DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday, 6/26/22

I wasn't able to play DFS on Saturday because of some prior obligations, but that's allowing me to recharge my batteries for this Sunday slate. There's actually one pitcher on the board who could be in the best spot all season, so let's start there!

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Pitchers

Shane McClanahan FD - P 11400 DK - SP 10300
Opponent - PIT (Roansy Contreras) Park - TB
FD - 46.66 DK - 25.86

It's hard to predict 50 FanDuel points from a player, but McClanahan has that in his bag here. The rookie left-hander has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, providing a 1.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 13.0 K/9 rate this season. Those all have him as one of the favorites for AL Cy Young, with Shane scoring at least 29 FanDuel points in all 14 of his starts. That makes him a worthy play against anyone but facing Pittsburgh is brilliant. The Pirates rank 28th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and wOBA this season. That's why Mac is a -220 favorite in a game with a 6.5-run total.

Brady Singer FD - P 8500 DK - SP 8100
Opponent - OAK (James Kaprielian) Park - KC
FD - 31.83 DK - 16.43

This is the far riskier option of these two, but we love Singer in this spot. The right-hander has been excellent outside of one dud against Houston, totaling a 2.63 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 8.8 K/9 rate over his last nine starts, if you take out that one stinker. That's all you can hope for from an $8K player, and we're willing to ignore that blowup because Oakland is obviously a much easier matchup than Houston. In fact, the A's rank bottom-two in runs scored, OBP, OPS, xwOBA, and wOBA. All of that has Singer entering this matchup as a -170 favorite, with the A's projected for fewer than four runs.

Dylan Cease (FD $10500 DK $9600) is averaging 22 DraftKings points per game this season and should continue that against a 26th-ranked Baltimore offense.

Catcher/First Base

Paul Goldschmidt FD - 1B 4300 DK - 1B 6100
Opponent - CHC (Alec Mills) Park - STL
FD - 12.77 DK - 9.68

Goldshmidt is the frontrunner for NL MVP, and he's simply the hottest hitter in baseball right now. He's flirting with a .450 OBP and 1.300 OPS over his last 10 games played but has been doing severe damage all season long. Goldy has a .338 AVG, .442 OBP, .617 SLG, and 1.039 OPS in what's been the best season of his Hall-of-Fame career. Numbers like those are tough to fade against a pitcher like Alec Mills, with the Cubs righty amassing an 8.59 ERA and 1.57 WHIP this year. That's a limited sample size but a 5.07 ERA and 1.44 WHIP last season show that Mills has no place as a starter at this level.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 6000
Opponent - MIL (Chi Chi González) Park - MIL
FD - 14.73 DK - 11.09

Vlad was one Ohtani short of winning AL MVP last season, but it led to a slow start this year. With that said, Guerrero has recaptured that form recently, tallying a .366 OBP, .591 SLG, and .958 OPS over his last 28 games played. That's the MVP candidate we've been waiting to see, and he should go off with the rest of these Blue Jays in this fantastic matchup. Toronto gets to face Chi Chi Gonzalez, who's got a 7.36 ERA and 1.55 WHIP this year. He's posted similar averages throughout his career, totaling a 5.71 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. Milwaukee is stuck starting this guy with all of their injuries, and the Jays should reap the benefits here.

Alejandro Kirk (FD $3300 DK $4300) has been the best catcher in baseball for a month now and is an excellent play in this Toronto stack.

Second Base

Marcus Semien FD - 2B 3200 DK - 2B 5300
Opponent - WSH (Jackson Tetreault) Park - TEX
FD - 12.06 DK - 9.12

Semien was one of the worst hitters in baseball through the opening two months, but he's really hit his stride recently. The slugging second baseman has a .294 AVG, .350 OBP, .483 SLG, .833 OPS, and 10 steals over his last 35 games played. That's more on par with the 45-homer, 15-steal stud we saw last season, and it's just a matter of time before this pricing creeps up to where it needs to be. A matchup with Jackson Tetreault is tasty, too, with the Nats righty allowing 15 hits and 10 runs through his first two career starts.

Luis Arraez FD - 1B 3100 DK - 2B 5100
Opponent - COL (Ryan Feltner) Park - MIN
FD - 9.88 DK - 7.73

The Twins have been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, and Arraez is a significant reason why. This guy has been doing work atop this lineup, leading baseball with a .347 AVG and .426 OBP. That alone makes him an amazing value in this price range, especially since Luis has a .966 OPS over his last 17 games played. That looks even better since Arraez has a .463 OBP and .963 OPS against right-handers this year, and Feltner is undoubtedly not a scary one. The Rockies righty has a 5.46 ERA and just allowed five runs to a terrible Miami lineup in his most recent start.

