Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: DraftKings Strategy, DFS Rankings for July 30

Trades are coming in hot and heavy, so daily fantasy baseball is becoming difficult to predict. With players donning new jerseys seemingly every day, matchups are constantly changing for owners, making it hard to keep up.

Luckily, we've been monitoring the top players and even found some gems to help stabilize lineups. Here is a look at rankings for the best players and multiple bargain-bin players to utilize.

Pos.	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3
Pitcher	Chris Sale	Carlos Martinez	Jake Arrieta
Catcher	Russell Martin	Brian McCann	Kyle Schwarber
First Baseman	Jose Abreu	Joey Votto	Chris Davis
Second Baseman	Jose Altuve	Ian Kinsler	Jason Kipnis
Third Baseman	Josh Donaldson	Alex Rodriguez	Todd Frazier
Shortstop	Carlos Correa	Troy Tulowitzki	Francisco Lindor
Outfielder	Nelson Cruz	Jose Bautista	Michael Brantley

Pitcher: Scott Kazmir, Houston Astros ($9,300)

The Houston Astros acquired Scott Kazmir because he's putting together a strong season. More importantly, he's been phenomenal against the American League West. The numbers, as they say, speak for themselves.

Kazmir wasn't slowed in his first start with Houston against a hot-hitting Kansas City Royals team, pitching seven shutout innings to earn the win. With an average of over 23 fantasy points in his last four starts, Kazmir is a lock for a low-end No. 1 or perfect No. 2 starter.

First Baseman: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies ($3,700)

Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Howard is still a shell of his former self at the plate, but he has been stout over the last week. He had two homers over the last three games before Wednesday. He's also seen his salary rise on DraftKings as a result, but he can still be found for less than $4,000.

In 14 at-bats against Shelby Miller, Howard has five hits with three home runs, a double and six RBI. Boasting a staggering 1.071 slugging percentage against Miller, Howard should provide a spark for both the Phillies and DFS owners on Thursday.

Third Baseman: Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians ($3,800)

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Similar to Howard, Carlos Santana has been a fairly inconsistent hitter this season. But Santana is rounding back into form with a hit in every start in the last five games. Oh, and three of those were extra-base knocks with a homer and two doubles.

The switch hitter has his weaknesses from both sides of the plate, but he has shown all of his power from the left side. Going up against Chris Bassitt, a righty, expect more huge numbers from Santana.

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians ($3,400)

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor is having a mammoth month of July for the Indians. Being surrounded by bats like Santana, Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis, Lindor has produced at a high clip and truly looked like a star.

Suffice to say, don't let the overall numbers terrify you.

Lindor struggled to find the power he showed in the minors initially, but he had three of his five homers in the last eight games. That's also led to more than 10 fantasy points per game over that stretch, well above his six points averaged this season.

Outfielder: Gerardo Parra, Milwaukee Brewers ($3,700)

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

Gerardo Parra has hit the ball well all season but has been absolutely crushing since the All-Star break. In 11 starts after the break, Parra had a hit in every game and multiple hits in five. He's also hitting .429/.494/.740 over the entire month of July.

While he hasn't enjoyed any success in his career against Jake Arrieta, he's also only faced him six times. Expect Parra to finally break through against the Cubs hurler with a solid start and great production from the No. 2 outfielder.

---

DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!

Follow R. Cory Smith on Twitter for more MLB DraftKings advice.