Welcome to the last full week of baseball before the All-Star break. Monday's MLB DFS main slate will lock at 7:10 p.m. ET, as FanDuel and Yahoo carry seven games while DraftKings brings us eight contests, including the second game of the Tigers-Royals doubleheader. This slate features a game in Coors Field between the Padres and Rockies, as well as plenty of value daily fantasy sleepers. There are no serious weather concerns at the moment, but always keep an eye on the MLB Weather Center leading up to lock.
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Today's MLB DFS Playbook: Lineup picks, tips for Monday
SP Max Scherzer, Mets (@ Braves). Mad Max came out firing from his stint on the IL, shutting down the Reds with 11 strikeouts in just six innings. He does have a tough matchup with the Braves, who have been one of the best offenses against RHP yet they still strike out 24.4 percent. Scherzer will inflate that strikeout potential, giving him the highest floor and ceiling among SPs. With the value on this slate, Scherzer and Aaron Nola can be played in DK cash, and Scherzer is my top SP on FD.
SP Brayan Bello, Red Sox (@ Rays). Bello struggled out of the gate and allowed four runs over four innings with two strikeouts in his MLB debut against the Rays. I expect him to fare better today in pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field. I love the price here for a strikeout pitcher that racked up 114 Ks in 85 Triple-A innings and tonight will be facing a Rays lineup that strikes out 24.7 percent of the time against righthanded pitching.
C Christian Vazquez, Red Sox (@ Rays). Vazquez is having a career year hitting .333 over his past 20 games with 11 RBIs. He has three multi-hit games through eight July contests (10-for-34).
1B Darick Hall, Phillies (@ Cardinals). Hall gets a great matchup against an RHP (Miles Mikolas). Hall is hitting .286 with four home runs in 11 games since his call-up, and Mikolas has given up 11 bombs in his 17 starts, with six coming to lefthanded bats.
2B Marcus Semien, Rangers (vs. A's). I like the Rangers tonight as they face Adrian Martinez, who allows a 50-percent hard-hit rate over the past 30 days. Semien is definitely in play on FD due to his price and is a premium pay-up on DK. He has three bombs this month and a .324 ISO/.403 wOBA with .951 OPS
3B Manny Machado, Padres (@ Rockies). Machado is appropriately priced on FD, but DK dropped the ball, as he is sub $5K (29th-most expensive player), making him the chalk/core play at 3B. Plus he faces a gas can in Jose Urena. Machado has .396 wOBA /.325 average on the reverse split
SS C.J. Abrams, Padres (@ Rockies). Ha-Seong Kim sat yesterday with a thumb injury and is considered day-to-day. Abrams filled in and went 2-for-3 with a double, plus he is 8-for-24 (.333) over his past 10 games and has hits in four straight. Abrams is a fine minimum-priced punt today at SS if not paying all the way up.
OF Eloy Jimenez, White Sox (@ Guardians). Jimenez is still sub $4K and is way too talented of a hitter for that low of price. He has played four games since the long IL stint and has been mediocre, going 4-for-16. He will be heating up soon and gets a good matchup against Cal Quantrill, who has been getting hit up
MORE PICKS: SP Aaron Nola, Phillies (@ Cardinals); C Seby Zavala, White Sox (@ Guardians); 1B Pete Alonso, Mets (@ Braves); 2B Brendan Rodgers, Rockies (vs. Padres); 3B Yandy Diaz, Rays (vs. Red Sox); SS Javier Baez, Tigers (@ Royals); OF Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (@ Cardinals)
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