Daily Fantasy MLB Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 6/8/18

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Pitcher

Chris Sale FD 11500 DK 11100
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 49.96 DK - 28.44
Welcome to Friday baseball! We have 14 games on tap for the main slate and a ton of different directions to pivot with your lineup. At pitcher, there are a few different options on the high-end and there isn’t necessarily a bad choice. The two we won’t touch on are Justin Verlander (price) and DeGrom (match-up). Both are still cream of the crop talent and can put up a gem any night. With that being said, I’ll take Chris Sale over both. I expect Sale to return to 7+ innings and 7+ K’s en route to a win. He’s posted a .271 wOBA against both sides of the plate and is striking out 12+ batters per 9. As for the match-up, it couldn’t be better. Against lefties, the White Sox rank 24th in team wOBA at .300 and hold a league-high 27.7% strikeout rate. Sale could get to double-digit K’s here and the price isn’t over the top. He’s still cheaper than Verlander and is clearly my favorite option if money wasn’t a consideration. You’ll find Sale in most, if not all of my cash games.

Stephen Strasburg FD 10400 DK 10800
Opponent - SF (Andrew Suarez) Park - SF
FD - 41.35 DK - 22.46
Strasburg has immensely matured with age. It’s not necessarily a surprise to see some progress, but this is just crazy for a guy who was once one of the most inconsistent in all of the league. He’s now putting up 6+ innings in most games and has only fallen under once. He’s trusted to throw 100+ pitches every time out and it’s let him find a groove instead of forcing strikes due to a pitch count. The match-up with San Fran isn’t anything to write home about, but they sport just a .320 wOBA against righties and strikeout around 25% of the time. Nationals Park is friendly for pitching and Strasburg has been better at home over his career. He’s just a bit cheaper than Sale and has similar upside, though I think Sale hits it a lot more often in the given match-ups.

Garrett Richards FD 8100 DK 7700
Opponent - MIN (Lance Lynn) Park - MIN
FD - 32.89 DK - 17.33
If you need to pay down a bit, I think there are quite a few entertaining options. Let’s run through them. Velasquez, Tanaka, and Buehler all have upside, but are in tough match-ups and don’t fit any cash game mold. Caleb Smith and Jhoulys Chacin are a bit safer at their price, but not at all where Richards is for me. Richards stands alone in the price range as a guy who’ll soon be close to $10k. Outside of the Yankees plastering Richards, he’s been excellent. In the last 5 games that didn’t include the Bronx bombers, Richards threw for 6+ in 4 of them and has looked like the pro everyone expected a few years ago. He’s not striking out a ton of batters, but 10+ is higher than ever before. He’s battling against both sides of the plate quite nicely and should actually see improvement according to peripherals. The Twins are an average match-up, sporting the leagues 14th ranked wOBA and 6th highest K rate. Richards is cheap enough on both sites to consider in cash and tournaments.

First Base/Catcher

Yasmani Grandal FD 3000 DK 4000
Opponent - ATL (Brandon McCarthy) Park - ATL
FD - 9.82 DK - 7.31
Cody Bellinger FD 3500 DK 3800
Opponent - ATL (Brandon McCarthy) Park - ATL
FD - 11.82 DK - 8.84
At age 34, Brandon McCarthy is no longer a pitcher to avoid. After years of finding ways to get it done, both righties and lefties have started to take advantage. His peripherals still suggest an average pitcher that is slightly below average against lefties. He’s given up 5 homers in just 30 innings of work and looks like a completely different pitcher from last season. The Dodgers are a solid offense and have plenty of lefties to target. At C/1B, we’ll kick it off with Grandal and Bellinger. Both hold similar power with 9 and 11 homers on the season, though Bellinger is obviously just a bit more powerful. Grandal, however, should be hitting earlier in the lineup and could get an extra opportunity or AB. They both sport .350+ wOBA’s and will be in the heart of this supposed lethal order. I personally prefer Bellinger, but will have exposure to both where forced to play a catcher.

