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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/29/21. Brian Entrekin's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a 15-game main slate on tap tonight, and there should be hitting for days. There is also pitching for days tonight. Some aces headline the way with Woodruff, Ray, Walker Buehler, and others. Finding the right combo of pitchers will obviously be key, but there will also be some great pivots based on roster percentages for the pricier pitchers. We have Coors Field in play when it comes to the bats, but there are many great spots to pivot off Coors like the matchup in Great American Small Park, the Red Sox, Astros, and a handful of others.
The slate starts with which pitchers to build around. Do you pay a premium for Woodruff or save a few dollars by dipping down to a few other solid options? It is tough to pay for two higher-end pitchers in most slates, but it is possible if value hitters from the Marlins, Diamondbacks, Tigers, and others are used. Heck, both teams in Coors Field have some ridiculous value. Listen in to MLB DFS Quick Hits for the full slate rundown as well as the strategy to attack tonight's MASSIVE slate. (There are many great plays tonight, I tried not to do all Captain Obvious plays over the $5K price tag.)
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/29/2021. 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, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Robbie Ray - P, TOR vs. SEA ($10,500)
While most will pay up for Brandon Woodruff (which is totally fine) or go for Walker Buehler, I love the idea of playing a potentially lowly rostered Ray. Ray is having an outstanding season, and a lot has to do with lowering that walk rate. Over his last seven games, that lowered walk rate has allowed Ray to throw six or more innings in five of the seven starts while allowing two earned runs or less in five starts. He has 55 strikeouts over 40 innings pitched which is good for a 33.1% K-rate to go with a 6% BB-rate and an outstanding 27.1% K-BB. Ray has been great and is in line for a great matchup tonight versus Seattle. The Mariners have been up and down this season but have struggled tremendously versus LHP over the last 30 days. They are striking out 27.6% of the time with a .233 average and a .164 ISO. The strikeouts are key as it allows Ray to falter some yet get us fantasy points just like Freddy Peralta did on Monday. Ray is the leverage play off the popular Woodruff, and Buehler plays and will be one of my more targeted pay-up spots with Jose Urquidy and Kevin Gausman.
Caleb Smith - P, AZ at STL ($6,600)
When looking to punt tonight, there are not many options, meaning more great spots for bats, but Smith checks the box as a nice cheap play. Smith re-entered the rotation on June 1 and has made five starts for the DBacks. He has thrown at least five innings in four starts and six innings in his last two starts. Smith has allowed two runs or less in four starts while striking out 27 over 26.1 innings. The strikeouts are good for a 24.8% K-rate, but walks are always a problem as Smith has walked 14 over this five-start stretch for a 12.8% BB-rate. If Smith can lock in the walks, he could be in for an absolute gem at a great price. The matchup also helps Smith as the Cardinals have been one of the worst in baseball over the last 30 days versus LHP. The Cards are striking out 25% of the time with a .237 average, .081 ISO, and 81 wRC+. Smith makes for a strong SP2 play in tournaments tonight, and pray he can avoid the walks.
Other Options: Brandon Woodruff (MIL vs CHC) $11,000, Jose Urquidy (HOU vs BAL) $9,900, Kevin Gausman (SF at LAD) $9,600, Charlie Morton (ATL vs NYM) $8,800, Lucas Giolito (CWS vs MIN) $8,700, Kenta Maeda (MIN at CWS) $7,000
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Jake Rogers - C, DET at J.C. Mejia ($2,900)
About a month ago, Eric Haase was the Tigers' catcher of choice, but Rogers is starting to remind people that he can hit too. Rogers has hit safely in five of his last seven games with four extra-base hits, including a home run on Monday. He is hitting .318 over the seven-game stretch with a .318 ISO and a 1.011 ISO. He gets a solid matchup tonight versus Mejia, who has allowed 13 runs over his last four starts. There are plenty of strong catching options to pay up for tonight, like Sean Murphy, Victor Caratini, and Ryan Jeffers. If looking to save some cash, though, Rogers is your guy.
Garrett Cooper - 1B/OF, MIA at Vincent Velasquez ($3,200)
Cooper returned from the IL on Friday and started things off with a bang. He made two starts over the weekend and went 4-7 with a home run and two doubles. He also walked three times over the weekend, meaning Cooper was racking up fantasy points all over the place. Tonight, he faces Vinny V, who can throw a gem from time to time but can quickly go off the rails. Velasquez has thrown five innings only once over his last five starts while also allowing three earned runs or more in four of the five starts. He has allowed 19 runs over 20.1 innings while also walking 11 over that stretch. Cooper could be in line for another nice night tonight as he leaves pitcher-friendly Miami and heads into Citizen Bank Park. Cooper brings tremendous GPP value on this slate as well as some of his other Marlins teammates. A Cooper, Starling Marte, and Jazz Chisholm mini-stack is a nice way to be contrarian in a great spot tonight.
