Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 6/24/15

Go ahead and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks. Sign up now and get a free 3 day trial to our lineup construction tool for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster.

 

Pitchers

Early Slate
Chris Sale - FD 11600 DK 12600
You are paying an arm and a leg for him (not literally of course, he has a salary after all) but is there any pitcher in the league more dominating right now? He's been an absolute beast over the short term with 75 strikeouts in his last 45 innings. You read those numbers correctly. He's K'ing 1.67 batters per inning over his last six games. The Twins aren't a bowl over of a matchup and rank in the top half of the league against that split. And they don't strike out a ton. But it's hard to argue against Sale's results and he's a big favorite for the win. This is a crazy price to pay on a short slate, but it's hard to argue against considering what kind of numbers he's putting up lately. It also doesn't help that there aren't many other viable options on this slate and I think you are "stuck" with Sale and his 2.43 xFIP.

Consider not playing anyone else on this slate.

Evening Slate
Clay Buchholz - FD 8400 DK 7200
I'm not in love with the pitching options on this slate. The biggest money guy Gerrit Cole is cost prohibitive for his projections against the Reds. So I think we can take some chances against cheaper guys with good matchups and/or high win expectations. Buchholz's one such guy. His peripherals this season are solid with a nearly 4:1 K:BB rate as he's putting down about a batter an inning. The 3.26 xFIP points to a guy a getting it done much more than not. Buchh is one of those dudes you know if he has it early. If not, it's all over. The Orioles are a decent hitting team of course, but strike out more than 22% of the time. Fenway Park knocks down power to lefties which helps Clay of course. He's a slight favorite today for the win and his DK price is pretty much a lock for me today.

Jordan Zimmermann - FD 8300 DK 7800
Though the strikeouts are a little down this season, he still has a 3:1 K:BB rate and is a -180 favorite against the Braves. Atlanta doesn't strike out a ton and is a seriously compromised team without Freddie Freeman in the lineup. You are still working close to the value line with this pick and he isn't a run away favorite for a big game, but this slate is tough with pitching.

Mike Bolsinger - FD 6500 DK 7000
This one's if you want to shoot a little upside on this slate. The Cubs actually haven't been nails against righties this season, ranking in the bottom half of the league in team wOBA on that split and most importantly, striking out 25% of the time. Bolsinger strikes out about a batter and inning and if he can limit the walks then he could be in line to outstrip his price by a healthy margin. More a tournament play because there's a chance he gets lit up by Rizzo and company. But I like his upside, especially on DraftKings.

Strongly consider Clay Buchholz

 

Just killing time until fantasy football season? Fantasy Pros has a pretty cool mock drafting software you can check out!

 

Catchers

Early Slate
Yan Gomes - FD 2300 DK 3100
You think Justin Verlander is cooked? Because I sure think Justin Verlander is cooked. Dude just hasn't looked right over the last little while and hitters have been taking advantage of his pre and post injury. We are seeing what happens to a pitcher when the arm's logged a million miles. It ain't pretty. I much prefer Gomes when he's hitting against lefties but will make the exception on this slate. He's about league average over the last year and change against righty pitching so it's not all extreme.

Evening Slate
Salvador Perez - FD 2400 DK 3500
He's been crushed by BABIP over the last season plus when it comes to hitting lefties. Perez is better for his career in this split but has run bad over the short-ish term when it comes to this platoon. I don't love the ballpark of course, but don't mind the matchup against Elias. I wish Perez hit about 1-2 spots higher in the batting order and then I'd feel a little more warm and fuzzy about the pick.

Consider whoever is catching for the Rockies on this slate.

 

 

First base

Early Slate
Jose Abreu - FD 3400 DK 4600
Adam LaRoche - FD 2500 DK 3100
If you read us a lot (or even just picked up on us yesterday) you know these guys show up a lot in the picks. It's for good reason. They are moderate to punt-priced dudes hitting in the middle of the lineup for the White Sox. Neither is an elite hitter (though maybe Abreu is close) but both have extreme power upside on any given day. For a min-priced guy Laroche has a 137 wRC+ and .852 OPS over the last year in that split. Abreu's even better (though more expensive) with an .899 OPS. Both go against an extreme flyball pitcher in Phillip Hughes. Target Field plays about average for power and I do like the power upside on both relative to pricing.

