Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 6/26/16

Welcome to Sunday baseball! We have an 11 game main slate with some great options across the board. Make sure to check out our other articles as they will touch on some more pitching options, tournament stacks and any weather concerns that may arise. Let's take a look at the top options at each position!

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PITCHER

Clayton Kershaw FD 13100 DK 14200
Opponent - PIT (Kuhl) Park - @PIT
FD - 52.9 DK - 31.08

The Dodgers will be trotting out Clayton Kershaw, which means you should be doing the same. Dating back to the start of this season, Kershaw has been on an absolute tear with a 2.10 SIERA, 2.00 xFIP and a rediculous .176 wOBA, the best in the league. His batted ball stats, however, are even better. With a 29.2% hard contact rate, a 38.2% pull rate and a 21.6% line drive rate, his peripherals more than back up his surface statistics. He will be taking on a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has been average against lefties with a .331 wOBA and 110 wRC+. While this is far from an ideal match up, Kershaw is good enough where he is the top option on the board regardless of match up.

Jose Fernandez FD 10900 DK 13100
Opponent - CHC (Hammel) Park - @MIA
FD - 41.81 DK - 23.99

If you are looking to get funky with it in tournaments, you can look at Jose Fernandez. Dating back to his major league debut in 2013, Fernandez has been one of the best pitchers in the league at home as evident by the .220 wOBA allowed and the elite 11.04 K/9. While he is another pitcher that is in a match up with a very tough offense, those numbers show a ton of upside in any match up. That being said, the Cubs match up may not be as bad as it appears, especially for a strikeout pitcher. Against righties, the Cubs have struck out over 22% of the time, which is far above average. With this game being played in an extreme pitchers park, make sure to take a look at Jo-Fer in tournaments.

CATCHER

Brian McCann FD 3100 DK 4200
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @NYY
FD - 11.75 DK - 8.83

Moving on to hitters, we are going to take a look at Brian McCann of the Yankees who is facing the Minnesota Twins and Tyler Duffey. Duffey is a right handed soft tosser who has struggled against lefties in 2016 with a .350 wOBA and a 36.2% hard contact rate allowed. McCann has been a consistent hitter against righties for the better part of a decade and this year has been no different. With this game being played in the lefty friendly Yankees Stadium, make sure to take a look at the power lefty against a righty that struggles against power bats.

Josh Phegley FD 2900 DK 3100
Opponent - LAA (Santiago) Park - @LAA
FD - 9.81 DK - 7.54

If you are looking to pay down a bit at catcher, Josh Phegley is going to be your guy. Unrightfully, Phegley consistently goes under owned against left handers. However, with a .362 wOBA against southpaws over the last 3 seasons, he should be one of the highest owned catchers every time the Athletics take on a lefty. They will be taking on Hector Santiago today, who has struggled against both righties and the long ball. Thus far into 2016, Santiago has already given up 13 home runs to righties and a .350 wOBA supports that. While Angels stadium is no hitter paradise, it profiles much better with high temperatures as the marine layer tends to disappear.

FIRST BASE

Joey Votto FD 3400 DK 4900
Opponent - SD (Perdomo) Park - @CIN
FD - 13.69 DK - 10.51

Now on to 1st base, we have a bevy of options, as usual. The top guy to look at in cash games is going to Joey Votto. While a lot may flock to Paul Goldschmidt in Coors Field and that is by no means a bad play, Votto is in a better match up and is in one of the absolute best hitter ballpark in the league. Votto has been one of the top hitters in the league against righties since 2012 with a .392 wOBA that is backed up by a 37.2% hard contact rate. They will be taking on Luis Perdomo, a right handed bullpen arm that struggles against both lefties and righties. Votto is in a terrific spot today and you are going to want some exposure to this offense.

Hanley Ramirez FD 3500 DK 4700
Opponent - TEX (Perez) Park - @TEX
FD - 11.82 DK - 9.3

While I am a strong non-believer in predicting hot/cold streaks, Han-Ram is one of the few exceptions. Along with Justin Upton, Hanley has turned into one of the streakiest hitters in baseball and while that is not the reason he is listed here, it is a great bonus. Hanley and the Bo Sox will be taking on a southpaw today in Martin Perez, who has been atrocious against right handers dating back to 2015 with a .367 wOBA. While Han-Ram is far from the hitter he used to be, he has still been very good against lefties over the past 3 seasons with a .367 wOBA and a 34.8% hard contact rate. Globe Life Park is a terrific spot to hit home runs and Hanley will look to capitalize on that in a great match up. While I do prefer him in tournaments, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to throw him in some cash games.

SECOND BASE

DJ LeMahieu FD 3800 DK 5100
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @COL
FD - 11.93 DK - 10.11

Here comes the onslaught of Colorado Rockies over the next few positions. Starting off with D.J LeMahieu, who has shown more power this season than ever before. While 4 home runs is no spectacular feat with July on the horizon, it is a lot better than his previous seasons where he ended with somewhere between 5-6. Aside from the power increase, LeMahieu has been consistently good against lefties this season with a .379 wOBA. The Rockies will be taking on a left hander in Patrick Corbin, who will struggle against the Rockies in the best hitters park in baseball, Coors Field. We will touch more on him as we move on. LeMahieu makes for a spectacular option in both cash games and tournaments.