Justin Smoak FD 3400 DK 4300
Opponent - BAL (Andrew Cashner) Park - BAL
FD - 11.76 DK - 8.79
Coming into this season, Andrew Cashner has some fooled. We’ve been targeting him since day one and there’s no reason to get off now. You know things are bad when the Blue Jays hold an implied total over five. Justin Smoak is the head of the snake right now and no matter how ugly that is, he’s deserved it. Against righties, a .371 wOBA and 9 total homers. He faces off with an Andrew Cashner who’s held a .371 wOBA against left-handers and gives up a ton of dingers. Smoak is fairly priced around the industry and a guy I’ll have plugged into most of my cash games. Bellinger is nice, but the Dodgers aren’t fun to roster and you have to think Smoak gets involved if the Jays put up 5+ runs. First base is a spot you need to get right and the Smoak monster does it for me.

Mitch Moreland FD 3500 DK 4600
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 10.87 DK - 8.2
If you’re looking for some power that shouldn’t be too highly owned, turn your eyes toward Mitch Moreland. The Red Sox are easily one of our favorite offenses on the slate and he will be right between the likes of Bogaerts and Martinez. They have a phenomenal match-up tonight with Dylan Covey who the White Sox are trying to get out of the rotation. It’ll be his last start before getting sent down and that’s really saying something when James Shields is the ace. We’ll touch on Covey more as we go, but just know the match-up is tremendous for both sides of the plate and Vegas has this squad putting up 5+ runs. Moreland often goes overlooked and has the upside to hit two bombs on any given night. Against Dylan Covey, I’ll force myself into some exposure.

Second Base

Daniel Descalso FD 4000 DK 4100
Opponent - COL (German Marquez) Park - COL
FD - 10.71 DK - 8.08
Coors Field is a pretty interesting spot tonight. On one side, Greinke faces off with the Rockies. They can obviously put up 10 runs, but it's simply hard to pay up for bats against the name Zack Greinke. On the other side, the Diamondbacks get to face German Marquez, who's a league average pitcher. He struggles mightily in Coors Field and the D-Backs hold an implied 5.53 run total. He's allowed a .358 wOBA inside Coors Field and is slightly worse vs lefties. Daniel Descalso has burst onto the scene this year, but he's held his own with a .398 wOBA against righties. He's added some power and is going to be a real threat in Coors Field. His price is high, but affordable for the ballpark. Second base is a pretty ugly position and Descalso is my favorite way to pay up. Jose Altuve is also in a great spot and won't be very popular against a righty.

Matt Carpenter FD 3800 DK 4000
Opponent - CIN (Matt Harvey) Park - CIN
FD - 12.42 DK - 9.27
Dating back to 2016, Matt Harvey has legitimately been one of the absolute worst pitchers in baseball against lefties. In ‘17, he held a .426 wOBA against them. So far in ‘18, he’s improved and is now at .410. Just sad numbers for a former Cy Young. He faces off with a chippy Cardinals lineup that will almost certainly put up a crooked number. Matt Carpenter himself has held a .335 wOBA against righties, which is admittedly an off-year. His peripherals are still solid and he’ll be right in the mix of it all. Matt Harvey is one to take advantage of and Carpenter is affordable across the board.

Shortstop

Manny Machado FD 4400 DK 5000
Opponent - TOR (J.A. Happ) Park - TOR
FD - 10.47 DK - 7.96

Moving to SS, there are a few different guys to like. I could have gone Correa or Story as the expensive option as well, but it comes down to preference and I’ll take Manny Machado against a lefty. He’s posted a .398 wOBA against them on the season and has tallied a total of 18 homers. The Orioles will face off with J.A. Happ tonight, who’s had a very solid couple of years. With that being said, he demolishes lefties and has somewhat struggled against righties. In just 50 innings, he’s sported a .320 wOBA and has allowed 9 big flies. Manny Machado is always a top option on the slate and I’ll have him in as many cash games as I can make work. The Orioles aren’t an offense I’m on, but Machado as a 1-off makes sense to me.

