Here is our Daily Fantasy Sports Major League Baseball Lineup Tips for June 22, 2018:
Pitchers:
Today’s pitching slate is a rather strange one where there is a lack of options in the elite tier. This causes most pitchers to be somewhat seemingly “overpriced.” Understanding how this changes the slate will be a key to winning today in DFS. There are less overall guys on the slate that are “safe” for their price tag. You have to choose to pay up and probably overspend for safety or look a little lower and take more risk. Personally, I hate overpaying for pitching, so I will most likely be pointing away from most of the top guys.
Jack Flaherty is the first pitcher on the board that even interests me, but the spot isn’t great against a good Brewers offense in a great park for offense. Flaherty posted a quality outing in his first outing this year vs. Milwaukee, but I don’t think he is worth spending up for in cash or possibly in GPP’s. If you have the money, I understand it but he will only be in my lineups if everything else fits first.
Can we pay this much for 36-year-old CC Sabathia? Uhhhh, maybe? Sabathia has been up and down this year, giving really solid performances or putting up duds. Of late, Sabathia has been really solid. His swinging strike rate is over 13% in his last 3 starts and he struck out a season-high 10 Rays less than a week ago. In that game, Sabathia put up a performance good enough for this salary, especially for this slate. Sabathia also got unlucky in that start, allowing a massive BABIP of .476. With a park upgrade in this game, if we get the same CC, we can see a pretty dominant performance that would make you happy at just about any price tag.
Shane Bieber is a talented, young arm that has excelled in the minor leagues. In his first two major league starts, he has shown signs of being a quality pitcher. Now, Bieber is getting his easiest matchup, at home and he should see some run support. He has not thrown more than 90 pitches in his first 2 starts, but I am not overly concerned with that in particular. I don’t think he will surpass 100, but I can’t be too picky about the quick hook. Is he worth it? He could be. Bieber will have to avoid almost any slip-ups to hit a high ceiling, but I think he is viable in all formats if you understand the inherent risk of the unknown.
Dallas Keuchel has been horrible and I don’t WANT to play him but he is cheaper than other guys that I would’ve never bet to be priced higher in a million years. He also has a nice matchup with the Royals, who he was rather successful against just last start. Keuchel may be able to rely on his recent success vs. this Royals team who he just performed well against last week and be able to provide a decent game. What a rousing endorsement, huh?
Jon Gray could be in half of my lineups or none of them depending on the sense of the industry. Gray faces a horrible Miami lineup in Coors Field. Gray isn’t too expensive and has shown upside even within Coors. Miami doesn’t have many bats that can take advantage of Gray’s home run problems, which should raise the floor a little. I see Gray as a very polarizing play where the decision to play him or not may change my night. He has a massive range of outcomes and I will fade the field. If they love Gray, I’ll root for the blow-up game and vice versa.
Go and look at Wade LeBlanc’s game logs and you will see the appeal. He just threw an absolute gem vs. the Red Sox last time out and it wasn’t exactly a fluke. The Red Sox really struggled in that game and even LeBlanc’s xFIP in that game was below 2. Now, do I expect 7 innings, 2 hits, and 9 K’s? No. LeBlanc has been more than serviceable this season and I’d take 15 DK points on this slate. I think LeBlanc is in play in all formats.
Stacks:
The Rockies will most likely be the most popular stack on the entire slate and for good reason. The Rockies face Wei-Yin Chen, who is a flyball pitcher, at Coors Field. I’d take the over on 2.5 home runs. Wait, did I mention he’s left-handed? Story, Arenado, Iannetta/Murphy, Desmond, and LeMahieu are all elite plays at their position and I will be all over them tonight.
Alex Cobb has been really bad this season and the Braves have been really good. Now, the Braves are home vs. a bad right-hander with a bad bullpen behind him. The Braves will be one of my main stacks tonight and have the ability to really go off and never look back tonight.
Danny Duffy and Luis Castillo have been DFS darlings at different points of their career and even this season. I am unsure of exactly what side of the coin everyone will take on both of these guys. I will be stacking against either one a little and possibly a lot if either of them is chalky. The Astros and Cubs are always capable of going off and I think they will be under-owned against two pitchers that are rather respected by most people.
The Yankees are hitting home runs at a record pace and are always viable as a stack. Playing 4 Yankees can easily result in 2, 3, 4 or even 5 homers from anyone in the lineup. I think the massive park downgrade will somewhat lower the ownership on the Yankees, but these guys don’t take advantage of their home park as much as you’d think. Sanchez, Stanton, Judge, even Torres, and Andujar all are hitting bombs and they would go in any park. Both Stanton and Sanchez are clearly heating up just watching their recent at-bats and are great targets in the near future as they are two of the best fantasy players in the league and have been seen in a negative light most of the year.
Secondary Stacks: Indians, Angels, Nationals, and Pittsburgh