MLB

MLB Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 7/30/15

As usual, Josh Donaldson is in play tonight for the beastly Toronto Blue Jays lineup.

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As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the things completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until the games start, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Top Pitchers

High-Cost Pitcher

Chris Sale – Sale has been one of the best pitchers in baseball all season long. He's posted an impressive 2.85 ERA with a 2.32 FIP and 2.32 SIERA while striking out a whopping 11.53 batters per nine innings -- ranking second in the league behind only the reigning Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw. Tonight, the all-world southpaw draws a great matchup against a Red Sox squad who ranks 20th in the league in wOBA against left handed pitching (.299) and 23rd in wRC+ (85). As usual, Sale is one of the best pitching options on the board tonight.

Alternative Option: Carlos Martinez, Carlos Carrasco

Cost-Effective Pitcher

Shelby Miller – Let me start by saying there truly aren't any value pitchers on the board that I am particularly fond of tonight. That said, if you're looking to play someone outside of the elite, Miller may be your guy. Miller has been solid through the first half of this season, boasting a 2.27 ERA with a 3.17 FIP and has struck out a respectable 7.58 batters per nine innings. However, it isn't what Miller has done this season that makes me want to play him tonight as much as it is the team he's pitching against. In fact, the Phillies rank in the bottom three in the majors in wOBA (.294), wRC+ (85) and ISO (.122), making them a perfect DFS target. Like I mentioned before, I probably won't be rolling out any pitcher outside of the three elite options listed above, but Miller is not a bad tournament play if you're looking for something different.

Alternative Option: N/A

High-Cost Hitters

Josh Donaldson – The Blue Jays lineup is just straight up ridiculous, especially after adding another power bat into the middle of the order in Troy Tulowitzki. Stacking the Jays every night for the rest of the year may not be such a bad idea, but any time Toronto faces off against a lefty they become a must play lineup. Guys like Tulo and Jose Bautista are definitely in play tonight, but if I had to choose just one bat from the Jays' lineup tonight it would be Donaldson. The Blue Jays' third baseman has absolutely obliterated left-handed pitching this season, sporting a .434 wOBA, .317 ISO and 1.033 OPS against southpaws on the year. He bats second in the order, will be protected by about seven other outstanding hitters and should have little trouble taking advantage of Danny Duffy, who has given up a .332 wOBA to right-handed batters this season. Do not hesitate to plug the Toronto slugger into your lineup in all formats tonight.

Brian Dozier – Speaking of batters who destroy left-handed pitching, Dozier has amassed a .383 wOBA and .252 ISO against lefties this season. Although the Twins have struggled to hit the ball as a team lately they have actually been pretty good against lefties all season long, ranking 15th in all of baseball in wOBA (.308), 15th in wRC+ (95) and 16th in ISO (.134) against left-handed pitching. Dozier will be in a great spot tonight batting leadoff against Mariners' southpaw J.A. Happ who has earned an abysmal 4.31 FIP and 4.50 xFIP against right-handed batters. Dozier may be lower owned than many of the other elite bats on the board, but makes an excellent play on all platforms tonight.

Alternative Option: Freddie Freeman, Alex Rodriguez

Cost-Effective Hitters

Jhonny Peralta – Much like Donaldson and Dozier, Peralta has had his way with left-handed pitching this season. The Cardinals' shortstop sports a .337 wOBA with a .248 ISO against lefties and tonight he draws a dream matchup against Rockies' southpaw Chris Rusin. Rusin has not been good against batters from either side of the plate, but he has been lit up by righties in particular. The young Rockies' starter has allowed a .356 wOBA to right-handed batters with a 4.55 FIP. He also allows 1.31 homers per nine innings against righties while only striking out 6.38 right-handed batters per nine innings. The Cardinals are huge favorites tonight and should have no problem knocking Rusin around. Look for Peralta to put together a nice fantasy outing tonight at home in St. Louis.

Kyle Schwarber – Cubs' rookie Schwarber has made quite the impression on the baseball world in the 19 games he has played this season. He's batting .357 with a monstrous .441 wOBA and .232 ISO this season and his numbers are even more impressive when looking at his platoon splits. Schwarber is straight-up destroying righties this season to the tune of an absurd .509 wOBA, .302 ISO and 1.211 OPS. Although his numbers come in somewhat of a small sample size, I will have a ton of shares in the Cubs' rookie tonight against Jimmy Nelson who has given up a .371 wOBA to left-handed batters on the year. Schwarber is a steal at just $3,500 on DraftKings and $3,100 on FanDuel.

Alternative Option: Carlos Beltran

Click here for our top stacks of the day.