FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks (6/12/21): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

June 12, 2021

Kyle Ringstad highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 6/12/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.

We have a sizeable 14-game slate on FanDuel this afternoon, and there are a ton of different ways to construct your lineup. There are pitchers in all price ranges to consider, and there are currently only two teams with implied totals exceeding five runs. That makes for a fun slate because we know there will be some sneaky stacks emerging and at least one low-owned/low-priced pitcher will go off. Let's get to it.

I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/12/2021. You can see our DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup pick for the early slate here as well.

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:

Trevor Bauer - LAD vs. TEX ($11,000)   

You could easily go with Corbin Burnes in this spot as he put up a 70-burger in his last start and gets to face the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates at home today. However, Burnes' ceiling games occur when he gets a ton of strikeouts - that may not happen against a Pirates lineup that strikes out at the seventh-lowest rate (22.9%) in the MLB. Bauer has been shaky (between 25 and 36 FD points) in his last three starts, but he exceeded 60 FD points in the two starts prior and he has that kind of upside on this slate. The Rangers hold the lowest implied total on the slate at 2.8 runs, and they strike out at the third-highest rate (26.8%) vs. RHP. Additionally, Bauer has excelled at home with a 1.69 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, and a 33/3 K/BB ratio over 26 and 2/3 innings pitched. You might be able to get some leverage on the game-log watchers here.

Alternate Play(s)

Dylan Cease - CWS vs. DET ($9,700)

There are so many options are SP today that I firmly believe Cease is going to get massively overlooked, despite him having upside that rivals the top pitchers on the slate as well as literally the best matchup an opposing pitcher can ask for. Cease has gone for 61, -2, 55, and 16 FD points over his last four games, so there is some risk involved, but he has been mostly stellar against the bottom-tier offenses this season. He has put up at least 58 FD points against the Tigers twice already, including in his last outing where he shut them out for seven innings and picked up 10 punchouts. The Tigers hold the highest strikeout rate vs. RHP (27.2%) and overall (27.9%) and hold a low implied total of 4.1 runs. He's a smash play in tournaments.

GPP Dart-Throw

Rich Hill - TBR vs. BAL ($7,700)

Hill isn't the only guy I'd like to test out in GPP's, but he is my favorite dart-throw option. He made six starts in May and held a sparkling 0.78 ERA and 0.84 WHIP during the month. The veteran has been inconsistent with his strikeout numbers, notching less than five strikeouts in eight of his starts, but he also has outings with 10, nine, and 13 punchouts mixed in there. The Orioles are actually one of the least strikeout-prone teams against LHP at just 20.6%, but they have an implied total of just 3.1 runs. Hill has been surprisingly great and he's certainly worth taking some shots on here. Other GPP SP's to consider: Joe Musgrove, Triston McKenzie. 

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Stacks: White Sox, Reds, Athletics, Cubs

FanDuel DFS Infielders

Jose Ramirez - 3B, CLE vs. SEA ($3,700)

Kikuchi got off to a nice start this season and his surface numbers are still fine (4.05 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), but his advanced metrics suggest that we shouldn't be afraid to attack him with big bats (13 home runs allowed, 44.3% Hard Hit %, 10.2% Barrel %). Ramirez certainly isn't cheap, but he remains one of the better pure hitters in the league and should not have an issue getting to the soft-throwing Kikuchi. J-Ram is on a heater, too, scoring 27.9 and 41.4 FD points in two of his last three games.

Mitch Moreland - 1B, OAK vs. KC ($2,300)

There's not a whole lot I can point to statistically that will entice you to roster Moreland tonight, so let's focus on the positives here. He's really cheap at just $300 over the minimum. He'll likely hit cleanup in an offense with one of the higher implied totals on the slate. Lastly, he's facing a rookie prospect who gave up four runs and couldn't make it out of the first inning in his MLB debut. He's due for a double-digit FD point game today.

Dansby Swanson - SS, ATL vs. MIA ($2,200)

It's just odd that the Braves starting shortstop remains near minimum price. He has at least one hit in 17-of-19 games dating back to the middle of May, and he swatted five homers in that stretch. We don't yet know who the Marlins are putting on the bump, but we do know that Swanson remains a great value pick at this salary. Pair him with Freeman and/or another top bat on the Braves and you have yourself an affordable (and somewhat sneaky) stack.

FanDuel DFS Outfielders

J.D. Martinez - OF, BOS vs. TOR ($3,800)

Martinez is slashing .311/.375/.556 with 13 homers and 41 RBI this year, and it feels like no one has noticed. He gets an exploitable matchup against LHP Steven Matz today, who has been just so-so with a 4.50 ERA (3.74 xERA). In Martinez's last full year, 2019, he hit .404/.494/.887 with 19 homers in 141 AB's vs. LHP. The power numbers against southpaws haven't been there this season, but there's no reason to think he can't get to Matz in this spot.

Chris Taylor - 2B/OF, ($3,100)

Taylor is an unexciting name but he is capable of doing it all. He has a .278/.395/.474 slash line, with eight homers, 34 RBI, 46 runs scored, and six steals on the season. He should hit in high-value spot in the order (likely second) in an offense that should have no trouble putting up runs against the middling Kolby Allard. Allard has been OK in his transition to being a starter, giving up four earned runs over nine innings across two outings. However, he'll notice a difference between the teams he has faced (Mariners and Rays) and the powerhouse he's tasked with tonight.

Alex Kiriloff - OF, MIN vs. HOU ($2,200) 

The rookie is rocking a seven-game hitting streak coming into today's matchup against Luis Garcia. Garcia has been stellar so this matchup isn't going to be easy, but Kiriloff is too good to be at a near-minimum salary and he's likely to continue proving it.