The Reds jumped all over Washington starting pitcher Patrick Corbin when they last met a month ago. With Corbin scheduled to start against Cincinnati again on Friday, should daily Fantasy baseball players expect similar offensive outbursts? Elly De La Cruz went 3-for-3 and Spencer Steer went 2-for-2 with a walk against Corbin on July 4, so should you pull them from the MLB DFS player pool when constructing MLB DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings on Friday?
Corbin has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) over his last two starts, so timing and the previous outcomes seem to favor Reds hitters. But one poor outing won’t guarantee another, so daily Fantasy baseball players will have to balance those thoughts when forming an MLB DFS strategy for Friday. The Reds allowed 41 runs over their last three games, so maybe utilizing Nationals hitters could be wise for creating MLB DFS lineups.
Before submitting any MLB DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune” as a top MLB DFS player, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Thursday, McClure highlighted Cubs outfielder Ian Happ in his MLB DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Happ went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, an RBI and a run scored, returning 13 points on DraftKings and 18.7 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2023 MLB season rolling on, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Friday, August 4. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday is Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt ($5,700 on DraftKings and $3,700 on FanDuel). Goldschmidt was also being discussed as a trade deadline target leaving an underachieving squad for ones with World Series aspirations, but that never came to fruition. The 35-year-old hasn’t lived up to his personal expectations either with 18 home runs two-thirds of the way through the season after hitting at least 30 long balls in each of his last five full seasons.
But that has driven his MLB DFS price down as well, leading to a valuable position for Friday. The Cardinals begin a three-game series with the Rockies on Friday as Colorado has allowed the second-most runs in baseball (627) this year. Rockies probable starter Chris Flexen has an 8.08 ERA over 18 outings, including a 10.71 ERA in his five starts this year. He allowed six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings against Oakland in his last start on July 29 as Goldschmidt should find himself in positions to drive the ball with runners on base on Friday.
McClure’s optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford ($3,600 on DraftKings and $3,000 on FanDuel). Crawford, a left-handed hitter, went 2-for-3 and reached base four times on Thursday to improve his slash line to .327/.441/.519 over 28 games since July 1. The seven-year veteran is having a career season, posting his best OPS (.785) in a season and he already has tied a career-high in home runs (nine) with two months left.
The Angels are scheduled to start left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers, who had a 6.12 ERA over his five July starts, on Friday. Detmers is coming off his worst month over the last two seasons and despite being a LHP, he’s struggled against left-handed batters this season. Left-handed hitters are batting .297 with an OPS of .887, which is more than 200 points higher than he’s allowing against right-handers, this year. The Mariners, who are in the middle of the wild card race, have won seven of their last nine games, averaging 5.6 runs per game during that stretch, and adding Crawford will leave money to pair with higher-priced players. See who else to pick right here.