DFS MLB Lineups for June 23, 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 DFS MLB slate for June 23 led by Chris Archer, Stephen Strasburg, and Alex Wood on the mound. The second tier brings some intriguing options in Michael Fulmer, Jimmy Nelson, and J.A. Happ, all of which have 25+ point upside. From there, we’ve got the cheap guys with high upside and very low (like, negative points) floors in Dinelson Lamet and Jharel Cotton. In all honesty, I’ll probably have shares of all the guys above, with Alex Wood the leader in the clubhouse as far as exposure. – 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!
6/23/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Power Alley: $44 buy-in, $350k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $140k guaranteed
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $100k guaranteed (20 Entry Max)
FanDuel Grand Slam: $44 buy-in, $250k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $9 buy-in, $125k guaranteed
FanDuel Suicide Squeeze: $6 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for June 23, 2017
Stephen Strasburg vs. CIN ($11.7k DraftKings, $10.9k FanDuel)
Despite his relative struggles over his last 2 starts, I’ll roll with Strasburg over Rays ace Chris Archer as the top option tonight. He was touched up early by familiar foes in the Braves and Mets, but current Reds are just 7-for-36 (.194) with 10 K’s over a limited sample of at-bats against Strasburg and that might hamper their ability to produce. The Reds are also sending a rookie to the mound in Luis Castillo and the Nationals offense should be able to provide enough support to help Strasburg get back on track.
Alex Wood vs. COL ($9.6k DraftKings, $9.5k FanDuel)
Even if this game were at Coors Field, you could still consider Wood, as he’s simply been a rock for the Dodgers while Clayton Kershaw has shown some chinks in his previously impenetrable armor. With a 1.90 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .188 BAA on the season, it’s little surprise that Wood is 7-0 over 10 starts and he’s giving righties a power outage with a .178 BAA and 2.35 xFIP when facing RHB this year. Lefties have struggled equally against the deceptive southpaw and he already spun 6 shutout innings with 10 K’s against this Rockies lineup at Coors earlier this season.
J.A. Happ @ KC ($8k DraftKings, $8.3k FanDuel)
The first inning of Happ’s return to the Blue Jays rotation went quite poorly, but since then, he’s slowly been regaining his form. The lefty has struck out 17 with one walk while allowing 3 ER over his last 2 outings (12.2 IP) and now he draws the best matchup possible in the American League at pitcher friendly Kaufmann Stadium against the light-hitting Royals. Kansas City is dead last amongst A.L. teams with a collective .300 wOBA and 282 runs scored, so Happ should be able to post another Quality Start and it’s worth noting that he posted a .224 BAA on the road last season.
Other pitchers to consider: Chris Archer, Michael Fulmer, Yu Darvish, Trevor Bauer, Mike Foltynewicz, Dinelson Lamet
Best DFS MLB Hitters for June 23, 2017
Jake Lamb vs. PHI ($5.2k DraftKings, $3.9k FanDuel)
The Phillies are scrambling for a starter with Jerad Eickhoff injured and they’ve decided to give young relieve Mark Leiter Jr. a chance. The rookie has posted a 4.74 ERA over 12 relief appearances this year and posted a 5.40 ERA when facing LHB at the AAA level this season, so one of the top lefty hitters out there could certainly give him trouble. Lamb is slugging .497 with an .861 OPS and 10 of his 16 HRs coming at home this season and he’s hot again with a .324 batting average, 8 RBIs and 9 walks over his last 10 appearances.
Nelson Cruz vs. HOU ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.3k FanDuel)
His power tends to come in waves, so take note when Cruz starts to bust out his boom stick. With 4 hits, including 2 doubles and 2 walks to drive in 5 runs over his last 2 appearances, he could be at the start of a power surge and he has a decent chance to go yard tonight off Astros RHP Joe Musgrove, who has posted a 2.12 HR/9 ratio when facing RHB this year. Righties are posting a collective .377 wOBA against Musgrove this year and that makes both Cruz and fellow right-handed outfielder Mitch Haniger great options in the mid-tier price range on DraftKings.
Josh Harrison @ STL ($3.9k DraftKings, $3.2k FanDuel)
He’s stolen a base in consecutive games and posted double-digit FPs in three straight, which makes it strange to see Harrison priced below $4K on DK ahead of another plus matchup. The Pirates will face fading veteran Adam Wainwright, who gave up a stunning 9 ER on 3 HRs over just 1.2 IP in his last start and is currently rocking an ugly 5.75 ERA with a 1.64 WHIP on the season. Righties are doing more damage with a .313 batting average and .506 slugging percentage against Waino and Harrison happens to be 9-for-24 with 2 doubles in his career against him.
Other hitters to consider: Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Mookie Betts, Josh Donaldson, Ian Happ, Mitch Haniger, Andrew McCutchen, Lonnie Chisenhall, Mike Zunino
6/23/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Blue Jays vs Jake Junis
So far, Junis has been rocked at the Major League level with a 6.76 FIP, 17.6% HR/FB ratio and 46.7% Hard Contact Rate over 6 appearances this year. The spacious confines of Kaufmann Stadium did little to help as he gave up 7 runs (4 earned) in his sole home start and now he’ll face a Blue Jays offense that’s become much more dangerous with Josh Donaldson healthy and back in the lineup. Donaldson sat out Thursday’s game with knee soreness but is expected to play tonight and he’s actually going much better with a .339 average and .939 OPS on the road this year. Either Justin Smoak or Kendrys Morales will get a chance to bat in the heart of the order and Jose Bautista is worth a look in tournaments. Kevin Pillar is another solid value and Ryan Goins should start at 2B with Devon Travis injured.
Red Sox vs Alex Meyer
While Angels young RHP Alex Meyer has been solid this year, Vegas isn’t buying his success, as the Red Sox have been assigned the highest run total (5.88) on the slate as they prepare to host the Halos tonight. The big righty depends on overpowering hitters to post a lofty K/9 ratio (10.76) but beginning with feisty hitters Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia, he’ll have a very hard time getting swings and misses from this lineup. Meyer’s posting a 5.59 ERA on the road and a career 5.26 FIP when facing LHB, so give Andrew Benintendi a look as he starts to heat up, while Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland are also GPP candidates.
Indians vs Adalberto Mejia
Things didn’t go so well for Mejia in his last start, which happened to come against these Indians, as he gave up 2 ER and 2 HRs over just 4.2 IP last Saturday. Lonnie Chisenhall and Austin Jackson launched those bombs and both can be on your radar as potential values if in the lineup tonight and while he went 0-for-4 last Saturday, Edwin Encaranacion is a premier power threat who is projected to do some damage in this matchup. Francisco Lindor is quickly heating up with 2 hits in each of his last 3 appearances and Jose Ramirez has been a hit machine to spark a lot of the Indians’ offense of late.
Other Stacks to consider:
Rays vs Ubaldo Jimenez
Cubs vs. Jose Urena
Diamondbacks vs. Mark Leiter Jr.
Astros vs. Felix Hernandez
