Giants starter Kevin Gausman (9-3, 1.84) picked the perfect time to tap into his massive potential as the former top-five draft pick is having a career year. Gausman leads the NL in ERA and could make a serious run at the Cy Young award with Jacob deGrom on the injured list. The 30-year-old never had an ERA below 3.57 before this season, but his sparkling efforts have him as one of the top MLB DFS picks whenever he's on the mound. Gausman will be one of many All-Star pitchers going tonight as he, along with Corbin Burnes, Chris Bassitt and Carlos Rodon give Saturday a robust MLB DFS player pool.
With the high price tag of Gausman ($9,700 on DraftKings, $11,100 on FanDuel), is he worth breaking the bank -- even against the lowly Pirates -- for tonight's MLB DFS lineups? And which of the other ace pitchers should you try to fit under your MLB DFS salary cap? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Saturday, 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 almost $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 Friday, McClure included Phillies starter Zack Wheeler as one of his top pitching options on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Wheeler went seven innings in a win over the Braves, allowing just one earned run and striking out eight on his way to 52 points on FanDuel and over 28 points on DraftKings. Anybody who had him in their lineup was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2021 MLB season rolling on, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Saturday. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for July 24, 2021
One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Saturday is Royals first baseman Carlos Santana at $5,100 on DraftKings and $2,900 on FanDuel. Santana hit his 16th home run of the year on Friday and is now on a modest five-game hit streak. The 35-year-old has 52 RBI and a .775 OPS in his first season in Kansas City, and he ranks third in the American League in walks.
Santana has a nice Saturday matchup against former number one overall draft pick Casey Mize of the Tigers. Mize is dominant against right-handed batters, but the switch-hitting Santana will have the advantage as he'll be batting from the left side. Mize has allowed 12 of his 15 home runs to left-handed batters and his OPS allowed vs. southpaws is 257 points than what he allows to righties. McClure recognizes this as a matchup to exploit.
Part of McClure's optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Reds second baseman Jonathan India ($4,700 on DraftKings, $3,300 on FanDuel), who is hitting the cover off the ball lately and has a 1.024 OPS in July. He went 2-for-5 on Friday with a run scored as he's pushed his OPS to .825 for the season.
India's solid line was just a continuation of his dominance against the Cardinals this season. He has hit .432 against St. Louis over a decent sample size of 11 games and he's also slugging .730 against the divisional rival. He will see rookie Jake Woodford on the mound on Saturday and the 25-year-old will be making just his third career start and has a 4.67 career ERA. A hot batter plus a struggling pitcher makes India a must-start for tonight's MLB DFS lineups.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for July 24, 2021
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Saturday. 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 Saturday? 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.