Shortstop

Carlos Correa FD - SS 3300 DK - SS 5500
Opponent - COL (Ryan Feltner) Park - MIN
FD - 11.05 DK - 8.37

If we stack the Twinkies, Correa and Arraez should be major pieces to it. Carlos got off to a rough start in Minnesota, but he's been mauling since coming off the IL. In fact, Correa has compiled a .349 AVG, .388 OBP, .587 SLG, and .975 OPS in the 15 games since being reinstated off the IL. He posted similar averages in his Houston days, and it looks like he's finally comfortable in a Twins uniform. We already talked about how Feltner is a fantastic matchup, with the Twins projected for five runs in this spot.

Javier Báez FD - SS 2900 DK - SS 4300
Opponent - ARI (Dallas Keuchel) Park - ARI
FD - 9.29 DK - 7.11

I wasn't so sure who our second shortstop would be, but once Keuchel got the nod for the D'Backs, I knew Baez was one of the best plays on the board. The former All-Star has had a disastrous season in Detroit, but it's lowered his price tag way too far. We say that because he's starting to find it recently, accumulating a .429 AVG, .467 OBP, .1000 SLG, and 1.467 OPS over his last seven games. He also has two steals in that span and is the leading scorer in DFS in that span. That would make him a good value no matter what, but we also don't mind that Javy has a .294 AVG, .544 SLG, and .896 OPS against left-handers since 2020. Not to mention, Keuchel has a 7.88 ERA and 2.16 WHIP in one of the worst seasons I've ever seen.

Third Base

Nolan Arenado FD - 3B 3700 DK - 3B 5500
Opponent - CHC (Alec Mills) Park - STL
FD - 12.53 DK - 9.49

Arenado has been all over the map in terms of consistency this season, but he's one of the best options in DFS when he's hot. That appears to be happening right now, with Arenado amassing a .371 AVG, .771 SLG, and 1.177 OPS over his last nine games played. That's the guy we saw rake for the Rockies, and he makes for a wonderful two-man stack with Goldschmidt. The Cardinals are projected for five runs in this fantastic spot against Mills, and these two will do most of that damage in the three and four holes of this dangerous lineup.

Matt Chapman FD - 3B 2900 DK - 3B 3600
Opponent - MIL (Chi Chi González) Park - MIL
FD - 11.15 DK - 8.29

It's hard to get excited about Chapman with how bad he's been this season, but he's the best way to save some salary in this Blue Jays stack. This is one of the best offenses in baseball, and they're surely going to go off against a gas can like Chi Chi. That means we want as much exposure to them as possible, and Chapman is the best value of the bunch. We say that because he's been a .500 SLG and .850 OPS guy throughout most of his career and has returned to that player as of late. Over his last 22 games played. Chap has a .293 AVG, .363 OBP, .524 SLG and .887 OPS.

Outfield

Mike Trout FD - OF 4300 DK - OF 6100
Opponent - SEA (Marco Gonzales) Park - LAA
FD - 14.55 DK - 10.76

Taylor Ward FD - OF 3900 DK - OF 4900
Opponent - SEA (Marco Gonzales) Park - LAA
FD - 12.63 DK - 9.58

The Angels have one of the worst bottom-half of the lineups in baseball, but these studs continue to produce atop it. Ward is the guy who leads off for this team, tallying a .306 AVG, .401 OBP, .552 SLG, and .953 OPS in what's becoming a breakout season. That makes him an excellent pairing with Mike Trout, who's got six homers in his seven matchups with Seattle this season. That's far from surprising when you see his .391 OBP, .659 SLG, and 1.050 OPS for the year. All of that makes them enticing options against anyone, but they both get the platoon advantage against an underwhelming Marco Gonzalez. In 40 at-bats against Marco, Mike has maintained a .450 OBP and 1.164 OPS.

Andrew Vaughn FD - OF 3300 DK - 1B/OF 4500
Opponent - BAL (Jordan Lyles) Park - CHW
FD - 11.15 DK - 8.45

Don't look now, but Vaughn is finally starting to break out in Chicago. This has always been one of the best hitters in Triple-A, and that development is starting to show at this level. Andrew has accumulated a .358 AVG, .404 OBP, and .908 OPS over his last 28 games played. Those are absurd averages from such an affordable player, and it should continue against a gas can like Jordan Lyles. The Orioles righty has a 4.92 ERA and 1.50 WHIP this year while generating a 5.19 ERA and 1.44 WHIP for his career. That has the Sox as one of the highest projected lineups on the slate, and AV is a primary reason why.

Franmil Reyes FD - OF 2500 DK - OF 2800
Opponent - BOS (Rich Hill) Park - CLE
FD - 11.26 DK - 8.45

The Franimal is off to one of the worst starts in his career, but his form coming off the IL is an encouraging sign. The big man has a hit in all four games since being reinstated, posting a .915 OPS in that span. That's the power stud we've been waiting to see, with Reyes registering a .503 SLG, .254 ISO, and .828 OPS coming into the year. He also has some of the best-advanced numbers in the game, with him getting the platoon advantage against Rich Hill here. The journeyman lefty has floundered for Boston all season, posting a 4.35 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. If you want a sneaky stack that won't cost anything, don't forget about Oscar Gonzalez to pair with Reyes!