Welcome to our MLB DFS Building Blocks, DraftKings and FanDuel picks for 7/13/22! In this article, I’ll break down by top overall plays for today’s main slate. Last year was an extremely big year for the Karma team in MLB, and we are looking to continue that success in 2022. I will be providing Core Plays for every main slate (and day baseball) this season — you can gain access to that as well as our premium discord here. Let’s get to the plays…
Above is an example of the Core Plays given out to Subscribers on Friday May 13th
Pitcher
We have a star-studded pitching slate on tap for Wednesday with some decisions that need to be made at the top salaries. Everyone that reads this article knows I love Shane McClanahan and I’ve played him almost every start this season. That being said, he is not my preferred option tonight in a tough match-up with the Boston Red Sox. I still think he can succeed in this spot for sure, but there are two options I like better for cheaper — Shohei Ohtani and Luis Severino. Ohtani has the perceived tough spot against the Astros, but he has absolutely dominated this lineup. We have around a 75 PA sample-size of the Astros against Ohtani resulting in a 40% strikeout rate and just a .206 expected wOBA. He has as much strikeout upside as McClanahan, but is almost $1,000 less in salary and that makes him my top play. Severino is good, but doesn’t have the same type of strikeout ceiling as the aforementioned two aces. He does, however, have the best match-up of the bunch against the Cincinnati Reds. With these Padres prices again, it’s easy to fit in two top pitchers again on Wednesday.
The only mid-tier option I like is Jon Gray against the Oakland Athletics. He can be used in all formats, but in cash games, two top pitchers and the Padres will be the popular build again.
Building Blocks
Aaron Judge + Giancarlo Stanton
I don’t write up Coors Field in this section, but I noted above the Padres will once again dominate the ownership. That being said, some of these guys are so cheap we will easily be able to fit in whatever spend-up bats we want. New York actually has the same team total as the Padres — six runs — despite not being in Coors Field tonight. Mike Minor has pretty much been the worst pitcher in baseball against right-handed pitching, and Judge and Stanton have some of the best numbers in baseball against lefties. They have huge power upside, and that definitely comes into play against a pitcher that struggles with power and throws a lot of fastballs.
Josh Smith
I doubt we will need Smith today because of the cheap Padres bat, but he is my favorite non-Coors value on Wednesday. Smith should continue to be locked into the Rangers lead-off role and while the surface numbers look bad, the advanced numbers show optimism. His expected wOBA is over .400 and his line-drive rate of 39% is the top mark in the Rangers lineup. Paul Blackburn isn’t a good pitcher, but is especially bad against left-handed hitters. I could see this game being sneaky high-scoring tonight and I think Smith can be used in a stack or as a one-off.
Bold Call
Yankees combine for 4+ homeruns!
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
