June 9, 2017

The top FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for 6/9/17 by Kevin Luchansky. Expert MLB DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for FanDuel.

The weekend is here, my fellow Rotoballers! Let's kick it off with some money in our pockets by taking down a tournament or two in this 14 game Main slate we have on deck this evening. We've got one clear ace and then a lot of mid-tier pitchers on the bump tonight, so if you're playing cash games, the decision is easy. If you're dabbling in tournaments, there are two ways of looking at it - we either have a lot of viable stacking options, or a lot of pitchers worth taking a flier on. It should be interesting!

Before I get into the player analysis, let's take a look at the early Vegas lines. As far as run totals and run projections go, the Red Sox (5.6), Indians (5.3), Nationals (5.1), Diamondbacks (5.1) and Pirates (5.1) top that list. The Tigers are a few notches back at 4.5, but that number is notable as it has already risen half a run since the line was initially released last night. As for favorites, it's little surprise the Corey Kluber-led Indians are the heaviest favorites at -225, and they're followed by the Dodgers (-185), the Cardinals (-170) and the Astros (-166).

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 6/9/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options, and of course, value plays.  Let's get to it, shall we?

Offensive Stacks

Boston Red Sox versus Jordan Zimmermann

The Red Sox looked like a pretty cold offense in their series with the Yankees, dropping the last two with little to no offensive output. Luckily for Boston, they're facing the perfect cure for what ails them - a date against Jordan Zimmermann. There are a lot of stats I could throw your way to convince you the Red Sox are a strong stacking option tonight. Let's start with Vegas, as the Red Sox currently have the highest implied run total with a relatively large 5.6 mark. That's much higher than the rest of the field and is generally a number we usually only see at Coors Field or Chase. As for Zimmermann, he's been getting shelled this year and has allowed 2.54 HR/9 and a .305 batting average against him. Over his past three starts, he's allowed an opponent wOBA north of .400 and an ISO north of .240 - both massively appealing figures. He's allowed allowed a 36% hard hit rate and a fly ball rate over 40% in that time frame. That could fly in Detroit, but in a sandbox like Fenway, a mark lot that will get him into a lot of trouble. Boston has a team wOBA over .310 against right-handed pitching this season and I like a number of their early and middle-of-the-order hitters, namely Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betters, Andrew Benintendi and Pablo Sandoval.

Detroit Tigers versus Brian Johnson 

The Tigers have seen a huge increase of half a run (seriously, that's big movement - no sarcasm here) and that's made me a bigger fan of stacking this team than I usually am. Let's start with the opponent and venue. The Tigers are seeing Brian Johnson - he who has little business pitching at this level - in a spot start at a stadium that is a major positive park shift for their offense. Their bats cooled slightly against the Angels, but overall, this team is hitting really well and has a number of talented, powerful hitters 1-6 in their order. The fact that much of their power hitting comes from the right side is also beneficial in this matchup, as Johnson deals from the left side and has been hit much harder by righties than he has left-handed hitters. On top of that, Johnson has allowed a 37% hard hit rate in his last three starts, coupled with a flyball rate that is north of 40% - which bodes well for the Tigers' lineup. The Detroit hitters I'm targeting most heavily are Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, J.D, Martinez and Justin Upton.

Also Consider: Los Angeles Dodgers versus Amir Garrett

FanDuel DFS Pitchers

Corey Kluber - SP, vs CWS ($10,500)

This one is as simple of a decision as it gets on a DFS slate with double digit games. Kluber is clearly the best pitcher on the slate, he has an ideal matchup against the lowly White Sox offense, and he looked brilliant in his last start. For the season, Kluber has a 1.1 WHIP with a 10.1 K/9 with a 65% groundball rate in the last two weeks. He has an elevated strikeout outlook today against a White Sox team that has a projected lineup with a 29% strikeout rate and just a .285 wOBA. The Indians are big time favorites today, and for good reason. Lock Kluber into your cash game lineups tonight.

