Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 6/24/16

We are back with another TGIF edition of our daily fantasy baseball picks. All 15 games will be played in the evening tonight and we are presented with multiple pitching options from the elite level all the way down to the punt level on both sites. This is perfect as we have another matchup of high powered offenses facing off at Coors Field. It is going to be a great night of DFS, let's get started!

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PITCHER

Max Scherzer FD 11900 DK 13900
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @MIL
FD - 45.23 DK - 29.87

This picks brings two of my favorite things together. I love targeting high K upside pitchers and I also love targeting said starting pitchers against the Brewers. They may rank 14th in wOBA vs. right handed pitching but are striking 25.9% of the time, more than any other team vs. righties. Max has been hit hard with the long ball this year with a 16.2% HR/FB rate which is about 6% higher than his career mark so we can expect that to normalize. He comes with the most K upside on the slate with a 11.37 K/9 rate and has recorded double digit strikeouts in three of his last four starts. He is safe in all formats.

Carlos Martinez FD 8500 DK 10000
Opponent - SEA (LeBlanc) Park - @SEA
FD - 32.29 DK - 16.69

Martinez is a bit over priced on DraftKings making him a GPP only play for me but at a mid $8K price range on FanDuel I think he is a great play in all formats that allows a ton of flexibility for your hitters. His K rate is down from previous years but the fastball velocity continues to stay the same around 95 mph which is odd to see his swinging strike rate below 9% so far in 2016. I am expecting those numbers to rise giving him more value. The matchup against the Mariners isn't elite but he gets them at the right time as the have lost eight of their last 10 games.

Jake Peavy FD 7100 DK 6900
Opponent - PHI (Eflin) Park - @SF
FD - 31.2 DK - 17.27

Peavy comes up big on the projection system at a low $7K price range on both sites. He may not have the upside he once had as the K rate sits around 7 K/9 right now but he will have a great shot at picking up a win on Friday at home vs. the Phillies who rank 29th in wOBA vs. right handed pitchers with a league low 73 wRC+. Peavy has been trending in the right direction lately allowing one earned run or less in five of his last seven starts. It is hard to ignore the value and point potential tonight.

CATCHER

Russell Martin FD 3000 DK 3900
Opponent - CHW (Rodon) Park - @CHW
FD - 10.04 DK - 7.68

Martin looks to have turned his season around after an awful first couple months where he hit .197 while striking out over 31% of the time. June has been a different story as he is slashing .280/.415/.520 with home runs and a 152 wRC+ for the Jays. He has also moved up in the order and has spent eight straight games in the five hole. He matches up against Carlos Rodon who has K upside but is also susceptible to a blowup game. Martin makes a safe floor play for cash games and a nice addition to a middle of the order Jays stack.

Willson Contreras FD 2500 DK 2800
Opponent - MIA (Koehler) Park - @MIA
FD - 8.2 DK - 6.63

The Cubs are amazing at drafting and cultivating these talented players that can occupy multiple positions. They seem to have done it again with Wilson Contreras who has spent time at catcher and first base and word is he may even man the outfield very soon to keep his bat in the lineup. He has recorded a hit in all five games since being called up and hit cleanup last night. He most likely won't remain there but the price is still extremely low for the talent level and opportunity on both sites, making him a near must play right now.

FIRST BASE

Joey Votto FD 3400 DK 4400
Opponent - SD (Rea) Park - @CIN
FD - 12.88 DK - 9.88

He has sat out the last few games with a stomach virus and should be back in the lineup Friday night. He makes a great value at first base if he is back as the salary continues to stay down in the mid tier on both sites. A big part of the price range is the lack of lineup around him and low batting average this season. Despite that he continues to get on base(.373 OBP) and has been hot in June slashing .338/.482/.508 with a 169 wRC+. With the high OBP and run scoring potential he has a safe floor for cash games and the power upside to fit perfectly in a GPP lineup.

David Ortiz FD 4200 DK 5600
Opponent - TEX (Martinez) Park - @TEX
FD - 13.84 DK - 10.41

The question with Oritz is always is it worth paying up for the old man? Tonight the answer is YES. He is on a MVP pace slashing .338/.424/.695 and crushes right handed pitching with a .482 wOBA and 206 wRC+ so far this season. He gets a terrific matchup vs. Nick Martinez who is making his second start of the season after opening the season in the bullpen. In his first start he allowed six hits and three earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched vs. the Cardinals and only struck out one batter. He has never been known as a high K rate pitcher but he will not get away with a sub 4 K/9 rate against the Red Sox. The weather is hot in Texas and we all know what that means. Long balls and big fantasy scores!

SECOND BASE

Devon Travis FD 3200 DK 3700
Opponent - CHW (Rodon) Park - @CHW
FD - 11.05 DK - 8.79

Ezequiel Carrera has been leading off for the Jays recently but went down with an injury opening the door for Travis to get his shot at the top of the lineup. He has been red hot lately hitting .350 with a 158 wRC+ in the last two weeks but will need to be a bit more patient at the plate if he plans on sticking up there. He is only walking 4.2% right now which has produced and awful. 274 OBP. Either way, he is getting the opportunity tonight and comes with big upside if he can get on base in front of Donaldson, Encarnacion and Company.