Jake Cronenworth - 2B, SD at Tony Santillan ($4,700)
Cronenworth heads into tonight's matchup in Great American Small Park as one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball. He has hit 11 of his last 12 games safely with 10 extra-base hits, including six home runs. He has a .381 average, .524 ISO, and 1.374 OPS. Rake Cronenworth is scorching hot, but it gets better. He is only striking out 12% of the time while walking 14% of the time. So he's crushing the ball while still showing great plate discipline. His contact quality has been great with a 21.6% barrel rate and 54.1% hard-hit rate, which should play well in Cincinnati tonight. He will face Santillan tonight, who went more than 4.2 innings for the first time in his last start. Santillan has allowed three home runs in his last start and brings a 6.07 FIP into tonight's game. The Padres are an outstanding pivot off Coors Field tonight, and Rake should be a major piece of that stack.
Amed Rosario - SS, CLE vs Jose Urena ($3,900)
Cleveland went off on Monday night and should be a great spot to target again on Tuesday. Most will go to Jose Ramirez, Eddie Rosario, and Harold Ramirez, as they should, but do not forget Amed Rosario. Rosario is hitting .319 in June with a .783 OPS and three stolen bases. Those numbers may not scream "PLAY ME," but I wanted to bring Rosario up as most won't roster him, even in a Cleveland stack. Over the last three games, Rosario has put up double-digit DK points by going 6-12 with two doubles. Rosario seems to show up when Cleveland goes off, and if you are stacking Cleveland, do not forget about Rosario.
Rafael Devers - 3B, BOS vs Brad Keller ($5,500)
Here is my one play over $5K, mainly because there is not much value I like at third base. Most solid plays are pay up spots at the hot corner tonight. Devers is having a strong season and comes in swinging it well with a .333 average over his last 14 games. Over that stretch, he has nine extra-base hits, including four home runs to go with a .353 ISO and a 1.093 ISO. Devers has been doing his thing and is in line for another great night with his Red Sox teammates against Keller. Keller is allowing LHH to hit .310 on the season with a .485 SLG and 1.3 HR/9. So stack up your Red Sox tonight, and do not worry about paying a premium for Devers.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Bryan Reynolds - OF, PIT at German Marquez ($3,700)
DK has made many odd prices from time to time, and they have kept Reynolds too cheap day after day. That did not change today in a matchup in Coors Field. Reynolds is riding a 13-game hitting streak into tonight's game versus the Rockies. He is hitting .415 over that streak with a .226 ISO and 1.068 ISO. Reynolds is hitting everything and hitting it well with an 11.4% barrel rate. He does have a tricky matchup versus Marquez, who is allowing LHH to slug .351 this season. However, Reynolds is absolutely locked in and, at his ridiculous price, should be a part of every cash lineup tonight and in a ton of tournament builds as well.
Hunter Renfroe - OF, BOS vs. Brad Keller ($3,600)
If we want to talk about locked in, then let's talk about Renfroe. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, good for a .393 average. He has three home runs over that stretch, including a double-dong Monday night. His .393 ISO and 1.241 OPS have been quite impressive. Do you want to know what else has been impressive? A walk rate of 12.1% to go with a strikeout rate of 15.2% is solid for a guy that usually strikes out quite a bit. I already mentioned the Red Sox are a great stack tonight when discussing Devers, but do not forget the red hot Renfroe when building those stacks. Keller has been getting spanked by RHH this season to tune a .324 average, .538 SLG, and 1.6 HR/9. Lock in Renfroe tonight for some more power upside.
Shohei Ohtani - OF/1B, LAA at Jameson Taillon ($4,900)
Ohtani's price going down tonight is a thing of beauty. Continue to lock Shohei into your lineups wherever you can. Ohtani is crushing everything of late. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine games for a .314 average and 10 extra-base hits. Of those 10 extra-base hits, Ohtani has SEVEN HOME RUNS to go with a .714 ISO, 1.029 SLG, and a 1.429 OPS. Ohtani is crushing everything and taces Taillon tonight, which has allowed LHH to hit him well this season. Lefties are hitting .280 with a .517 SLG and 2.2 HR/9 versus Taillon this season. It should be another great night for Ohtani, so do not forget him on this massive slate when building those lineups. Feel free to stack him up with his lefty mashing teammate Jared Walsh as well.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Boston Red Sox (Brad Keller, RHP)
- San Diego Padres (Tony Santillan, RHP)
- Houston Astros (Alexander Wells, LHP)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (German Marquez, RHP)
- Sneaky Stacks- Cleveland Indians (Jose Urena, RHP)
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