Only a few more days until the MLB All-Star Break. This is either the time to really buckle down because you know you will be without MLB DFS for a few days, or you scale it back a bit because you know the break is coming up. I know that second reason may not seem logical, but it makes sense to me.
It’s what I am doing. It’s a little bit of apathy I suppose, but it doesn’t mean my focus isn’t there. It just means I know we have a break coming up and this is a good time to lower the bankroll each day. I have started to listen to football pods and begin NFL research for season-long and best ball drafts.
It will be hard not to play some NFL Best Ball Championship drafts during the break, especially considering how early it is and there’s lots of uncertainty out there…and there’s always the possibility of injury.
But it sure is fun.
Anyway, we have a full 15-game MLB slate to tackle, which includes Coors and not a whole lot of pitching options.
This is the MLB DRAFT Strat, so we will continue to look at strategy for certain contest types, top-15 outfielder rankings, top-15 infielder rankings and top-6 pitchers. Hope you have enjoyed reading this freebie and found it helpful.
I certainly encourage you to get at me on Twitter (@Hotdogdaily_DFS) and add me on DRAFT (@hotdogphingers).
Let’s get to it and good luck today!
TOP-15 OUTFIELDER RANKINGS
1. Mookie Betts
2. Mike Trout
3. Aaron Judge
4. Andrew Benintendi
6. A.J. Pollock
7. Bryce Harper
8. Shin-Soo Choo
9. Michael Brantley
10. Eddie Rosario
11. Charlie Blackmon
12. Andrew McCutchen
13. Matt Kemp
14. Justin Upton
15. Juan Soto
TOP-15 INFIELDER RANKINGS
1. Paul Goldschmidt
2. J.D. Martinez
3. Jose Ramirez
4. Francisco Lindor – Truthfully, him and Ramirez are tied for this spot
5. Nolan Arenado
6. Trevor Story
7. D.J. LeMahieu
8. Freddie Freeman
9. Didi Gregorius
10. Yonder Alonso
11. Joey Gallo
12. Mitch Moreland
13. Manny Machado
14. Xander Bogaerts
15. Buster Posey
TOP-6 PITCHER RANKINGS
1. Justin Verlander – DUH
2. Trevor Bauer – By default
3. Masahiro Tanaka
4. Garrett Richards
5. Sean Manaea
6. Miles Mikolas
Other Pitchers in Consideration (i.e. honorable mention):
1. Patrick Corbin
2. Rich Hill
3. Jose Quintana
3-MAN CONTESTS
The Strat – Here we have another case of taking a pitcher with the No. 1 overall pick. That’s more because of the lack of options on this slate. Trevor Bauer is No. 2, but clearly not a great option against the Reds, who are ridiculously scrappy and frustrating to target. Verlander provides the highest floor, ceiling and safety. This is also the case because both IF and OF are strong in the 3-man format. You pretty much can have a ridiculously stacked team today with Coors, Red Sox, Yankees and Coors bats. These are basically the ones you want to target here. As for the No. 1 hitting option on the slate today, it’s a toss up between Goldy and Mookie for me. I hate targeting Yovani Gallardo because he’s awful but does just enough to not get blown up. But it’s also Mookie, it’s Fenway and he gets the Rangers bullpen at some point. Goldy is up against a lefty in Coors whom he has some success against, including 7 walks. it’s very easy to get a 3-man Indians stack today (Lindor, Ramirez and Brantley) who are up against Sal Romano, a lefty’s wet dream.
6-MAN CONTESTS
The Strat – In this format, Verlander is most definitely the No. 1 overall play due to, again, the weakness of the pitcher position. Mookie, Judge, Goldy, J.D. Arenado, Ramirez/Lindor, Trout and Benintendi will be one of your first picks. Bauer likely will go in the first or second round, though when I was practicing earlier, I got him late in the third round, which is solid value considering the options. I am not a huge fan of Arenado and Story today personally, even though they are up against a lefty in Coors. Patrick Corbin is a really good pitcher and has had some success against these two, so I won’t go out of my way to target them early. If they fall in the 3rd or 4th, then I will snag them there. I like Choo as a late-rounder today along with Brantley in the outfield. Someone going overlooked at IF who is a great upside, late-round play is Didi Gregorius who draws starter Andrew Cashner.