Jordan Montgomery - SP, vs BAL ($6,700)

By now most of us know that rostering a pitcher against a team with high power and a high strikeout rate is risky but can be equally rewarding - and then some. Joe Ross dominated this Orioles lineup last night to the tune of 12 strikeouts, and they're a little less powerful with Manny Machado still on the sidelines due to a wrist injury. Montgomery has thrown together some pretty impressive starts this season, and he's managed to outperform his price implied value in seven of his 10 appearances - including two of his last three. For the year, he has an okay WHIP at 1.3 and a pretty impressive strikeout mark of 8.7 K/9. I think somewhere in the range of 6-8 strikeouts is attainable tonight thanks to the Orioles and their projected lineup's 27% K rate versus southpaws this season. Fire him up in tournament formats.

Also Consider: Brad Peacock - SP, vs LAA ($7,000)

FanDuel DFS Infielders

Austin Barnes - C, vs CIN ($2,000)

The ultimate value play - a backstop for the bare minimum price in a really strong match up situation. Barnes has posted excellent splits against right-handed pitching this season - .371 wOBA, .262 ISO - and owns a spot in the late-middle of an order projected for a high run total tonight. His opponent, Amir Garrett, has been getting shelled lately as well.

Logan Morrison - 1B, vs OAK ($3,300)

I don't know what's behind this LoMo resurgence this season, but I'm here for the ride. Morrison has been crushing baseballs and has some pretty damn good results to show for it. For the season, he's the owner of an imressive ..349 wOBA split against righties and an even more impressive .279 ISO mark. He's also flashing a 43% hard hit rate in the past two weeks and faces a pitcher who's allowed a .400+ wOBA in his past three starts.

Ian Kinsler - 2B, at BOS ($3,400)

I mentioned Kinsler in my stacks write-up, but he's a fine play in cash games or even tournaments as a one-off piece. He has a matchup that he can certainly take advantage of, owns impressive splits, gets a park upgrade and his batted ball distance over the past 15 days - 268 feet with a 38% hard hit rate - is a big time figure.

Miguel Sano - 3B, at SFG ($4,400)

Sano is a guy I'll never be able to quite - especially in tournament formats, and no matter how high that price climbs. He is a double home run threat night-in and night-out, and tonight that likelihood is better than most. For the year, he owns ideal splits in the power department - .283 ISO, .542 slugging percentage - against southpaws, and he's facing a flyball pitcher tonight in Matt Moore. Additionally, he's been tearing the cover off the ball in the past 15 days, posting a 50% hard hit rate in that stretch.

Asdrubal Cabrera - SS, at ATL ($2,900)

For as long as Cabrera's price stays sub-3K, there is little reason to stop using him in daily fantasy. Not only has his production been pretty great, but he also has good splits against right-handed pitching and faces a pitcher in Julio Teheran that struggles mightily with lefty bats. Cabrera has a 35% hard hit rate in his last 15 to pair with a strong wOBA (.349) and ISO (.215) splits.

Also Consider: Johan Camargo - SS, vs NYM ($2,300)

FanDuel DFS Outfielders

Michael Brantley - OF, vs CWS ($3,500)

It's not a price I'd normally associate with "value" but such is the case today with Mr. Brantley. It's not often you get a combination of strong splits, recent hard hit rate, weak opposing pitcher, high projected run total and a spot in the top of the order all under one roof for $3,500, so I'm bending my rules on what's considered a value. He's a very strong cash game play.

Michael Conforto - OF, at ATL ($4,000)

Like the case with Asdrubal, I like the Mets lefty bats enough tonight where I'm going to have multiple shares of Michael Conforto. Teheran's struggles against lefty bats are well documented, and the matchup bodes well for Conforto, his over .200 ISO split and his massive hard hit rate from the past half-month of 45%.

Andrew Benintendi - OF, vs DET ($2,900)

After quite the hiatus, Benintendi has returned to his regularly scheduled smashing of right-handed arms. He has impressive splits marks in that category and huge differentials - meaning that, when he faces a right-handed pitcher like he is tonight, he's lock-and-load - especially at this price point.

Also Consider: Mookie Betts - OF, vs DET ($3,800)

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