Fantasy Baseball Picks: Top DraftKings MLB DFS Lineup Strategy for Giants vs. Diamondbacks Showdown on July 3

This is the third game of the four-game series between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks. The teams split the first two games of the series. The Giants are lounging in the penthouse of the NL West with a 51-30 record and are 25-19 on the road. The Diamondbacks are the cellar dwellers in the NL West at 23-61 and are 13-25 at home. Sammy Long ($15,900 CP; $10,600) gets the nod for the Giants while Jake Faria ($14,700 CP; $9,800) goes for the Diamondbacks. DraftKings Sportsbook has the total set at 9.5 runs, with the Giants favored on the money line (-175).

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Captain’s Picks

Sammy Long ($15,900 CP) - Long has been inconsistent in his four appearances this season, as he’s gone for 19.8, 5.7, 22.5 and 4.5 DKFP. He did face these Diamondbacks in his second appearance and got lit up for four earned runs in five innings. Arizona is much better against left-handed pitching this season, as they are 26th in strikeouts and 14th in ISO compared to 13th in strikeouts and 29th in ISO against righties. That said, he threw 91 pitches last outing after throwing 69, 65 and 84 pitches in the prior three contests. He’s stretched out now, so he should be a little more comfortable and some of the numbers give me optimism. He’s only allowed one home run in 20 innings, the FIP is 2.96, the swinging strike rate is 9.7% and the LOB% is 51%. He always maintained a high K/9 and swinging-strike rate in the minors.

Steven Duggar ($10,200 CP) - My favorite build is with Duggar at Captain because I’m able to fit in Long along with all the bats I feel relatively comfortable with, price considering. Duggar will likely bat in front of the pitcher, which stinks, but that’s one of the reasons he’s cheap. The strikeout rate is high at 32.1% but the walk rate is 11.1% and the slash is .319/.395/.549 with a .229 ISO. He has six home runs, 30 runs, 25 RBI and six stolen bases in 162 plate appearances. That’s not bad and he can score the fantasy goodies in multiple ways. He faces Faria, who has been good in the eight innings he’s pitched so far, but it’s only been eight innings and the swinging strike rate has been 5.6%. The BABIP and LOB% have both been low as well at .217 and 60.6%, respectively. When Faria is out of the game, the Arizona bullpen has the second-highest FIP in MLB and allows 1.41 HR/9.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $4K Extra Inning [$1K to 1st] (SF vs ARI)

Value UTIL Plays

Asdrúbal Cabrera ($5,000) - We need one Diamondbacks bat, so Cabrera is the guy for me. Long has been tough on lefties so far this season, so I’m sticking with the righties. Cabrera is a switch-hitter who is meh from both sides of the plate, but against lefties, the slash is .245/.349/.377 with a .132 ISO. He only has five home runs and 27 RBI on the season, but he bats fifth in the lineup and is very cheap.

Alex Dickerson ($7,200) - Dickerson bats cleanup for the Giants. The slash is only .223/.291/.395 with a .172 ISO but he’s a career .210 ISO batter and some good fortune could come his way at some point, as his BABIP is only .257. I like the Giants stack against the Arizona pitching staff. The Giants are first in ISO against right-handed pitching.

Fades

Donovan Solano ($9,000) - I have no idea why Solano is priced so high. Is it the .267/.319/.378 slash? Maybe it’s the three home runs and one stolen base on the season. It has to be the .110 ISO. I like the Giants stack but I can’t justify paying so much for what will likely amount to very little. It is baseball, though, so maybe the algorithms know more than me, which wouldn’t be a stretch.

The Outcome

I like the Giants all around here. I like Long to bounce back from his prior outing and he should be more familiar with the Diamondbacks lineup, as he faced them two starts ago. The Giants clobber right-handed pitching and I like them to beat up on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. The O/U is hefty at 9.5, but most of that should come from the Giants.

Final Score: Giants 8, Diamondbacks 3

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $4K Extra Inning [$1K to 1st] (SF vs ARI)

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