When you dive into this DFS slate, you’ll realize it’s not one to skimp on starting pitching. Some of the top pitchers in all of baseball are in this slate. The slate on DraftKings begins at 11:35 a.m. ET and includes seven games. FanDuel has a similar slate, but not exactly the same. The FanDuel slate includes the seven games that DraftKings offers, but it also has an additional game between the White Sox and Rockies.
Sunday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (7/6)
| PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| Tarik Skubal | $12,000 | $11,000 |
| Garrett Crochet | $10,500 | $10,900 |
| Edward Cabrera | $7,200 | $8,400 |
- There is no better pitcher in baseball right now than Tarik Skubal. Since the start of June, there is no better matchup than the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have averaged only 2.7 runs per game since the start of June.
- Garrett Crochet leads baseball in strikeouts. He has had at least seven strikeouts in nine of his last 10 games, including three games with 10+ strikeouts. He hasn’t been bad at home, but he has been exceptional on the road with a 2.01 ERA.
- Two affordable pitching options have me intrigued. One is Chase Burns, coming off his disastrous start, but he has a challenging matchup against the Phillies. The other is Edward Cabrera. Since the start of May, he has a 2.05 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
Toronto Blue Jays Projected Lineup (7/6)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| OF | Nathan Lukes | $3,100 | $2,500 |
| OF | George Springer | $5,000 | $3,600 |
| 1B | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | $5,300 | $3,400 |
| SS | Bo Bichette | $4,400 | $3,000 |
| 3B/OF | Addison Barger | $4,300 | $3,000 |
| C | Alejandro Kirk | $3,800 | $2,900 |
| 1B/3B/2B (FD) | Will Wagner | $2,300 | $2,300 |
| 3B/SS/1B/2B (FD) | Ernie Clement | $3,300 | $2,800 |
| 2B/OF | Davis Schneider | $2,900 | $2,400 |
- We’re going back to the well on consecutive days with the Toronto Blue Jays. Today’s matchup is against Tyler Anderson. He has the third-highest fly ball rate among qualified starters at 48.4%. That has translated to bad results in his road starts, where he has a 5.48 ERA compared to a 2.66 ERA at home. Today’s start is on the road.
- Anderson has a reverse split going where he is being pummeled by left-handers to a .996 OPS. Addison Barger is the left-handed batter who has the most interest for our purposes. The issue is that he has been sitting at times against left-handed pitchers, so make sure he is in the lineup.
- It’s never a bad idea to have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in your lineup, but he’s nearly a must-play against left-handed pitchers. He has a .944 OPS against left-handed pitching.
- Another player on the Blue Jays who needs to be played against left-handed pitching is Ernie Clement. All four of Clement’s home runs have come against left-handed pitching, which is why he has a 1.090 OPS against them.
New York Yankees Projected Lineup (7/6)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | $4,200 | $2,900 |
| OF | Aaron Judge | $6,600 | $5,000 |
| OF/1B (FD) | Cody Bellinger | $4,800 | $3,100 |
| OF | Giancarlo Stanton | $3,600 | $3,100 |
| 3B/2B (FD) | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | $5,100 | $3,600 |
| OF | Jasson Dominguez | $3,700 | $3,200 |
| SS | Anthony Volpe | $3,900 | $2,900 |
| C | Austin Wells | $3,800 | $2,700 |
| 2B/3B/1B (FD) | DJ LeMahieu | $2,800 | $2,500 |
- It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the Mets are expected to start left-hander Brandon Waddell. He is only likely to pitch a few innings before turning it over to the bullpen, as he just threw 50 pitches three days ago. While he may not be on the mound for long, Waddell only has a 34.5% ground ball rate, so extra-base hits are possible.
- Much like Guerrero above, Aaron Judge is always in play. He is especially dangerous against left-handed pitchers with a 1.367 OPS. He has four home runs in the last week.
- Paul Goldschmidt seemingly finds himself in a platoon situation at first base. Against left-handed pitchers, Goldschmidt fits in at first base with Cody Bellinger moving to the outfield. Goldschmidt has a 1.185 OPS against left-handed pitchers. He has also been better on the road with a .897 OPS.
- Another Yankee who is better against left-handed pitching is catcher Austin Wells. He has an .852 OPS against left-handed pitchers with only a .625 OPS against right-handed pitchers.
Core Studs
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| OF | Mike Trout | $4,900 | $3,300 |
| 1B | Pete Alonso | $5,200 | $3,700 |
| OF | Kyle Stowers | $4,300 | $3,300 |
- Mike Trout strikes out a bit too much now, but when he makes contact, it is still as good as anyone’s. He’s in the top 10 percentiles in both barrel rate and hard-hit rate. Plus, he already has three home runs off today’s opponent, Kevin Gausman, in his career.
- Pete Alonso has been surprisingly poor this season against left-handed pitchers with a .725 OPS. A matchup with Max Fried could be the recipe for turning that around. Alonso has gone 10-for-39 against Fried in his career with a pair of home runs.
- Kyle Stowers has three home runs in the past week, including one yesterday. His hard-hit rate of 42.6% is sixth in all of baseball among qualified batters.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| OF/2B (FD) | Isaac Collins | $3,400 | $2,700 |
| SS/2B (FD) | Otto Lopez | $3,400 | $3,000 |
| 2B/OF | Jeff McNeil | $3,500 | $2,800 |
- Isaac Collins was in this section yesterday. He delivered with an RBI single over 100 miles per hour (MPH). He hit another ball at 109 MPH, which resulted in an out. A more optimal launch angle, and those can be extra-base hits.
- Otto Lopez is opposed by Brandon Woodruff, who is returning from injury after nearly a two-year absence. Lopez has been much more successful against right-handed pitchers this season. Fourteen of his 18 extra-base hits have come against right-handed pitchers.
- Jeff McNeil has a difficult matchup against Max Fried. Fried has been someone McNeil has had success against in his entire career — 11-for-32 with three doubles.
Sunday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
Jose Ramirez (3B, DH – CLE): 0.5 Runs Scored — Lower
Jose Ramirez is in a slump. Over his last 17 games, he is hitting a mere .185. He has scored only one run in his last 17 games, which came via a home run on July 4th. That shows just how much of a struggle it has been for the Guardians to score runs. A matchup with Tarik Skubal won’t help.
Marcell Ozuna (OF, DH – ATL): 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI — Lower
Another batter that we’ve historically not faded is Marcell Ozuna. Similarly to Ramirez, he is in a slump right now. Over his last 13 games, Ozuna is just 6-for-46 with two runs scored. He has surpassed a combined 1.5 hits + runs + RBI just twice in his last 13 games.
Michael Lorenzen (SP, RP – KC): 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed — Higher
It was quite surprising to see Michael Lorenzen’s earned runs total set so low. Today, he takes on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are a top-five team in wRC+ and runs scored on the season. Lorenzen has to go to Arizona to oppose them. His road ERA is 5.68.
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