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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/14/21. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Monday, RotoBallers! MLB is starting the week in a big way with 13 games on the schedule. It's one of the biggest slates I can remember for a Monday, and it should open up plenty of routes to DFS success. It all starts at 7:05 pm ET, where JT Brubaker and Pittsburgh visit Jon Lester in the nation's capital. From there, we go all the way to the west coast, where the Twins-Mariners and Phillies-Dodgers will throw out their first pitches at 10:10 pm ET. As for Monday's weather, there's (thankfully) not a lot to see. Boston is the only place with above a 10 percent chance of rain, and there aren't any prevalent wind factors to cause any wild lineup decisions.
There are several ways to go at starting pitching on Monday. Two of the best are Tyler Glasnow and Lance Lynn, but they are, unfortunately, facing off against each other in the Windy City. Sean Manaea will see the Angels, but they do well against southpaws. Meanwhile, Nathan Eovaldi is the fifth-most expensive pitcher, but he sees an offense that just exploded for 18 runs on Sunday. My favorite is Adam Wainwright against Miami, but he could be very chalky with such a complicated slate.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/14/2021. 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
Adam Wainwright - P, STL vs. MIA ($8,800)
Don't refresh the page! Adam Wainwright is still a fantasy-relevant pitcher in 2021. The $8,800 salary feels a little rich to pay for a 39-year old righty with an 89 mile per hour fastball, but the matchup against Miami is too good to pass up. Plus, he's pitching at home, where he's had some excellent starts. In 2021, Wainwright has thrown 55 innings with a 2.62 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP to go with 48 strikeouts. In four of his last six outings at Busch Stadium, the three-time All-Star has scored at least 25 DraftKings fantasy points, and in five of those six outings, he completed at least seven innings. Tonight, against the Marlins, Wainwright will see an offense striking out 24.93 percent of the time to righties since May 1. Miami does sport a 103 weighted Runs Created Plus in that same time frame, but I trust Wainwright enough to bag us another 25-point outing in St. Louis.
Kenta Maeda - P, MIN at SEA ($7,400)
Maeda is strictly a tournament play because we have no idea how long Maeda (arm) will be able to go in his first start back from the Injury List. However, he will be facing a free-swinging Mariners team and is likely to be minimally rostered on Monday's massive slate. Therefore, he's worth a look if you are the type of player to enter multiple lineups. The 33-year old righty has been a significant disappointment in 2021, coming off a second-place finish in the 2020 American League Cy Young award. However, luckily this season is nearly three times longer than last year, and there's still time to turn the year around.
On May 3, Maeda reminded us what he could do with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings against Texas for 29.6 fantasy points. He's one of the riskier recommendations I've had this season. Still, I believe the right-handed hurler can take advantage of Seattle's 26 percent strikeout rate and produce a surprising fantasy outing on Monday.
Other options: Tyler Glasnow at CHW ($10,700), Lance Lynn vs. TB ($10,100), JT Brubaker at WAS ($7,300)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Tyler Stephenson - 1B/C, CIN at Eric Lauer ($3,900)
As the Reds have gotten healthier, Stephenson's playing time has decreased. However, his last two starts both came against lefties, like Eric Lauer, and he was the fourth name on the lineup card in both games. Collectively, he went 3-for-7 with two runs, two doubles, a home run, and four RBI while averaging 18 fantasy points per game. Cincinnati is typically letting their primary catcher, Tucker Barnhart, rest every third day, and Monday would fit that timetable after his two starts on Saturday and Sunday. With a southpaw on the mound and Stephenson in a prime lineup spot for a sizzling Cincy offense, I'll ride the hot hand in the NL Central showdown.
Miguel Sano - 1B, MIN at Marco Gonzales ($4,200)
Time to go home-run hunting in the Pacific Northwest with Miguel Sano. He and the Twins travel to Seattle to kick start a second-third of the season surge to salvage their 2021 campaign. Sano is helping the cause right now because he seems to be in the middle of one of his home-run barrages. Over his last eight games, the slugger is batting .303 with two doubles, four home runs, seven runs, and nine RBI. Sano's opponent, Marco Gonzales, is still working his way back from a month-long absence in May. The southpaw has only pitched four innings in each of his two starts back. If that trend continues on Monday, Sano and the Twins will get a crack at a Mariners bullpen allowing a 4.40 ERA this season.