Evening Slate
David Ortiz - FD 3000 DK 4400
Bud Norris is getting absolutely hammered by lefties this season as they are OPS'ing close to 1.000 against his weak arm. Even with some bad luck thrown in there, that's an alarming number and points to him getting shelled in this split early and often. Papi's shown a slight bounce back with power with three home runs over the last ten days or so. It's starting to come around for him and this matchup is completely in his favor. Even with Fenway playing poorly for lefty power, he has more than enough upside against Norris.

Lucas Duda - FD 3100 DK 4400
Jimmy Nelson isn't an awful arm, but does walk a fair amount of batter (3.40 per nine) and doesn't strike out more than eight in the same set. Duda's putting together a solid season with a mid .800's OPS thanks to a .203 ISO and an 11% walk rate. Though he's been better against lefties this season, that's not a career trend. Miller Park plays up power in a big way to lefties and he has home run upside in this game.

 

Second base

Early Slate
Jason Kipnis - FD 4500 DK 4700
Was really hoping Utley would avoid the disabled list. But alas, that dream died hard. And now we are stuck with what to do at second base. Kipnis is clearly the top option from a projected points perspective but you need to pay an arm and a leg to get him in your lineup. That's going to be a tough shout considering I think you also sort of need to pay up for Reyes below. Regardless, Kipnis is in a solid matchup against Verlander who's looked anything but ace-like this season. If you decide to go anywhere but Sale, then Kipnis is the clear play. If not, then the decisions will be tough.

Evening Slate
Neil Walker - FD 2500 DK 3700
Look, he's not a fantastic hitter. We know this. But Walker comes so cheap on a daily basis and is forever in and around the top of the order for the Buckos. It's that second piece that makes him such a value add considering his pricing. He raises his floor quite a bit just by where they choose to bat him. The K's are up a bit this season but he's had above average success against righty pitching with a 109 wRC+ on the season. Not a fantastic number, but for his price tags it gets the job done against a guy like Mike Leake.

Ben Zobrist - FD 3200 DK 4700
Not toughing the DraftKings price, but on FanDuel he's totally in play against Wandy Rodriguez. Zobrist is actually a fairly neutral splits guy for his career but has had a decent amount of success against lefties. For his career his 124 wRC+ and .807 OPS rate out considering he's spent most of that time batting in pitcher's parks. The FanDuel pricing is right in that mid range and I love him going in Great American Ballpark. Again, I think it's out of bounds on DraftKings.

Consider Kolten Wong on DraftKings

 

Shortstop

Early Slate
Jose Reyes - FD 3700 DK 4300
You need to pay a premium for him on this slate, and that can be tough if you're rostering Sale. But if there's one position to overspend a little on today it's most likely shortstop. There are just so few other options going on this slate who you don't want to puke over. Reyes never takes a walk, something you don't typically love out of your leadoff hitter and the matchup against Karns isn't ideal consider the latter's K rate. But again, there are just so few decent options on this short slate that you just need to take some lumps with Reyes.

Evening Slate
Troy Tulowitzki - FD 4400 DK 4600
If you aren't spending up for pitching on this slate (and I don't think you have to) then paying for Tulo doesn't seem like much of a thing. His price has actually leveled off in the "reasonable" area over the short term. Remember, Allen Webster is a pile of hot garbage on the mound who walks nearly five batters per nine with an xFIP over five for his career. He could be in big trouble against the Rockies in Coors today and I want to have exposure to this game for sure. The big concern for Tulo this season is how his walk rate has plummeted. Webster will put that trend to the test today.

Marcus Semien - FD 2300 DK 3900
Need him hitting near the top of the lineup to even consider playing him. If he's slotted back in the 8-9 hole then forget him. But, if the A's bat him second against lefty Wandy Rodriguez then I have no issue running him out there on the expectation he sees an added plate appearance. Again, I'd much, much rather pay up for Tulo in this slot, but just in case you want to go a different direction or much cheaper on FanDuel, Semien isn't a terrible option.

