MLB DFS Selections: TThursday, July 23, MLB Opening Day is celebrated on Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel and FantasyDraft. Before locking your DFS baseball lineups and MLB DFS picks, be sure to check out Awesemo’s MLB DFS baseball rankings and projections.
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MLB DFS Action opening day
Greetings, players! Baseball is back and we have a roster of two games for Opening Day on Thursday before things start on Friday with 26 teams in action.
Let’s take a look at all four teams and see which hitters and mounds will stand out. Keep in mind that the marquee contests are gigantic and there will be a ton of list building overlay. Don’t play beyond your means as we are going to have two months of wall-to-wall MLB DFS opportunities.
There are three great pitchers taking the hit Thursday with Johnny Cueto being the pitcher that the masses are going to target.
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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. HRP Johnny Cueto – 5.0 implicit executions
In the past two seasons, Cueto has compiled just 69.0 entries with 6.65 K / 9, 4.94 FIP and 4.61 xFIP. This is mediocre at best, considering that 48.0 of these entries took place at the friendly Oracle Park.
Lefties have had their way with Cueto the past two seasons. The last 131 he faced have tattooed long balls at a rate of 2.25 HR / 9 with just 16.8 K%. Most hitters with the same hand have remained under control, with the last 150 counting a low 0.73 HR / 9 and a mediocre 19.3 K%.
This involved a total of runs and the Dodgers now enjoying a designated full-time hitter along with the rest of the National League will have the masses gathering here. We can still employ the Dodgers, but we’ll need to find some differentiation unless, of course, we’re prepared to hold hands with everyone at the finish line if the projections are true.
And the best options are …
Cody Bellinger It will probably be the most popular option on Thursday. This makes sense since the reigning National League MVP also won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger last year. He was fourth in the league with 47 home runs and tenth with 115 RBIs accompanied by a .305 batting average. Advanced metrics are even more impressive with a .415 wOBA, .324 ISO, and 162 wRC +.
Joc Pederson it’s likely to hit sixth or seventh, which is an incredible treat. Of course, considering that the Dodgers have won the last seven NL West titles, this should come as no surprise. Pederson ranked 22 last year with 36 home runs and all came from right-handed pitchers. In the past two seasons, in 743 at-bats, he has recorded the third-highest number of home runs in left-handed games with a par of 60.
Max muncy and Corey Seager they’re the other two left-handers we want to focus on with their .299 and .216 ISOs versus opposite-handed pitchers the past two seasons.
For differentiation (again, that will be somewhat limited on the list of two games in these big-field tournaments), look Justin TurnerAJ Pollock Will Smith and off-season acquisition Mookie Betts, best known as the 2018 MVP of the American League.
San Francisco Giants at LHP Clayton Kershaw – 2.5 implicit runs
Basically we’re looking for a lucky home run or a possible breakdown from the three-time Cy Young Award winner and / or one of the best bullpens in baseball. Heading into his 13th season, Kershaw remains a force to be reckoned with despite allowing a personal record of 1.41 HR / 9 last season. Right-handers hit him at a speed of 1.49 HR / 9 and left-handers had a 1.32 HR / 9 above average, representing five of the 28 total homers allowed.
Active Giants hitters are barely above Mendoza’s line when facing Kershaw with Brandon Belt having the most dubious line, going 4 for 60 or .067, striking out 29 times with a double. Of course, you only need a hit of the bat to pay, and you should have a chance or two against the bullpen. Belt is dealing with a heel pain, but he could always be the designated hitter.
So who do we turn to from San Francisco for MLB DFS lineups?
Evan Longoria He is a notable left-hander, but he is likely to be announced as targeting the disabled with a slant problem. That leaves the old duo of Hunter pence and Pablo Sandoval along with the recent acquisition Wilmer Flores who really cannot be a left-handed smasher.
Your “sneaky” option is Mike Yastrzemski, who made his rookie debut last year and will turn 30 next month. He ran a short season and was a useful fantasy option with 21 home runs in 107 games. On a funny note, he and his grandfather Carl have a combined home run of 473 MLB.
New York Yankees at RHP Max Scherzer – 4.0 implicit runs
This is not going to be easy for the Yankees against the Washington National Champions of the World. Scherzer will be on the mound. Throughout his incredible career, he has three Cy Young Awards, two no-hitters and a 20-strikeout game. Most impressive has been one of the top five finishers for Cy Young in each of the past seven seasons.
Luke VoitGiancarlo Stanton Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks they are the only Yankees who have faced Scherzer. Collectively they are 8-for-45 for a .178 average with two homers and 18 strikeouts. The Nats bullpen still has question marks, and even if Scherzer accumulates 100 pitches, they will likely have to handle a couple of innings.
Among the usual suspects in the New York lineup, I am seriously considering Hicks and Gardner as left-handed. Since the start of the 2018 seasons, Scherzer has had a 38.5% K against batters with the same hand.
Washington Nationals vs. RHP Gerrit Cole – 3.5 implicit runs
Last year, Cole ranked second for AL Cy Young behind his teammate. Justin Verlander. Through his past 800 left-handed hitters batted, Cole has stoked a staggering 42.4%. That’s surprising considering they have the “platoon advantage” over him. Hitters with the same hand are striking out 32.1% of the time during the same span of two seasons. Those numbers are the first and tenth, respectively, among pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched during that period.
My core four would be Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick, Eric Thames and Adam Eaton. Now you can see why players will flock to the Dodgers on Thursday.
