MLB DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Sunday, July 9

MLB DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Sunday, July 9

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

It's the last day before the All-Star break! Sunday's DFS slate is comprised of 13 games. The 12:05 p.m. ET start between the Rangers and Nationals isn't included, and the Dodgers and Angels have the day off. Let's hit the break on a high note! Here are my lineup recommendations.

Pitching

Logan Webb, SF vs. COL ($48): Webb has consistently excelled while pitching in his home ballpark. Over the last three seasons he has a 2.47 ERA in San Francisco. The Rockies are just outside the bottom 10 in runs scored, and when you consider they play their home games at Coors Field, that really doesn't reflect well upon them.

Shane Bieber, CLE vs. KC ($41): The Royals are 29th in runs scored and last in team on-base percentage, sitting below .300 on that front. With the ostensible number one for the Guardians in line for a start, that lines up nicely for Bieber. The righty doesn't allow many home runs, and he has a 3.02 ERA at home this season as well.

Chris Murphy, BOS vs. OAK ($33): Murphy has done some bulk relief work, posting a 1.98 ERA in the process. Tayler Scott is serving as the opener Sunday, but it's possible to grab Murphy as one of your pitchers. What's key is that the Athletics are last in runs scored and team OPS, so this matchup is worth trying to tackle.

Top Targets

If you get a chance to roster Luis Robert ($26) at home against a lefty pitcher, you do it. Since 2021, he's slugged .535 at home and .642 against southpaws. Steven Matz has a 5.12 ERA over the last two seasons, with righties hitting .329 against him.

Jack Suwinski ($24) has hit 19 homers and stolen seven bases, recording a .959 OPS against righties and a .962 OPS on the road. Zach Davies does have a 4.38 FIP compared to a 6.52 ERA, but I still like Suwinski in this matchup. Arizona's pitcher has a 7.16 ERA at home and has let lefties hit .301 against him.

Bargain Bats

In his return from injury, Riley Greene ($18) didn't skip a beat, picking up two hits and two walks. In a sophomore campaign that has been a real step up for the Tiger, the lefty has an .834 OPS against right-handers and an .884 OPS at home. In Chris Bassitt's first season with the Blue Jays, he's posted a 5.84 ERA on the road and has allowed lefties to hit .284 against him.

Over the last three weeks, Max Kepler ($15) has an .896 OPS. He also has a .735 OPS versus righties and a .761 OPS at home. Meanwhile, over his last seven starts, former Twin Kyle Gibson has a 6.38 ERA. He's also allowed lefties to hit .286 against him.

Stacks to Consider

Giants vs. Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Patrick Bailey ($14), J.D. Davis ($10), Luis Matos ($10)

The only drawback here is the sheer tonnage of lefties the Giants tend to rely on. Now, Freeland is a left hander who has allowed his fellow lefties to hit .300 against him since 2021, but the Giants don't really have a lefty who can handle southpaws. Thus, I have three righties in the stack. Don't sweat this game not being at Coors Field, as Freeland has a 5.89 ERA on the road.

The rookie catcher Bailey has a .301 average and has hit five homers. Notably, in a handful of plate appearances against lefties he has a 1.202 OPS. Davis has cooled down, but he's arguably San Francisco's best righty hitter. He's slashed .277/.351/.442 with 10 home runs, in line with his career numbers. Matos started the season in Double-A, and now he's the starting centerfielder for the Giants. He had an 1.083 OPS in Triple-A, and he has a .759 OPS against major-league lefties so far.

Mariners at Astros (Brandon Bielak): Mike Ford ($17), Julio Rodriguez ($16), Jarred Kelenic ($12)

Bielak last start went well, but he has a 5.44 FIP this season, in line with his career 5.14 FIP. He's had an issue with home runs, having allowed 1.57 per nine innings in his career. Righties have hit .274 against Bielak, but lefties have hit .302, so I have two southpaws in this stack.

Ford has only played in 29 games for the Mariners this year, but his power in those games has been incredible. He's slugged .620 with eight homers already. Ford can't play against lefties, but as long as a righty is on the mound, the upside is there. Rodriguez is a righty, but he has a profile that plays well for DFS purposes. He has 13 homers and 20 stolen bases after he had 28 of the former and 25 of the later last season. Kelenic has slowed down after a hot start, but he still has 11 homers and 11 stolen bases. He has a .732 OPS against righties, and also a .776 OPS on the road.

Padres vs. Mets (Max Scherzer): Juan Soto ($19), Manny Machado ($19), Xander Bogaerts ($16)

Nobody remains elite forever. Scherzer is in his age-38 season, and he's having the worst campaign of his career. He has a 4.36 FIP and has allowed 1.74 home runs per nine innings. On top of that, the future Hall of Famer has a 4.55 ERA on the road, and he's allowed at least one home run in each of his last six starts. Scherzer could use a break, but he won't get one until after Sunday.

Soto has a .422 OBP with 15 homers and six stolen bases. He's picked it up against lefties, but his 1.003 OPS against righties since 2021 is what sticks out to me the most. With 10 homers and nine stolen bases, Bogaerts is primed for his first season with double digits in both categories since 2017. Machado has picked things up, as he's posted an .880 OPS over the last three weeks. He's had a lot of issues on the road, but he has an .812 OPS at Petco Park. In his first season as a Padre, Bogaerts has a .775 OPS against righties and an .849 OPS at home.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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