DFS MLB Lineups for June 16, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this daily fantasy baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster. And if you’re looking for a new way to play DFS, be sure and give BOOM Fantasy a try!
We’ve got a full 15 games on the Friday DFS MLB slate with Max Scherzer, Luis Severino, Carlos Martinez, Carlos Carrasco, Alex Wood, and James Paxton all taking the hill. As you see, there is no shortage of quality arms to choose from and for two pitcher sites, you’ll have to decide between jamming in two of the above, or mix and match with some of the mid to low tier options. That said, I’ve put together several lineups utilizing two of the pitchers above that I think are pretty quality builds, so I’ll likely have a lot of two top pitcher lineups with a few that include Joe Biagini and Sean Newcomb. Good luck tonight! – Matt
A quick reminder while playing DFS MLB, don’t forget baseball is a game of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even Clayton Kershaw can get lit up, and Mike Trout can still go 0 for 4. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.
Another thing to remember outside of making sure your player is in the lineup, is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!
6/16/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $115k guaranteed (20 Entry Max)
DraftKings Power Alley: $44 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $888 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $40 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Rally: $9 buy-in, $250k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for June 16, 2017
Max Scherzer @ NYM ($12.9k DraftKings, $12.4k FanDuel)
Gio Gonzalez looked good last night against the inconsistent Mets lineup and now the Nationals send a true ace to the mound against their divisional rivals. Scherzer’s been one of the most appealing play in DFS with 48 K’s and just 4 ER allowed over his last 4 outings (32 IP), going 3-1 in the process. He’s simply been untouchable with a 15.6% Swing-and-miss Strike Rate and 34.6% Swinging Rate outside the zone that have been the key to his success throughout his career. Current Mets are sporting a collective 35% K-Rate over 131 career at-bats against Scherzer and have been relatively strikeout-prone lately.
James Paxton @ TEX ($8.8k DraftKings, $8.7k FanDuel)
He struggled in his last two outings against Twins and Blue Jays lineups that really can slug off lefties, but Paxton could rebound against a lefty-heavy Rangers lineup tonight. Texas currently has the lowest collective wOBA (.285) in the A.L. with the highest K-Rate (27%) in the majors against LHP this year and therefore it’s pretty hard to beat the matchup for Paxton. Current Rangers have struck out 21 times over 99 at-bats with just 2 HRs to post a .315 wOBA in their careers against Paxton, who is still sporting a respectable 2.25 ERA with a 10.04 K/9 ratio to add upside to his stellar potential.
Joe Biagini vs. CWS ($6.9k DraftKings, $7.7k FanDuel)
Biagini has been solid by most metrics with a 2.86 FIP and 21.4% K-Rate to make his 3.38 ERA through 21 appearances even more impressive. He’s been great since moving from the bullpen into the rotation and faces a White Sox offense tonight that’s struggled against RHP with the lowest collective wOBA (.300) against righties amongst A.L. teams this year and a 22.8% K-Rate to boot. Biagini has only given up 3 ER (1.01 ERA) with a .177 BAA over 10 appearances at Rogers Centre and seems to be a great value option tonight.
Other pitchers to consider: Luis Severino, Carlos Martinez, Alex Wood, Dan Straily, Sean Manaea, Junior Guerra
Best DFS MLB Hitters for June 16, 2017
Giancarlo Stanton @ ATL ($4.7k DraftKings, $4k FanDuel)
He’s understandably been more dangerous with a .302 batting average and 8 HRs over 32 road appearances this season and Stanton could be deadly against Braves young LHP Sean Newcomb. The rookie looked impressive against the struggling Mets in his MLB debut, but now he faces a slugger who is rocking a .385 average with a .570 wOBA and ridiculous .590 ISO Mark against the platoon this year. Stanton’s been raking lately and he could serve as the heart of a Marlins stack this evening.
Jose Altuve vs. BOS ($4.6k DraftKings, $3.9k FanDuel)
Red Sox southpaw Drew Pomeranz simply doesn’t pitch with much deception, as he leans on a fastball/curveball combination that’s made him easy for batters to time up this year. Pomeranz is coughing up a 16.7% HR/FB ratio and a career-worst 35.5% Hard Contact Rate this year ahead of a brutal matchup on the road against the hottest team in baseball. Altuve’s certainly been at the vanguard of Houston’s production with a .320 batting average and 11 SBs to go along with 9 HRs and 19 XBH this year, while he’s hitting .342 in his career against LHP and happens to be 5-for-12 off Pomeranz.
Jon Jay @ PIT ($3.4k DraftKings, $2k FanDuel)
We could also see Jayson Heyward start in this plus spot against Pirates RHP Trevor Williams, but both players could be worth a look as values if they platoon against him. Williams is sporting a 5.13 ERA and allowing LHB to hit .287 so far this season after coughing up 3 HRs over just 22 at-bats against lefties last year. Jay is hitting .348 over his last 10 appearances and while he hasn’t flashed much upside, he’s been a solid contributor and could jump in on a couple of rallies as a minimum-priced option on FanDuel.
Other hitters to consider: Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Lorenzo Cain, Justin Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Whit Merrifield, Miguel Cabrera, Stephen Piscotty, Yasmani Grandal, Kole Calhoun, Aaron Altherr, Austin Jackson
6/16/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Tigers vs Erasmo Ramirez
A Tigers stack begins with Miguel Cabrera on DK, where he’s still dramatically under priced and worth a look as a stand-alone option as well. J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler round out the heart of this stack, which seems relatively shallow, but could also include surging 3B Nick Castellanos and boom-or-bust OF Justin Upton. Detroit will host a consistently vulnerable RHP in Erasmo Ramirez, who has posted a 4.20 ERA with a 35.3% Hard Contact Rate and he’s allowed RHB to hit .270 this year, which bodes well for the Tigers righty-heavy lineup.
Indians vs Nik Turley
The Twins have been mashing lately, but their pitching staff remains vulnerable and they’ve been forced to go deeper into the pen with rookie Nik Turley making a spot start for the injured Hector Santiago. Turley was tagged for 4 ER on 8 hits in his MLB debut last Sunday and now he’ll face an Indians lineup that’s chock full of dangerous hitters whether they’re in LvL matchups or switch hitting. Francisco Lindor is starting to round back into form as is Edwin Encarnacion, who is a very enticing GPP play with the platoon advantage in this matchup. Outfielders Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall are LHBs that can thrive against weak southpaws and backstop Yan Gomes also loves to face lefties.
Cubs vs Trevor Williams
There could be a couple of cheap LHBs to use against Williams in Jon Jay and/or Jayson Heyward and Anthony Rizzo is suddenly a great option at the top of the Cubs order. Ian Happ is coming around as yet another platooning option to consider against Williams, though he has actually been more vulnerable with a 6.04 FIP and 2.01 HR/9 ratio against RHB this year. You can definitely consider Kris Bryant as a tournament option while backstop Willson Contreras and infielder Javier Baez also have potential in this plus matchup.
Other Stacks to consider:
Brewers vs Miguel Diaz
Diamondbacks vs. Aaron Nola
Dodgers vs. Scott Feldman
Astros vs. Drew Pomeranz
