The New York Mets have climbed into a tie with the San Diego Padres for the final spot in the National League Wild Card and are two games over .500 for the first time since late April and are 5-1 over their last six games. First baseman Pete Alonso was the only Mets player from the MLB DFS player pool selected to play in the 2024 All-Star Game, which surprised some who expected Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor to earn a spot on the NL roster. It seems the All-Star snubs may have motivated Nimmo and Lindor over the last week as Nimmo is batting .321 with a 1.081 OPS with three home runs and 10 RBI over his last seven games and Lindor has an .859 OPS during that span.
How should these hot Mets hitters factor into your MLB DFS strategy? New York will host the Rockies on Friday and Colorado has allowed the most runs in baseball this season (553), so should you stack Mets players in MLB DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Friday, 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 more than $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 Thursday, McClure identified Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford as one of his top MLB DFS picks. The result: Crawford went 3-for-4 with a double, home run, three RBI and three runs scored, returning 41.1 points on FanDuel and 30 points on DraftKings. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2024 MLB season rolling, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Friday, July 12. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday is Astros second baseman Jose Altuve at $5,200 on DraftKings and $3,800 on FanDuel. Altuve had his eight-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday but he hasn’t had back-to-back games without a hit since May 21-22. The majority of the Houston offense got off to a slow start this season but since June 21, Altuve is hitting .348, which is the eighth-best batting average in baseball, over that span. Altuve also has 11 RBI and 12 runs scored over those 16 games.
Altuve has plenty of experience against Rangers probable starter Andrew Heaney and the nine-time All-Star has strong career success against the left-handed pitcher. Altuve is hitting .326 (14-for-43) with two home runs and four doubles over his career against Heaney. Altuve, a right-handed hitter, is batting .333 with an .874 OPS against LHP this season. The 34-year-old is a career .324 hitter with an .892 OPS against LHP, making this a strong matchup and option in McClure’s opinion for MLB DFS lineups.
McClure is also rostering Marlins first baseman Josh Bell ($3,600 on DraftKings and $2,500 on FanDuel). The nine-year veteran has a career-low in on-base percentage (.288), slugging percentage (.348) and OPS (.636) with eight home runs over 91 games. He did hit 22 home runs last year, including 11 home runs over his final 53 games with the Marlins last season, so that power potential remains there.
The Reds are starting right-handed pitcher Carson Spiers against the Marlins on Friday and the 26-year-old allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings in his last start on Friday against the Tigers. Spiers, in his first full MLB season, had a 5.76 ERA over six career starts as he has spent time as both a starter and a reliever early in his MLB career. Bell, a left-handed hitter, is a career .262 hitter with a .793 OPS against RHP and left-handed hitters are batting .318 with an .884 OPS against Spiers this year. See McClure’s full MLB DFS player pool right here.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for July 12, 2024
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Friday. 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, and get the rest of McClure’s MLB DFS picks, here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, all from the DFS expert who has won more than $2 million.