Starlin Castro FD 3000 DK 3300
Opponent - MIN (Milone) Park - @NYY
FD - 9.69 DK - 7.7

If you can't quite get up to Travis tonight, save a few hundred dollars and drop down to Castro who is starting to heat up. He is coming off a 3 for 5 effort vs. the Rockies with a home run and now has 10 for the season after hitting just 11 with the Cubs last season and should crush his career high of 14. He obviously adds value if he is higher in the lineup and has spent time in the three, five, and six holes most consistently so be sure to check lineups a few hours before lineup lock.

SHORTSTOP

Troy Tulowitzki FD 3200 DK 3900
Opponent - CHW (Rodon) Park - @CHW
FD - 10.74 DK - 8.17

It appears Tulo may have turned a corner since returning from the disabled list last Saturday. In four games back he has recorded five hits(2 multi hit games) including two home runs but the biggest sign of a turn around is the reduction in strikeouts. Since returning he has only struckout twice in 15 at bats. When he is getting hits this he is making them pay as he is currently sitting with a .204 ISO.  He has struggled some against lefties this season but has strong splits for his career and will face Carlos Rodon who has struggled vs. right handed hitters giving up a .361 wOBA against and 10 home runs.

Trevor Story FD 3300 DK 5100
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @COL
FD - 10.99 DK - 8.9

Next up at shortstop is Tulo's replacement in Colorado. Trevor Story is having a rookie season to remember with 18 home runs and 47 RBI in his first 68 games played. It definitely helps having half your games played in the best hitters park in baseball. He will face Archie Bradley who is coming off a terrific start allowing just three hits and no runs to the Phillies in six innings pitched but before that had given up five home runs in his previous two starts. This will be Bradley's second start in Coors this season after giving up four earned runs on seven hits back at the start of May. Story has similar spits vs. both RH and LH pitching but has 13 of his 18 home runs vs. right handed pitchers. Huge upside tonight.

THIRD BASE

Nolan Arenado FD 4400 DK 5400
Opponent - ARI (Bradley) Park - @COL
FD - 13.73 DK - 10.59

After a season where Arenado hit 42 HR and drove in 130 you tend to wonder how much higher the ceiling actually is. Well apparently a little higher. He has improved across the board so far in 2016 bringing his K rate down to 11.1% from 16.5% and increased his walk rate from 5.1% to 10.1%. Both of these factors have helped him bring his average up to .295 and he has already hit 21 HR and driven in 60 runs with an impressive 136 wRC+. He is by far the top third base option tonight and not even the most expensive. Load up!

Yangervis Solarte FD 2600 DK 3200
Opponent - CIN (Reed) Park - @CIN
FD - 9.15 DK - 7.17

If you are playing Scherzer and cannot fit a Rockie hitter in your lineup I suggest paying down and taking the value with Solarte. He is close to the cheapest cleanup hitter you are going to find even though the numbers are not very shiny. He will also get a nice park boost going from Petco to the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The Padres and Solarte get a great matchup on Friday vs. Cody Reed who got touched up in his first major league start giving up four earned runs including two home runs against the Astros last week.

OUTFIELD

Bryce Harper FD 4000 DK 4700
Opponent - MIL (Davies) Park - @MIL
FD - 13.61 DK - 10.47

Bryce Harper's season to this point has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. He started off hot in April with a .286 average along with nine home runs and 24 RBI. He then stumbled in May hitting just .200 during a stretch where no one would pitch to him(26.7% BB/9 rate). Things are starting to pick back up in June as Harper is hitting .274 with a .349 OBP and has two home runs in his last seven games. The price has stayed affordable as he falls below the top tier at the moment. I don't expect him to be there for long so get in on the value before hot streak really takes off. The matchup isn't ideal as Davies has been good but Harper could very well be 5% owned or lower in GPP's tonight.

Mark Trumbo FD 3800 DK 4400
Opponent - TB (Moore) Park - @BAL
FD - 12.14 DK - 9.27

Trumbo has everything going for him tonight and should be considered as a top option at the outfield position and possibly overall tonight. He is having arguably his best season in the majors as he is hitting .283 and has already hit 21 HR and driven in 52 while holding a 136 wRC+. While he has struggled to ht for average(.200) vs. left handed pitching he has positive splits for his career and still has hit for power with seven home runs against southpaws. Matt Moore has looked better in his last two starts but has been below average at best for most of the season with a 4.90 ERA and 15.6% HR/FB rate. The O's present a scary lineup to face and if Moore makes mistakes he will get hammered on tonight. The price seems to low for Trumbo and his giant power upside.

Andrew McCutchen FD 3400 DK 3000
Opponent - LAD (Tepesch) Park - @PIT
FD - 10.91 DK - 8.51

He ranks high in the projection system due to the projected value you get at such an affordable price, especially on DraftKings. It's been an ugly start to the season for McCutchen is on pace for career lows almost across the board. He is striking out 25% of the time which is a result of a below average 12.5% swinging strike rate. The former National League MVP is too good of hitter to stay in this slump much longer. I would never trust him in cash games but at a projected low ownership, high upside and value price I will find myself fitting him into a few contrarian style GPP lineups.

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