It’s the last DRAFT Strat before the All-Star Break. I hope we can make this one count as we head into a brief DFS baseball absence.
Tonight we only have 7 games to draft from as a few other games got under way earlier in the day. The slate is filled with stud pitching, so there aren’t a ton of offenses to target, BUT it feels very cut and dry on DRAFT today.
Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Luis Severino, Ross Stripling and David Price make up some of the pitching options today. People like to throw J.A. Happ into the top-pitching option fold, but he is never on my radar in DFS.
I am getting ahead of myself, so let’s get to the rankings and the strategy for today. Good luck! Don’t forge to check out today’s Dark Horse Play of the Day.
TOP-15 OUTFIELDER RANKINGS
1. Mookie Betts
2. Starling Marte
3. Eric Thames
4. Mike Trout
5. Andrew Benintendi
6. Aaron Judge
7. Joc Pederson
8. Christian Yelich
9. Kevin Kiermaier
10. Bryce Harper
11. Juan Soto
12. Lorenzo Cain
13. Randal Grichuk
14. Wil Myers
15. Teoscar Hernandez
TOP-15 INFIELDER RANKINGS
1. J.D. Martinez
2. Cody Bellinger
3. Xander Bogaerts
4. Max Muncy
5. Jose Ramirez
6. Max Muncy
7. Justin Smoak
8. Trea Turner
9. Anthony Rendon
10. Travis Shaw
11. Jesus Aguilar
12. Nelson Cruz
13. Francisco Lindor
14. Mark Reynolds
15. Giancarlo Stanton
TOP-6 PITCHER RANKINGS
1. Max Scherzer
2. James Paxton
3. Ross Stripling
4. Blake Snell
5. Corey Kluber
6. David Price/Tyler Skaggs
DARK HORSE PLAY OF THE DAY
Steve Pearce – He’s had no projection for the longest time, but as of this afternoon, he has a moderate 8-point projection. He’s definitely top-5 in outfielder plays for me today and before the projection, I had drafted him on all of my squads with my last pick. He destroys lefties AND J.A. Happ. Against Happ, he is 10-for-28 with 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 12 RBIs and 3 walks.
3-MAN CONTESTS
The Strat – Honestly, outside of a few entries into the Grand Slam, I am staying away from anything more than three mans today. That’s because I can get Red Sox and a stud pitcher and feel comfortable with my lineups. Dodgers, Brewers and Pirates are the other ways I will go. Mookie and J.D. are your top-2 picks here. You can get Scherzer, but he’s an unnecessary reach with all of the options in 3-mans. You want J.D. and Mookie today. You can get Pearce late and fill in with Dodgers, Brewers and Pirates. I found myself getting Starling Marte and his .247 ISO against lefties as an OF2 if I didn’t get Betts.
6-MAN CONTESTS
The Strat – I like Blake Snell as a late-round pitching option, but Max Scherzer is a top-3 pick in this format, but only after J.D. and Mookie especially. If you have a late pick here, then I would go Bogaerts and Pearce to get a small stack and exposure to the Red Sox today. You can stack Dodgers, Brewers and Pirates here, too, but Cody Bellinger and Jesus Aguilar are going to come off the board early. I don’t like Aguilar today against Taillon, who waters down RH power. Thames and Yelich are superior early round OF plays if you miss out on Mookie. Marte is right there as well. I think overall, play who you like is an acceptable strategy rather than trying to stack today. Jose Ramirez is a sneaky late-round play. If you want to go Harper, Trout and Judge, they have been available in later round drafts and you are taking them because of their talent and upside despite the challenging starting pitcher they all face.