Consider Ian Desmond

 

Third base

Early Slate
Evan Longoria - FD 2900 DK 3900
This slate is very tough. I don't feel confident about a ton of the plays simply because there are limited options and some fair-to-good arms going here. We obviously want to typically target Longoria against lefties, but you are left with basically having to play his price tag against the righty Estrada today. It doesn't give you that "amazing all over" feeling, but that's hard to come by in these early games. I think you can take him on the wrong side of his platoon considering he's affordable and hitting in the middle of the lineup. The DraftKings price is especially tempting.

Evening Slate
Joey Gallo - FD 3100 DK 3700
Obviously Gallo's big issue is the strikeout, which he does at an alarming 40% rate in his short major league tenure. That number is troubling though not surprising if you followed any of his minor league stint. Dude is a power hitter through and through. The strikeouts are going to come with the territory for him. So I like playing him against lower K guys like Kendall Gravemen, where the swing and miss expectation gets reduced just a tad. The Ballpark in Arlington is one of the best hitter's parks in baseball and Gallo's price has come down to a point where you can buy on the upside and not get killed by the floor.

Pablo Sandoval - FD 2600 DK 4200
Don't love the DraftKings price, but he's still coming very cheap on FanDuel and has a nice matchup against no-K, bad arm Bud Norris. Big Panda (emphasis on the "Big") is what he is. A low power, decent contact guy hitting in and around the middle of the order for the Sox. Not going to knock your socks off (unless he's like into that kind of thing, not sure) but the contact rate keeps the floor at a decent level all things considered.

 

Outfield

Early Slate
Michael Brantley - FD 3200 DK 4400
Brandon Moss - FD 2900 DK 3800
Hopefully by now you've picked up on the theme of wanting to target bats against Verlander. Cleveland has actually played up well above average for lefty power over the last couple of years, giving both of these guys a boost in home run expectation. Both are significantly better against righty arms with Brantly rocking a .889 OPS and .386 wOBA in that split over the last year or so. He's near impossible to strikeout which will be a problem for Verlander. Moss has a different hitter's profile in that he K's a ton, but also draws a fair amount of walks. The BABIP has crushed his versus righty split in the last season plus and yet his platoons there still rate out at above average. A ton to like about these two and I'll work to stack Indians wherever possible.

Consider Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia on the cheap though in less than ideal matchups.
Evening Slate
A lot to love about outfield on this slate.

Nelson Cruz - FD 3200 DK 4700
Mark Trumbo - FD 2400 DK 3900
Austin Jackson - FD 2600 DK 3700
The big one to target here, and a guy I suspect is the highest owned player on the slate (or probably should be) is Cruz who absolutely dominates lefty pitching for his career. It's no different this season coming into the game with a 305 wRC+ and 1.500 OPS against southpaws this season. Obviously those are small sample size video game numbers, but his career splits point in this general direction. He lives to hit this hand and is in a great spot against Danny Duffy. I don't love the ballpark of course, especially with Coors also on this slate. But Cruz's splits are just too much to ignore. You can consider his other, lefty-feasting teammates as well.

Carlos Gonzalez - FD 3800 DK 4500

Charlie Blackmon - FD 4500 DK 4900
Like I said for Tulo, Webster is a guy we want to target bats against and getting top of the order Rockies' bats in makes a lot of sense. I should say that I like CarGo's pricing much more than Blackmon and will have Gonzalez in about 100% of my lineups today as long as he plays. He's run bad with BABIP this season as the number is about 70 points off his career average even though the LD% is up and the FB% is down. I think you are going to see some regression for him in the form of bigger games and he's in a position to get that started today. Blackmon's big value is hitting from the leadoff spot. He's an average hitter whose boost comes from the lineup placement, matchup and park.

Gregory Polanco - FD 2500 DK 4000
Moved back into the leadoff slot yesterday and as long as he sticks there is a tremendous value, especially on FanDuel. Polanco's value add is the speed as he already has 17 stolen bases on the season. Wish he walked a little bit more to give those legs a chance to breath on the base paths, but the added expectation he gets from an additional .5 plate appearances per game as opposed to hitting in the bottom third of the order helps raise the floor quite a bit. Mike Leake is a high groundball, low K pitcher which fits Polanco's skillset to a T.

Be sure to try out a free 3-day trial to the projection system that helps produce these picks for the MLB! And check out our free MLB ebook below.