The FantasyLabs MLB Player Models have numerous data points to help you construct your MLB DFS rosters.
They house our floor, median and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our Trends tool, stacking tool, and more.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your teams for cash games or small-field tournaments.
Let’s dive into some MLB plays that stand out in our Player Models for today’s main slate.
Bargain Rating Picks
You might be asking: what is Bargain Rating, and why should I care?
Bargain Rating shows how much of a bargain a player is on one DFS site versus others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than the other, they will have a favorable Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more affordable and a poor Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more expensive. It’s a straightforward metric, but targeting players at reduced price tags is almost always a strong strategy in DFS.
Bargain Rating strongly correlates with player value, which you can quickly see with our predictive projected Plus/Minus metric.
Seeing how Plus/Minus helps you project how many points a player is expected to score compared to what their salary implies them to score, this is a good company for Bargain Rating.
MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain
Myles Straw ($2,100): Outfielder, Cleveland Guardians
A .212 batting average and bottom-2% xSLG does not inspire a ton of confidence, but Straw has put together a solid last 10 games at the plate.
He holds a +2.07 Plus/Minus over that span and gets his preferred matchup against a right-hander in the Red Sox Nick Pivetta, who is 8-7 with a 4.50 ERA.
This Straw may break your fantasy opponent’s backs tonight as a low-budget bargain option.
MLB DFS FanDuel Bargain
J.T. Realmuto ($3,000): Catcher, Philadelphia Phillies
Veteran catcher Realmuto is not flashy in the stat book, but the three-time All-Star is having another solid campaign with a recent power boost.
Realmuto has hit five of his eight home runs since June 23 and has six 20+ FanDuel point games in that stretch.
A boom-or-bust proposal for your lineup, Realmuto is interesting tonight as a contrarian play against Atlanta left-handed stud Max Fried.
MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks
Pitcher
JT Brubaker ($7,400 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel) at Chicago Cubs
With the 10th-highest DraftKings salary and one of the highest projected ceilings, Brubaker is a strong value against a middling Cubs lineup.
It’s easy to focus on Brubaker’s 2-8 record, but he has not seen much run support from the Pirates offense. After losing his first seven decisions, he is 2-1 in his last five starts, with at least six strikeouts in each of his last four.
He had his best start of the season in his last outing against Miami on July 13. He went seven scoreless innings giving up three hits and striking out nine, but the Pirates rewarded him with a no-decision. Make a better decision tonight and insert Brubaker into your fantasy lineups.
Hitter
Matt Olson ($5,500 DraftKings, $3,900 FanDuel) at Philadelphia Phillies
Olson lands near the top of the ceiling projections for first baseman tonight in Philadelphia as he continues a July hot streak that has boosted his DraftKings salary by $1,500 this month.
Though his July batting average is only a few points higher than his .254 season mark, Olson has swatted six home runs since July 8 and has posted double-digit DraftKings points in nine of his last 17 games.
The Braves take on Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez, who is 7-5 with a 4.07 ERA in 2022. Trust in Olson’s +3.03 Plus/Minus over the last 10 games with a spot in your fantasy lineup.
Top Stacking Pick from THE BAT X
One of the great features of being a FantasyLabs Pro member is the option to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.
A new addition to our MLB projections is THE BAT from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders. With this purchase, you can use his projections alone or create aggregate projections within our Player Models.
The top five-man DraftKings stack from THE BAT using projected points in our stacking tool belongs to the Brewers. When you load them into our Lineup Builder, you’ll have the option to hand-build the rest of your team or optimize the rest of it.
Note: There is precipitation projected in the forecast for this game. Be sure to monitor the status of this game leading up to lock.
Milwaukee makes an infrequent appearance as the top projected stack on tonight’s main slate against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, who is 4-7 with a 4.96 ERA.
Shortstop Willy Adames headlines the stack after finding his swing in July following a rough start to 2022. Adames has a +2.27 Plus/Minus rating over his last 10 games and double-digit DraftKings points in seven of his previous 12.
Brewers’ mainstay Christian Yelich is the most expensive of the three outfielders in this stack. He is among the league leaders in hard-hit rate and adds to his fantasy floor with a high walk rate at the plate.
Veteran Andrew McCutchen excels against left-handed pitching with a .355 wOBA and .257 ISO. He has a +3.76 Plus/Minus rating over the last 10 games.
The stack is capped off with outfielder Hunter Renfroe and first baseman Rowdy Tellez. In the three games since the All-Star break, Renfroe has two hits and a homer in each game with 65.0 total DraftKings points.
Not quite the same results for Tellez, but he has at least one hit in all three games since the break.
