Yahoo DFS Baseball: Monday Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Monday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

PITCHER

Gerrit Cole, PIT at SF ($42): Some will be swayed away from Cole given his last performance against San Francisco (5.1 IP, seven ER), but I'll chalk that up to a bad day as he's had at least 18.4 fantasy points in six of his last seven starts. Last time out, Cole delivered a gem with 10 strikeouts against a solid Brewers team. As for the Giants, they've been one of the worst teams against righties in July with a .283 wOBA.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD vs. MIN ($36): I was tempted to use Mike Leake ($34), but he hasn't been good lately so I'll roll with Ryu, who is coming off the 10-day DL. Ryu was fine prior to injuring his foot, reaching seven strikeouts in two of three starts with only six runs allowed in that period. The Twins are struggling on the road against lefties with a .264 wOBA and 22.7 percent K rate since the beginning of June.

CATCHER

Welington Castillo, BAL at TB ($12): I had Robinson Chirinos in this spot but he had a boot on after Sunday's game, so Castillo is the pick. With a much better .357 wOBA against lefties, he's in a good spot against Blake Snell, who has major issues against righties with a 5.74 xFIP.

FIRST BASE

Justin Smoak, TOR vs. OAK ($20): Smoak has been roping since the break so even against a righty (he has better numbers against lefties), I'll hope his hot streak continues. Either way, his .379 wOBA and .298 ISO against righties are still pretty good. Chris Smith has been solid in his two starts, but has had more trouble against lefties with a 5.88 xFIP and 13.0 percent K rate.

SECOND BASE

Chris Taylor, LAD vs. MIN ($21): Taylor has had more than one hit in seven of his last nine appearances and has a chance to pile on the pain for Bartolo Colon. The 44-year-old has allowed a .413 wOBA against righties this year and gave up four runs over only four innings in his last start.

THIRD BASE

Jake Lamb, ARI vs. ATL ($20): R.A. Dickey had some success when he saw the Diamondbacks two weeks ago, but still gave up eight hits in six innings. His 5.36 xFIP against lefties stands out and while Lamb had trouble in their first meeting, I'll bank on the lefty to rebound. Lamb has a .419 wOBA and .308 ISO against righties and went deep three times in his last four games.

SHORTSTOP

Ruben Tejada, BAL at TB ($7): At this price point, expectations are low for Tejada, but he's slightly better against lefties and Snell is still looking for his second quality start after going 6.2 innings back on April 6 in his first outing of the season. The main stat to focus on is Snell's .354 wOBA allowed and 5.74 xFIP against righties.

OUTFIELD

Alex Presley, DET vs. KC ($9): I'll go with another price-conscious pick in Presley, who has one of the best wOBAs in July against righties at .476 (35 at-bats). Conveniently, Jason Hammel is also worse against righties with a .351 wOBA allowed and 5.35 xFIP.

Steven Souza Jr., TB vs. BAL ($19): Kevin Gausman is the ultimate hit-or-miss pitcher and I'm hoping he'll miss on Monday, despite carving through the Rays earlier in July. Gausman still has a poor .370 wOBA against righties and Souza has been crushing July with a .403 wOBA and .395 ISO against righties (45 at-bats).

A.J. Pollock, ARI vs. ATL ($19): This time I'll try a righty against Dickey, who has a worse .352 wOBA allowed against them. Pollock has a nice .382 wOBA and .182 ISO against righties on the season, but those marks are at .499 and .364 since July 1 (37 at-bats).

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Zdroik
Adam, a 2019, 2018 and 2017 Finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's soccer editor. He also runs RotoWire's Bracketology, as well as writes on other various college basketball content. He has previously worked at ESPN and Sporting Kansas City, and he is a former Streak for the Cash winner and Michigan State graduate.
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