DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 6/17/22 - Main Slate

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Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw FD 10500 DK 10500
Opponent - CLE (Zach Plesac) Park - CLE
FD - 40.55 DK - 21.98

Kershaw is the day’s biggest favorite coming in at -265 at home against the Cleveland Guardians. The latter has been a below-average offense on the season, though they don’t strike out a ton which is a little concerning. And the other concern is that Kershaw isn’t quite up to a full workload yet, with just one start under his belt after the time on the IL. He threw just 71 pitches in that one so he might be capped here. We will have to keep an eye on this situation, but this is a guy with a 7:1 K:BB ratio on the year so he’s tough to ignore.

Carlos Rodón FD 10700 DK 9900
Opponent - PIT (Zach Thompson) Park - PIT
FD - 38.21 DK - 21.18

Rodon is another big favorite, ringing in at -206 on the road against the Pirates. Pittsburgh has the 28th ranked offense on the season and strike out 25% of the time, making them close to a perfect matchup for the lefty. The walks have been a bit of a problem for Rodon, but he’s still striking out more than 11 batters per nine on the season with an xFIP in the low-3s. He doesn’t have as much control as Kershaw, but there’s a good chance he throws more pitches in this one.

It might be tough to get away from Tarik Skubal (FD $9900 DK $9000) on DraftKings especially if you are trying to fit in some of the Coors bats. He’s been excellent on the season.

Catcher/First Base

Luke Voit FD 3600 DK 3800
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 15.79 DK - 11.84

Get ready to see a bunch of Padres here today considering they are heading into Coors for the weekend and will start things off facing the lefty Kyle Freeland. Voit has actually been a reverse platoon guy for his career, hitting better against righties, but it’s a bit closer to just being platoon neutral. He’s still good against lefties with a mid-800s OPS and .353 wOBA. It’s hard to get away from his sub-$4K DraftKings price considering he should hit cleanup for San Diego on Friday.

You can also consider Austin Nola (FD $2900 DK $3400) right along with him, especially on DraftKings where he’s not all that expensive and we need to fit the catcher’s slot.

Jesús Aguilar FD 2700 DK 2100
Opponent - NYM (Carlos Carrasco) Park - NYM
FD - 9.35 DK - 7.07

Because of how the pitching and some of these bats are shaking out, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to just try and go as cheap as possible everywhere else. Aguilar could be one of those guys considering he’s coming at just about the minimum on DraftKings at $2100 and should be hitting in the middle of the order for the Marlins on Friday. While better against lefties, he does have an OPS in the .700s this season with nine home runs, so there’s some pop there. Again, this is all about how cheap he is on a slate full of pay up options.

Second Base

Jake Cronenworth FD 3800 DK 5600
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 15.66 DK - 12.01

It’s going to be expensive to roster Cronenworth here, especially on DraftKings, but man is he ever in a great spot against the lefty Freeland. He should be hitting second in the order in a game where his team has a whopping 6.8 implied run line, about as high as you’ll ever see. Cronenworth hasn’t been gangbusters this season, and this is the worse side of his split. But it’s not by a ton and you really want to have as much Padres’ exposure as you can, especially at the top of their lineup.

Nolan Gorman FD 3000 DK 4000
Opponent - BOS (Michael Wacha) Park - BOS
FD - 9.91 DK - 7.57

Gorman has moved down a bit in the lineup but does still project to be a solid bat for the Cardinals this season. He’s striking out a bit too much at 32%, though he’s shown power upside at various stops in the minors already. Even with the swings and misses, he still has a mid-.700s OPS on the season and is facing a low-K guy in Michael Wacha on Friday. That lines up well and he’s a good price on FanDuel.

Shortstop

Ha-Seong Kim FD 2900 DK 3300
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 12.74 DK - 9.73

The light-hitting shortstop is coming cheap, but like the rest of his Padres teammates could be part of a barrage of runs on Friday. Though the OPS is sitting under .700, Kim does have four home runs and four stolen bases on the season, walks about 10% of the time, and is significantly better against lefties for his career. He has a .763 OPS in that split with a 113 wRC+. These numbers completely lap what he does against righties. This is a good time to buy pretty low, especially on DraftKings.

Javier Báez FD 2300 DK 4300
Opponent - TEX (Jon Gray) Park - TEX
FD - 9.61 DK - 7.36

Again, I want to get out of some of these positions as cheap as possible and Baez offers that opportunity on FanDuel where he’s coming pretty darn close to the minimum. Yes, Baez has really struggled this season and the OPS is in the tank. But he’s still hitting in the middle of the Tiger’s lineup and the BABIP is about 80 points off his career average. It doesn’t tell the whole story because the hard contact rate is down as well, but there is some bad luck in there. Again though, he’s basically a punt play at this point.

Third Base

Manny Machado FD 4300 DK 6100
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 18.9 DK - 14.34

Of all the Padres’ bats to prioritize, Manny Machado is the one to make sure you have in lineups on Friday. He’s having an MVP-like season so far with a .937 OPS and .400 wOBA with 11 home runs and even seven stoles bases as well. He’s just done everything so far, and while expensive, has the highest upside of any bat here. Plus, he’s been better for his career against lefties and Freeland isn’t a guy we need to avoid at all, hence the San Diego run line.

Outfield

Jurickson Profar FD 3900 DK 4300
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 13.58 DK - 10.37

Profar should be hitting in the leadoff slot for the Padres on Friday and that, in and of itself, gives the guy quite the fantasy floor. He’s putting together a very good season so far with a .785 OPS, 13% walk rate, eight home runs, and four steals. It’s a balanced line for Profar who will cost but scores fantasy points in a bunch of different ways. It’s easy to like what he’s bringing here and he might be a tough fade considering the spot the Padres are in here.

Kyle Schwarber FD DK 4600
Opponent - WSH (Joan Adon) Park - WSH
FD - 15.66 DK - 11.6

Nick Castellanos FD 2900 DK 4300
Opponent - WSH (Joan Adon) Park - WSH
FD - 14.74 DK - 11.19

We didn’t spend too much time with the Phillies, but it’s worth noting that they have a 6.1 implied run line on the day facing off against Joan Adon. Schwarber is coming off a two-home run night on Thursday and he’s putting together another big power season. The lefty already has 18 home runs on the year and a 15% walk rate. Only a .233 BABIP is holding him back from having an OPS in the .900s right now. He’s expensive, but worth it on this slate.

And then there’s Castellanos who should be hitting cleanup for the Phillies in this matchup. He’s worse against righties, but he’s coming pretty cheap on both sites, especially FanDuel at sub-$3K. It’s a nice way to fit in a cost-controlled bat on a team with a massive implied run line.

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