Xander Bogaerts FD 4500 DK 4500
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 11.27 DK - 8.67

The Red Sox are easily one of the offenses I’ll be targeting most. For one, Dylan Covey has been just as bad against both sides of the plate. In 2017, he posted an identical .385 wOBA against both lefties and righties. He’s been better on the surface in 2017, but his peripherals are just as bad and the White Sox are only keeping him in the rotation for this start. That says a lot. Xander Bogaerts, like Covey, is an equal against both lefties and righties. He’s sported a .368 wOBA against righties this year and his power has slowly gained traction with 9 homers vs them. Dylan Covey and bullpen is one of the bottom two pitchers on this slate and there’s no debate. I can’t get enough of the Red Sox and their 5.3+ run total.

Third Base

Anthony Rendon FD 3600 DK 3900
Opponent - SF (Andrew Suarez) Park - SF
FD - 11.47 DK - 8.65

Third base is always a spot with options. Tonight, outside of Rendon, I like Bryant, Ramirez, and Lamb on the high-end. Rendon is my favorite of the bunch per the usual when facing a lefty. Dating back to the start of last season, Rendon has posted a .451 wOBA against southpaws. There’s no worry with power as he should make it a 3rd straight year over 20 home runs. He’s one of the premier lefty specialists in baseball and demands attention every time the Nats face off with a lefty. Tonight, it’s Andrew Suarez and his pitiful .383 wOBA to opposing righties. He could do a good job of limiting the lefties, but I expect these righties to do their fair share of damage. I also like to stack the Nats against lefties as they often get starters out by the 4th and see the majority of the game against a right-handed heavy bullpen.

Rafael Devers FD 2900 DK 3400
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 10.68 DK - 8.17
You won’t be saving all that much money, but Devers is a bit more affordable and in a solid spot in the back of this Red Sox lineup. He’s going to see at least an RBI opportunity or two and will more than pay off his salary with a single swing of the bat. Dylan Covey has been utterly atrocious over the last two seasons and is currently sitting with a .369 wOBA over the last 100 innings. The Red Sox are clearly one of the top offenses on the slate and I’m a big fan of stacking them. Rafael Devers is extremely powerful and will make his mark felt on this game.

Outfield

George Springer FD 4300 DK 5100
Opponent - TEX (Doug Fister) Park - TEX
FD - 12.66 DK - 9.53
Josh Reddick FD 2600 DK 3500
Opponent - TEX (Doug Fister) Park - TEX
FD - 9.68 DK - 7.41

We managed to ignore the Astros up to this point, but it has a lot to do with their insane prices and other solid offenses that are cheaper. With that being said, they deserve a look as one of the best lineups on the entire slate. They get to face off with Doug Foster, who’s been worse against righties, though still bad against both. He’s sported a .361 combined wOBA on the year and has allowed 10 homers in just over 50 innings of work. As for Springer and Reddick, they are elite against righties, with each holding a wOBA over .370. they’re implied to put up 5.5+ runs by Vegas and I have to agree. It’s hard to find exactly who to plug in, so defaulting to the outfield is what I may do in cash.

Curtis Granderson FD 2500 DK 3500
Opponent - BAL (Andrew Cashner) Park - BAL
FD - 11.54 DK - 8.63
When the Blue Jays are implied to score 5+ runs, you have to pay attention. They face off with Andrew Cashner, who’s one of the worst pitchers in baseball. We looked at his .371 wOBA against lefties with Justin Smoak and Grandy will take advantage too. He may not be the same Granderson we’ve become accustomed to, he’s still a power lefty that’s held a .341 wOBA against right-handers. He will be at the top of the order and isn’t at all expensive. He’s a great play in all formats and will likely be pretty popular. I’m in.

J.D. Martinez FD 4800 DK 5200
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 13.45 DK - 10.09
Andrew Benintendi FD 4900 DK 5600
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 12.18 DK - 9.21

We obviously love the Red Sox tonight, so these two guys almost have to be included. Mookie Betts is out of the lineup or we would be all over him too. Dylan Covey is beyond atrocious against both sides of the plate and should be targeted. The Sox hold a 5+ run total and I think they easily get there. They're both extremely expensive, though I think it lends to low ownership. The Red Sox are my favorite offense of the night and I'll be all over them in both cash games and tournaments. Note: just check in on J.D.'s status as he did leave Thursday's game early.

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