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It's an exciting Wednesday in Major League Baseball as we've got a big slate highlighted by some strong pitchers, some hitters ready to bust out, and Shohei Ohtani who will be doing both. It's been Sho' Time in New York the past two days as Ohtani has three homers in his first two games in the big city and will take his talents to the Yankee Stadium mound on Wednesday night while also being in the lineup as the Angels will eschew the DH tonight for their two-way star.
But is Ohtani (9,500) the best use of our FanDuel salary tonight? He's only available as a pitcher and will be facing a Yankees lineup that, while struggling overall, busted out for 11 runs last night and is always capable of putting up a big number. Read on to find out.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/30/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Aaron Nola – PHI vs. MIA ($11,000)
Nola is the most expensive arm on the slate and that's part of his appeal, at least in cash games. Nola hasn't had his best season and has been passed by Zack Wheeler as the ace of his own team. On the year, Nola is 5-4 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 107 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings. Ho-hum. His 28.3 percent strikeout rate is good, but five percent lower than last year and he just seems like he should be better. He's been mostly good, but when you're a certified ace who costs $11K on FanDuel, the standard is higher than Nola has reached this season.
So why are we targeting him tonight? Well, Nola has arguably the highest floor of any pitcher in fantasy. He's got pedestrian numbers, yes, but he's accrued this pitching line in a very consistent manner. Nola has scored at least 24 FanDuel points in 13 of his 15 starts this year. The guy simply doesn't post clunkers (except for the one -8 point clunker against the Giants). Even when he has his bad stuff, he still tends to gut out six innings with 5-6 strikeouts. Not what we pay for, but the floor we desire in cash games. We saw his ceiling last time out when he struck out 12 Mets including tying Tom Seaver's 51-year-old record with 10-straight K's. Nola is as safe as they come against a Marlins lineup that ranks seventh in strikeout rate vs RHP and ranks 27th in OPS vs RHP.
GPP Play:
Shohei Ohtani – LAA @ NYY ($9,500)
There are a number of high-priced aces bunched together between the $8,700-$10,500 price range (that's part of what makes paying for Nola so intriguing at $11K, most players will probably select their pitcher from the Luis Garcia through Joe Musgrove range of pitchers). Anyway, when I see pitchers bunched up like that I simply go for the best one and that's Ohtani. Musgrove is good and cheaper, but I don't like pitchers in Cincinnati's tiny ballpark and his upside isn't as high as Ohtani versus an entirely right-handed Yankees lineup.
New York had a big night yesterday, but they still rank 14th in the American League in runs scored which is hard to fathom given the names in the lineup. Ohtani, meanwhile, has been brilliant on the mound with a 2.58 ERA, .184 batting average against, and a massive 33.1 percent strikeout rate. Even better than that, the Yankees are almost entirely right-handed (unless Brett Gardner sneaks into the lineup) and Ohtani has a whopping 42.1 percent strikeout rate versus right-handed batters this year. He's got the highest ceiling on the slate and should be able to give himself some run support as well.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Matt Olson – 1B, OAK vs. TEX ($3,800)
I love, love, LOVE playing Olson versus left-handed pitching because Olson handles southpaws just fine for a lefty-masher, yet his ownership is always lower as daily players shy away from the dreaded L/L matchup. Olson has 20 homers this year. Nine of them have come off of lefties despite having 54 fewer at-bats versus lefties than righties. He's batting .309 versus LHP and .280 vs RHP this season. Kolby Allard is a pitcher we should feel free to attack with DFS stacks and the Oakland bats will be popular tonight. Don't be afraid to use Olson in an A's stack or as a low-owned one-off with a high chance of homering.
Jean Segura – 2B/SS/3B, PHI vs MIA ($2,500)
The Philly lineup is getting healthy and they sport several hitters that are very nice values tonight against rookie Jordan Holloway/the Marlins bullpen. Segura is one of the players Philadelphia just got back as he missed two weeks with a groin injury. He returned last night and scored a run while batting second. He was hot before he got hurt and, more importantly, is stealing bases again as he's got six thefts on the year.
Alec Bohm – 1B/3B, PHI vs. MIA ($2,800)
Speaking of underpriced Phillies, Bohm's price is still reflecting his miserable first two months of the season, but the sophomore has been picking it up in June and should be rostered while he's under $3K on FanDuel. Bohm is batting .329 in June after hovering just above the Mendoza line through April and May. He's raised his line drive rate by six percent and has a 40 percent hard-hit rate implying his success is legit.
Dansby Swanson – SS, ATL vs. NYM ($2,500)
Swanson is a great way to get exposure to the Braves lineup that has an implied run total over five facing left-hander David Peterson. While some of the Braves sport salaries near $4K, Swanson is very reasonably priced at $2,500. He'll bat fifth and have the platoon advantage versus the Mets' southpaw.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Ramon Laureano – OF, OAK vs. TEX ($3,500)
Laureano hasn't been great since returning from an injury, but he still bats near the top of an Oakland lineup that is one of the top-stacks on this slate. He's not producing the numbers, but he's got a strikeout rate under 20 percent the last two weeks and is making a lot of hard contact. It's only a matter of time before he busts out of this mini-slump and facing a bad lefty in Allard may just do the trick.
Hunter Renfroe – OF, BOS vs. KC ($3,200)
Renfroe has been a steal for the Red Sox as he's got 11 homers and 81 runs-plus-RBI in just 69 games. He's got a strong fly-ball rate at 37.7 percent and is sporting a 91.1 MPH average exit velocity. He's a homer threat every time he steps to the plate and has a good matchup tonight.
Odubel Herrera – OF, PHI vs MIA ($2,500)
Another Philly who has been hitting well and is too cheap at under $3K. Herrera has been batting leadoff, getting on base, and scoring runs for the Phillies while still showing some pop in his bat with a 33.7 percent fly-ball rate. He should get five PA tonight and is playing in his hitter-friendly home venue. Stack up the Phils and make sure to grab their leadoff man.
FanDuel DFS Stacks Options
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Oakland Athletics
- Boston Red Sox
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