Nearly half the league is off on Thursday, but there isn’t a shortage of big name pitchers taking the mound. However, it may not be the best idea to take the big name for your daily fantasy baseball lineup.
Madison Bumgarner and Cole Hamels have great matchups based on the numbers, but Jimmy Nelson could have a better day for a lower price against the Pirates. Michael Fulmer should also have a good day against the Royals, who have struggled to score runs since the All-Star break. Lance Lynn will face the Mets, a team he pitched seven scoreless innings against earlier this month.
Outside of our top five, Jameson Taillon is worth a look. He faces a Brewers squad that is second in the majors in strikeouts against righties. Rookie Luis Castillo makes his second start against the Diamondbacks this year, hoping to repeat his last performance when he allowed three hits with eight Ks over 6.2 shutout innings. He followed that with a quality start on the road against the Nationals last week.
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Nelson, RHP | MIL | @PIT |
| 2 | Michael Fulmer, RHP | DET | @KC |
| 3 | Lance Lynn, RHP | STL | @NYM |
| 4 | Danny Duffy, LHP | KC | vs DET |
| 5 | Madison Bumgarner, LHP | SF | vs SD |
| 6 | Cole Hamels, LHP | TEX | @BAL |
| 7 | Jameson Taillon, RHP | PIT | vs MIL |
| 8 | Luis Severino, RHP | NYY | @SEA |
| 9 | Luis Castillo, RHP | CIN | vs ARI |
| 10 | Felix Hernandez, RHP | SEA | vs NYY |
| 11 | Seth Lugo, RHP | NYM | vs STL |
| 12 | Taijuan Walker, RHP | ARI | @CIN |
| 13 | Brandon McCarthy, RHP | LAD | vs ATL |
| 14 | Mike Foltynewicz, RHP | ATL | @LAD |
| 15 | Jhoulys Chacin, RHP | SD | @SF |
| 16 | Doug Fister, RHP | BOS | vs TOR |
| 17 | Wade Miley, LHP | BAL | vs TEX |
| 18 | Francisco Liriano, LHP | TOR | @BOS |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Wednesday, July 19
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With only a five-game main slate tonight, our Playbook is more geared toward GPPs than cash games. Madison Bumgarner leads the way for pitching, but there are still plenty of other GPP options tonight, although each have their downfalls. There also aren't too many great hitting options tonight.
I like the Dodgers, but they waited out a rain delay last night for a short ending, then had to fly out West late last night. They are on their second double-digit win streak of the season for the first time since 1955. The O's have outscored the Rangers 25-4 over the first three games of their series, which is probably the reason why they are favored over a hot pitcher like Cole Hamels. -- Ben Scherr
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