Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: MLB DraftKings Strategy, Primer for July 21

There are a number of high-priced options across the board for Tuesday's daily fantasy baseball contests, but not all of them are smart choices for your team. Here is a breakdown of the best and worst options available to help you take home some prize money.

Players to Draft

Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets ($10,900)

The most expensive option of the day is there for a reason. Jacob deGrom has been outstanding lately, totaling a 2.14 ERA and continuing to post big numbers. His appearance at the All-Star Game should only give him more confidence going forward:

After dominating his past two road starts with 16 combined innings, 17 strikeouts, one walk and zero earned runs, deGrom should have no problem going on the road to take on the Washington Nationals. 

Mark Buehrle, SP, Toronto Blue Jays ($8,100)

While a veteran pitcher who doesn't throw hard doesn't often make a lot of headlines, Mark Buehrle has quietly been outstanding in recent months. The 36-year-old pitcher won his 10th game just before the All-Star break, marking the 15th year in a row he reached double-digit victories.

More importantly for this year, Buehrle has gone eight starts in a row with two or fewer earned runs allowed, totaling at least seven innings in all but one. After a couple of poor starts in the beginning of the season, the lefty has pitched like an ace and should continue to succeed this week.

Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles ($5,000)

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

After ending the first half on a high note, Adam Jones has been just as hot after the All-Star break with seven hits and a home run in three games. With New York Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi allowing opponents to hit .308 against him on the season, Jones and the rest of the Orioles have a chance to get a lot of runs.

DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies ($4,300)

DJ LeMahieu reached the All-Star Game thanks to an impressive first half of the season, but a lot of that was attributed to playing his home games at Coors Field. This is shown through an OPS that is about 200 points higher at home than on the road.

The good news is LeMahieu is home this week, so feel free to bet on the second baseman to have a big game.

Brandon Crawford, SS, San Francisco Giants ($3,600)

Even though Brandon Crawford hasn't been able to replicate his outstanding month of May, he is still too good to be available at this price. The shortstop has impressive power for his position and is always a threat to add runs and RBI in one of the more consistent lineups in the league.

At this cost, he is worth the chance he gets a strong game.

Players to Avoid

Gerrit Cole, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates ($10,500)

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

While he has obviously been spectacular this season (13-3, 2.30 ERA), Gerrit Cole is not an obvious fantasy pick for Tuesday's game.

One of the big issues has been his lowered strikeout totals in recent starts. Cole is averaging just 4.6 strikeouts in his last five games, never reaching more than six. As a result, he hasn't topped 25 fantasy points on DraftKings at all during this stretch, a number that used to be a baseline for him.

With a high cost and a tough matchup in the Kansas City Royals, this might be a good time to pass on the All-Star.

Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies ($5,700)

Like LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon is better at home than on the road. However, a major difference is his struggles against left-handers, which he will face in Matt Harrison. Although the Texas Rangers pitcher has missed plenty of time in recent years with injuries, the southpaw has always been good against lefties.

As hot as Blackmon has been lately, he is not worth this insane price.

Brett Gardner, OF, New York Yankees ($4,900)

Even in the midst of a strong year, Brett Gardner has gone a bit cold at the plate with little extra-base power on display in recent weeks. Since the start of July, he only has one double and one home run.

This isn't likely to change against tough lefty Wei-Yin Chen of the Baltimore Orioles. Considering Gardner also has zero stolen bases against left-handers this year, it's hard to imagine where the fantasy points will come from in this game.

Team to Stack

Texas Rangers

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

It's always fun for opposing teams to hit in Coors Field, especially when the Colorado Rockies send Kyle Kendrick to the mound. The former Phillies starter has amassed a 3-10 record this season to go with his embarrassing 5.94 ERA. Things are only worse at home, where he has a 6.54 ERA.

The Texas Rangers have cooled off a bit at the plate this month, but players like Prince Fielder, Delino DeShields, Adrian Beltre and others could be good bets to get hot.

Note: All prices courtesy of DraftKings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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