Neil Walker FD 3600 DK 3700
Opponent - ATL (Norris) Park - @ATL
FD - 10.61 DK - 8.19

If you are looking for a cheaper option on DraftKings, you are going to want to take a long hard look at Neil Walker. Walker has been great against righties over the past 3 seasons with a .362 wOBA that is backed up by a great hard contact rate and pull rate. Bud Norris on the other hand, has been putrid against lefties dating back to 203 with a .384 wOBA allowed. While I do wish this game was being played in a better park, we are not relying on power from Walker as he can score in a bunch of different ways. Walker makes for a great tournament play on FanDuel and a great cash game play on DraftKings where he is $1400 cheaper than LeMahieu.

SHORTSTOP

Trevor Story FD 3500 DK 5200
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @COL
FD - 12.74 DK - 10.31

Here is our second of 3 Rockies in Trevor Story. Story, as I have mentioned previously, drastically over performed to start the year. However, there is no denying that he is a spectacular hitter, especially against lefties where he has sported a .363 wOBA and a rediculous 57% hard contact rate. As the lead contender to win rookie of the year, you can expect Story to keep aiming for the fences and there is a good shot he comes through today against a homer prone Patrick Corbin. Pricing wise, he is VERY expensive on DraftKings and just way too cheap on FanDuel, so just keep that in mind when you are constructing lineups.

Tim Anderson FD 2500 DK 3800
Opponent - TOR (Stroman) Park - @CHW
FD - 8.81 DK - 7.98

If I am going to move off of Story, I am either going to go all the way down and punt or go with Timothy Anderson. Anderson has entered the majors on fire with 5 doubles, a homer, triple and a stolen base in just two weeks. While I am not sure we can continue to expect this type of production, we can surely expect him to be a sold hitter for a long time, as he came up with a ton of pedigree. While Marcus Stroman is far from a slouch, he has been average against righties this season with a .316 wOBA allowed. Anderson truthfully does lack upside, but if you are looking for upside there is no reason to not look at Story in Coors Field against a lefty.

THIRD BASE

Nolan Arenado FD 4600 DK 5100
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @COL
FD - 15.57 DK - 12.01

Our 3rd and final Rockies bat is far and away the best one. Arenado is arguably the best hitter in baseball against lefties, and while you may discredit him for playing half of his games in Coors Field, you are off. Just go on you're free time an take a look at his home and road splits. Arenado has obliterated southpaws dating back to last year with a .416 wOBA that is backed up by a superb 44.8% hard contact rate. Patrick Corbin on the other hand, has struggled against righties with a .349 wOBA in 2016. While he is no Mike Pelfrey, he is far from the other extreme as well. Coors Field is going to give him some extreme troubles and Arenado is the beating heart to this offense, especially against lefties.

Jacob Lamb FD 4700 DK 5400
Opponent - COL (Bettis) Park - @COL
FD - 13.42 DK - 10.49

Looking at the other side of the diamond, we are going to take a look at Jacob Lamb. Lamb has been dominant against righties since entering the league with a .384 wOBA that is backed up by a great line drive rate and pull rate. While Chad Bettis is not someone I look to target too much, he has obviously had his struggles in Coors Field, as everyone does. Lamb has a great chance to get a hold of one today and with him coming in more expensive than Arenado, NOBODY will own him. If you are looking to zag in tourneys while everyone zigs, Lamb is a guy to target.

OUTFIELD

Note - Everyone in the Coors Field game is in consideration here. I did not want to fill the entire article with those guys. Feel free to ask any specific questions!

Brett Gardner FD 3600 DK 4100
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @NYY
FD - 11.99 DK - 9.83
Jacoby Ellsbury FD 3400 DK 4200
Opponent - MIN (Duffey) Park - @NYY
FD - 12.18 DK - 10.61

As I mentioned when talking about Brian McCann, these Yankees lefties are in a tremendous spot today against a right hander in Tyler Duffey that has struggled against lefties. Both Ellsbury and Gardner are historically dominant against righties and while they haven't been tremendous this season, I am willing to trust the multiple year sample size over the less than half season sample. The Yankees make for a great tournament stack today with everyone else being on the Coors Field game. The Yankees are a boom or bust team and this match up definitely comes off to me as one that they might boom.

Nelson Cruz FD 3600 DK 4700
Opponent - STL (Garcia) Park - @SEA
FD - 12.04 DK - 9.09

Nelson Cruz against a lefty is really all that should be needed to be said. Dating back to 2010, Cruz has mashed southpaws with a .398 wOBA that is backed up by and insane hard contact rate of 46.2%. While Jaime Garcia typically doesn't give up a ton of home runs, he has struggled a bit this season with 5 allowed to righties in less than 70 innings. While I would certainly prefer this game to be played somewhere else, Cruz has the raw power to hit a home run anywhere.

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