Brendan Rodgers - 2B/SS, COL vs. Dinelson Lamet ($2,900)
Many were wondering who would lose playing time between Garret Hampson and Brendan Rodgers with Trevor Story back in the mix for the Rockies. Well, Rodgers made three straight starts over the weekend and is putting it together at the plate, so it looks like he is winning, for now. Over his last 10 games, the infielder slashes .357/.457/.714 with four runs, a double, three home runs, and nine RBI. He's $1,400 cheaper than Hampson and offers some discounted exposure to Coors Field. Unfortunately, his opponent is San Diego. It's the rare case where we want the starter, Dinelson Lamet, to pitch as deep as possible into the game because the Padres bullpen is devastatingly formidable. Their 2.54 ERA and 318 strikeouts lead baseball, and this Rockies lineup will struggle to hang numbers on a unit this good. Therefore, we will hope for Rodgers to get as many at-bats as possible versus Lamet tonight. I'm hoping for at least three, especially if Rodgers hits in the two-hole as he did on Friday and Saturday in Cincinnati.
Ke'Bryan Hayes - 3B, PIT at Jon Lester ($4,300)
Hayes is making up for lost time with a blistering return since his two-month stint on the IL. The third baseman is slashing .316/.350/.579 in the heart of Pittsburgh's offense while producing six runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and five RBI. Unfortunately, the Pirates offense is the opposite of dynamic, and the counting numbers won't be there on a nightly basis for Hayes. However, he's scored in every game since his return and is averaging 9.4 FPPG. The top prospect for Pittsburgh will have the righty-lefty advantage on veteran Jon Lester tonight, and, at $4,300, Hayes is a perfect cash play.
David Fletcher - 2B/SS, LAA at Sean Manaea ($3,000)
Since May 1, the Angels have a .338 weighted On Base Average and 117 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. They see left-hander Sean Manaea in the Coliseum tonight, and Fletcher offers a valuable avenue to a wraparound stack for Los Angeles. The former-leadoff man is cemented to the bottom of the lineup, batting ninth in every game since mid-May. The infielder's .278 average isn't dreadful, and if he can get on base enough, you can pair him with Justin Upton ($3,700), Shohei Ohtani ($5,600), or Anthony Rendon ($4,700) to get a piece of the Angels lineup mashing against a lefty.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Ketel Marte - OF, ARI at Alex Wood ($5,400)
The calendar flipped to June, and it looks like it woke up Ketel Marte. In the season's third month, Arizona's best player is slashing .405/.463/.568 with five runs, three doubles, a home run, and three RBI for 8.2 FPPG. Like Ke'Bryan Hayes, Marte is not in a prolific lineup, but he's still getting the job done in fantasy baseball land. He will see Alex Wood on the mound tonight during a rough stretch for the southpaw. Despite a season-long line with a 3.79 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, those have shot up in his last three starts due to allowing 15 earned runs in his previous 15 innings. Marte should be catching Wood at a good time, and although the rest of the Diamondbacks lineup could be a good bounce-back spot for Wood, I expect Marte to rack up the fantasy points, regardless.
Trent Grisham - OF, SD at Austin Gomber ($3,900)
I couldn't resist more Coors Field action, and Grisham sitting at $3,900 feels criminally low. He's locked into the upper portion of the Padres lineup and always has a chance for an explosive night. The outfielder only returned from the IL on Saturday but wasn't in the starting lineup for maintenance purposes on Sunday. It should assure him a starting nod in the series opener against Colorado. Getting any bat below $4,000 in Denver feels like a win, but with Grisham's combination of power and speed, he could make his fantasy night with one swing of the bat.
Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN at Marco Gonzales ($3,300)
Gilberto Celestino - OF, MIN at Marco Gonzales ($2,200)
The Twins are switching between these two bats depending on the matchup. Larnach plays when there's a right-handed pitcher and Celestino when there's a left-handed pitcher. Tonight's adversary, Marco Gonzales, is a lefty, so the trend would indicate Celestino gets the starting nod. If that happens, he will hit ninth. The $2,200 allows DFS managers to roster him in a wrap-around stack if they choose and are trying to get crazy with their lineups.
I want to mention Lanarch because he could be in an excellent position hitting right behind Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz, and Miguel Sano. Those three right-handed sluggers shouldn't have any problems getting on the basepaths against Gonzales. This will offer up plenty of chances to accrue fantasy points for the rookie. Make sure to check the Twins lineup as early as possible to see what outfield they are throwing out there on Monday.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners (Marco Gonzales, LHP)
- Sneaky stack: Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics (Sean Manaea, LHP)
- Game stack: Cincinnati Reds (Vladimir Gutierrez, RHP) at Milwaukee Brewers (Eric Lauer, LHP)
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