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Happy Wednesday, RotoBallers! There are seven-day games today, but this article will be focusing on the eight-game evening slate. Our slate starts with Gerrit Cole and the Yankees facing Ross Stripling and the Blue Jays in Buffalo. Then we wrap up the eight-game slate with Zack Wheeler facing off against Clayton Kershaw on the West Coast.
As DFS players, we are spoiled for choice with the number of aces on the evening slate. Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Wheeler will be incredibly popular in any contest. There are also the lower-tiered arms like Zack Greinke, Aaron Civale, and Anthony DeSclafani to use as secondary pitchers, or we can mix and match them to save some salary for the bats.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/16/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter and ask away.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Jacob deGrom - P, NYM vs CHC ($11,000)
DraftKings will have to do better than $11,000 if they want to scare us off deGrom. The front runner for NL MVP (yes, I said MVP) is making a case for the single-best pitching season in MLB history. His 0.56 ERA is the lowest through 10 starts EVER, and his 103 strikeouts in 64 innings are sublime. The two-time Cy Young winner topped 32 DraftKings points in each of his previous three starts, and he averages 35.1 fantasy points per game on the season. While the Cubs aren't as swing-and-miss as they once were (23.9 percent since May 1), their 104 weighted Runs Created plus versus righties doesn't scare me at all. I'm going to keep playing the best pitcher in baseball every start until DK makes it almost impossible.
Zack Greinke - P, HOU vs. TEX ($7,400)
While Greinke will carry an elevated roster percentage because of his name, it should be lower than usual after a rough start in Boston last week. However, before he allowed four earned runs in three innings to the Red Sox, Greinke was on quite a tear. From May 14-June 4 (five starts), he went 4-1 with four quality starts while twirling a 2.37 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and elite 4.3 percent walk rate. The 2009 Cy Young winner doesn't get the strikeouts we strive for, but, in those five starts, he went six innings in all five starts, seven innings in another, eight in two more, and threw a complete game on 102 pitches to stifle the Blue Jays. Greinke will see the Rangers in the batter's box on Wednesday, and their 23.95 percent strikeout rate and 88 wRC+ against righties will play right into Greinke's hands (and glove) to produce another excellent DFS performance.
Other options: Clayton Kershaw vs. PHI ($10,000), Aaron Civale vs. BAL ($8,900), Garrett Richards vs. ATL ($6,600)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Kyle Higashioka - C, NYY at Ross Stripling ($2,700)
Gerrit Cole is taking the mound for the Yankees, and it means Higashioka will be behind the plate for New York. Higshioka has caught 76 1/3 innings of Cole's 81 2/3 innings this season and more often than not gets the call behind the plate for the Cy Young contender. While Higashioka's .709 OPS is a bit of an eyesore, his $2,700 salary offers cheap exposure to an explosive Yankees lineup.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B, TOR vs. Gerrit Cole ($5,500)
Guerrero saw his home-run barrage come to an end last night versus the Yankees after hitting one in every game of the four-game series versus the Red Sox over the weekend. The young slugger is slashing .345/.450/.690 with 50 runs, a league-leading 22 home runs, and 56 RBI for the season. He's been a machine all year, and I'm not scared to play him against any pitcher, even Gerrit Cole. Per baseball savant, Guerrero is batting over .300 against fastballs, breaking balls, and offspeed pitches while also slugging .752 against fastballs and .688 when he sees a breaking ball. Long story short, he's mashing anything and everything, and all we can say to opposing pitchers is "Good luck" when they see Vladdy step into the box.
Jean Segura - 2B, PHI at Clayton Kershaw ($3,300)
Segura has hit his way up the Phillies lineup throughout the season and finds himself cemented into the two-hole in their lineup card. In the 27 games where the veteran infielder is hitting second, he's recorded a .319 batting average and .848 OPS with 15 runs, seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 12 RBI, and four stolen bases. Furthermore, over his last 10 games, Segura is averaging 10.9 fantasy points and has collected multi-hit efforts in three of his previous five games. Hitting second in a dangerous Phillies lineup for a lowly $3,300 is too good to pass up, even against Clayton Kershaw.
Rafael Devers - 3B, BOS vs. Ian Anderson ($5,300)
I'm not a massive fan of any of the prices at third base today, so spending up and grabbing a left-handed slugger playing in a ballpark crafted for a fellow left-handed slugger, Freddie Freeman, is one of my favorite options. That's right; I'm rolling with the red (sox) hot Rafael Devers against the Atlanta Braves. In 2021, Devers has elite counting stats with 45 runs, 16 homers, 54 RBI, and a .921 OPS. He's backing the surface numbers up with a 17.8 percent barrel rate, .399 expected weighted On Base Average and 56.3 percent hard-hit rate. Those are all in the top eight percent of the league and prove that you can never go wrong with Raffy Devers in your DFS lineups.
Brandon Crawford - SS, SF vs. Merrill Kelly ($4,100)
I've been sleeping on Crawford all year, and I'm fixing my mistake today. The 34-year old shortstop is in the middle of a career year and smashes baseball around the park. His 143 OPS+ (league average: 100) is a career-best, and he's well on pace to barrel his way to career-highs in several counting categories. In 59 games this season, Crawford is slashing .253/.339/.537 with 36 runs, 15 home runs, 44 RBI, and four steals. He broke a mild slump on Monday night with a three-run bomb, and he should be in the mix for his 25th extra-base hit of the season against Merrill Kelly's 5.14 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs. Jordan Lyles ($4,100)
So DraftKings finally bumped Kyle Tucker above $4,000, but he missed the game due to illness. If he is healthy enough to be in tonight's lineup, I'm still going to grab him at $4,100. The outfielder is in electric form right now, and hopefully, his absence doesn't 't derail him at all. Over his last 10 games, Tucker owns a .992 OPS with six runs, six doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. Although he is still in the bottom half of the Astros lineup, their offense is so good, and it offers plenty of RBI opportunities for the left-handed bat. There should be plenty of runners on the basepaths for Tucker tonight when the Rangers throw out Jordan Lyles and his 1.52 WHIP for the series finale at Minute Maid Park.
Cedric Mullins - OF, BAL at Aaron Civale ($3,500)
Cedric Mullins has been one of the breakout players in 2021, and he continues to produce as the season moves into the second third of the campaign. The left-handed outfielder has a fantastic .913 OPS on the year, but he's cranked it up a notch in June. This month, Mullins is slashing .452/.531/.786 with 10 runs, seven extra-base hits (three homers), five RBI, and four stolen bases. Fellow Rotoballer, Brian Entrekin, has been pounding the drum for Mullins all year, and the Oriole is rewarding his support more often than not.
Myles Straw - OF, HOU vs. Jordan Lyles ($2,800)
Straw is usually a perfect salary relief pick if you are going big at other spots because he's super cheap in a super dangerous lineup. However, over his last eight starts, he is quietly providing bunches of fantasy value. Since June 4, the outfielder is slashing .444/.514/.556 with seven runs, three doubles, five RBI, and two steals. He's reached base in all eight games and has multiple hits in four of those eight. At $2,800, he's an easy candidate for a wrap-around stack with some combination of Kyle Tucker, Martin Maldonado, and Jose Altuve against Jordan Lyles.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers (Jordan Lyles, RHP)
- San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Merrill Kelly, RHP)
- Sneaky stack: Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees (Gerrit Cole, RHP)
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