up impressive fantasy numbers on Saturday even though the Orioles managed to keep him from hitting a home run. He still posted 25 DKFP by going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. He has over 20 DKFP in three straight games and at least 14 DKFP in six of his past eight contests. Judge has faced opposing starter Dean Kremer ($7,600) only a few times, but he has gone 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs. He’s an expensive option but continues to produce big returns regularly enough to still be a solid option.
Stud
Teoscar Hernández, Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox ($4,300) – The All-Star break didn't cool off Hernández’s bat, and he went 4-for-8 in his first two games of this series against the Red Sox with an extra-base hit in each contest. Over his past 20 games, Hernández has gone 25-for-77 with five doubles and six home runs, averaging 10.5 DKFP per game over that stretch. He’s also in a great matchup highlighted below in stacks.
Other Options – Ronald Acuña Jr. ($5,600), Charlie Blackmon ($5,400)
Value
Alex Kirilloff, Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers ($3,100) – Kirilloff extended his hitting streak to eight straight games on Saturday in his first start since the All-Star break. He has gone 16-for-45 (.356) over that stretch with a double, a home run and six runs scored. Kirilloff and the Twins are in a favorable spot as they face Rony García ($6,400), and the top prospect finally seems to be finding his stride at the MLB level.
Value
Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals ($3,000) – Another young hitter putting up good numbers after a slow start is Lowe, who went back to Triple-A for six weeks but has looked much better since returning. He has hit safely in nine of his past 12 games, going 12-for-47 (.255) during that run. More than half of those hits have gone for extra bases, and he had at least 7.0 DKFP in eight straight games before going 0-for-4 on Saturday night. He should bounce back in a good matchup highlighted below.
Other Options – Anthony Santander ($3,900), Brendan Donovan ($3,000),
TEAMS TO STACK
Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox – The Blue Jays have pounded the Red Sox so far in this series scoring 32 runs in the first two games with five home runs, and now they get a matchup against Brayan Bello ($5,600). While Bello does have long-term potential, he has struggled in his first two MLB starts, allowing nine runs on 13 hits over eight innings for a 10.13 ERA and 3.99 FIP. He has yet to give up a home run but has allowed plenty of loud contact and traffic on the basepaths. George Springer ($5,200), Bo Bichette ($5,200), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($5,000), Alejandro Kirk ($4,700) and Teoscar Hernández (discussed above) are the big power names from the top of the lineup, and if you need to save some salary, Matt Chapman ($3,900), Santiago Espinal ($3,200), Raimel Tapia ($2,400), Cavan Biggio ($2,200) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ($3,600) are cheaper options that also bring upside if they’re in the order against Bello.
Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals – The Rays are solid against lefties and they should be in a good spot to produce against the southpaw Kris Bubic ($5,700) on Sunday. Bubic is 1-6 in his 15 games with a 5.87 ERA and 5.07 FIP. Bubic has surrendered nine homers in his 61 1⁄3 innings, and four of them have actually come against lefties, who have an impressive .505 wOBA against him. Lefties have actually had a better wOBA than righties in each of his seasons, setting up strong reverse splits. As a result, lefties like Brandon Lowe (discussed above), Josh Lowe (discussed above and Ji-Man Choi ($3,500) will be better plays than initial impressions. Yandy Díaz ($4,300) has been red hot lately and usually hits lefties well while Randy Arozarena ($4,900) always has a high ceiling due to his power and speed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ji-Man Choi is not in the lineup for today’s game vs. the Royals.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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