New York Mets fans were given good news this weekend when they announced that Matt Scherzer (oblique) has been activated and is on target to pitch on Tuesday. That was coupled with the report that Jacob deGrom (shoulder) is nearing a return as well, and is pitching in a rehab start on Sunday. In the meantime, Carlos Carrasco will make his 16th start of the year for New York this afternoon against the Texas Rangers, but is he worth considering in MLB DFS lineups?
For the month of June, Carrasco has a 6.37 ERA, opposing hitters have a .945 OPS against him, and he's averaged just under five innings pitched per start. However, four Rangers batters in the MLB DFS player pool have all had at least 13 at bats against him, and the only one to hit over .200 against him is spot-player Brad Miller. In total, seven Rangers players have logged at bats against Carrasco and have collective batting splits of .181/.212/.252. Before you make your MLB DFS picks for Sunday, 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 over $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 Saturday, McClure highlighted Braves third baseman Austin Riley as one of his top MLB DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Riley went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double with two RBI in a 4-1 win against the Reds to return 25 points on DraftKings and 34.4 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, as the 2022 MLB season continues, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Sunday, July 3. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Sunday, July 3, 2022
Riley is one of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Sunday again, and he's listed at $5,100 on DraftKings and $3,400 on FanDuel. Over his last five games, Riley has eight hits, five runs scored, five RBI and two home runs. The Braves wrap things up with the Reds at 1:40 p.m. ET, and Riley has done his best hitting during day games this season, hitting .278 with an OPS of .891.
Riley has limited experience against Cincinnati probable starter Luis Castillo, who is one of the most discussed names on the trading block with the deadline approaching. When Castillo and Riley faced off last season, Riley finished with a hit in three at bats. This season against right-handed pitchers like Castillo, Riley has hit 14 of his 20 home runs, as well as 35 of his 48 RBI.
Another part of McClure's optimal MLB DFS strategy includes stacking Riley with first baseman Matt Olson ($4,700 on DraftKings and $3,800 on FanDuel). Olson finished without a hit in Saturday's win against the Reds, but he did bring home one of Atlanta's two seventh inning runs. He leads the National League with 31 doubles on the season and he's also had 12 home runs and 43 RBI.
Similar to Riley, Olson has also been a better day game hitter, and has offensive splits of .258/.348/.557. Prior to this season, Olson had never played a game in Cincinnati, and although he is just 1-for-9 through the first two games of this series, he has been a reliable hitter on the road overall in 2022. In three fewer road starts than home, Olson's batting average is 17 points higher, he has more total hits (39), the same number of home runs (6) and just one fewer RBI (21).
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Sunday, July 3, 2022
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Sunday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Sunday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.
