DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 6/17/22 - Main Slate Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Clayton Kershaw FD 10500 DK 10500 Opponent - CLE (Zach Plesac) Park - CLEFD - 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 - PITFD - 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 - COLFD - 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...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 6/16/22(Main Slate) Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Zack Wheeler FD 10600 DK 9600 Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH FD - 34.17 DK - 18.44 Smaller slate tonight but we still get some solid pitching options and it starts with the Phillies ace who is at his lowest price in nearly a month. Since being rocked for a combined 11 earned runs in back-to-back starts in late April, Wheeler has been one of the top pitchers in baseball with a .95 wHIP, 1.42 ERA, 2.44 xFIP, and elite 33% K rate while averaging 27.1 DK/47.3 FD points per game. He now faces a bottom-five offence in the Nationals and while they don't strike out much overall, they do strike out nearly 3% more against right-handed pitching. All things considered, he is my top pitcher in all formats on the main slate. Martin Pérez FD 10500 DK 9000 Opponent - DET (Beau Brieske) Park - DET FD - 30.89 DK - 15.46 Up until his latest start on the road against the White Six, Martin Perez was one of the surprise stories on the season. Despite being roughed up for four earned runs he still enters the night with a sparkling 2.18 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 3.33 K/BB ratio. While the upside is somewhat limited, it is tough to pass on that consistency in this plus matchup against a Tigers team that ranks dead last in runs scored, wOBA, wRC+, and is Top 5 in K rate. It is close between Severino and Perez at SP2 on DraftKings tonight but I lean the latter slightly due to the matchup and small discount. Lock and load in all formats. Also Consider: George Kirby(SEA) as a value SP2 on DraftKings facing a struggling Angels team that has an ugly .270 wOBA, 75 wRC+, and 30% K rate over the past two weeks Catcher/First Base Rhys Hoskins FD 3600 DK 4400 Opponent - WSH (Patrick Corbin) Park - WSH FD - 13.69 DK - 10.16 These are the kind of slates that require our full attention leading into lock as our top team to target plays in the game with the biggest risk of rain. At this time, I am not as concerned so will be treating it like it will play and that is great news as the Phillies are once again in a terrific spot against struggling veteran southpaw Patrick Corbin. Whenever facing a lefty, Hoskins...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 6/14/22 - Main Slate Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD 10400 DK 10500 Opponent - TB (Corey Kluber) Park - TBFD - 40.7 DK - 22.93 Don’t let the 3.63 ERA for Cole fool you here, the 2.79 xFIP is almost a full run lower and he continues to be one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball. He has a 5:1 K:BB ratio on the season and is still striking guys out at a 31% clip. Cole comes into Tuesday as a -220 favorite at home against the Rays who rank 25th in team wOBA and strikeout out 23% of the time. This is a smash spot for Cole though you will need to pay for the privilege. Dylan Cease FD 9600 DK 8800 Opponent - DET (Drew Hutchison) Park - DETFD - 32.47 DK - 17.88 There was no early line on this game, though it stands to reason that Cease will be a heavier favorite against Hutchison and the Tigers. Cease has one of the highest K/9 rates in the majors at 12.71 and has proven to have elite swing and miss stuff over the last couple of seasons. The big change was ditching his changeup in favor of a splitter and mostly just throwing three pitches. It’s completely worked. The Tigers ranks dead last in offensive wOBA this season and are basically one of the worst hitting teams in baseball. Catcher/First Base Wilmer Flores FD 2800 DK 3800 Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KCFD - 12.49 DK - 9.53 Darin Ruf FD 2800 DK 3700 Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KCFD - 13.85 DK - 10.4 If we are on the hunt for cheaper options to be able to fit the top arms as well as some bats from Coors, then these two guys could fit the bill on Tuesday. Both are coming under $3K on FanDuel and under $4K on DraftKings meaning we are getting some savings. And both are coming on the better side of their splits facing the lefty Bubic. For his career, Flores has an .810 OPS against lefties with a .340 wOBA and a .218 ISO. Those are all significantly better than what he’s done against righties. But since he plays against both pitchers, the price is driven down across the board. Now is the time to play him. Meanwhile, Run has been elite against lefties for his career...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 6/13/22 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Alek Manoah FD - P 10800 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - BAL (Kyle Bradish) Park - TOR FD - 42.46 DK - 22.8 To say Alek Manoah has lived up to the hype of being drafted 11th overall just three years ago would be a huge understatement. He is now 16-3 in 31 major league starts and while he has lost some of the elite K upside we saw last year, he has more than made up for it with control walking just 4.8% of batters(10th best in baseball) which has resulted in an elite 1.81 ERA(3rd best). It is about the matchup tonight as he faces a below-average Orioles offence and is the biggest favourite on the slate(-308). With pricing, there is a more challenging decision to make on FanDuel for top pitcher but on DraftKings, back under $10K, Manoah is my top arm on this slate. Alex Wood FD - P 8600 DK - SP 8300 Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - SF FD - 29.69 DK - 15.59 The Giants are carrying a ton of momentum into Monday after sweeping the Dodgers over the weekend and look to stay hot at home against the AL's worst team. Alex Wood takes the bump and has been working hard on lowering that ERA(4.23) lately as he has allowed just three earned runs over his last two starts, also lowering his xFIP to a very promising 3.12 on the season meaning more positive regression is likely on its way. There isn't a ton of upside here as the Royals don't K a lot, especially against lefties(17.7%) but we are getting the second-biggest favourite on the slate at a mid $8K price tag making Wood my top SP2 on DraftKings in all formats and in serious consideration as top cash pitcher on FanDuel. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD 3500 DK 4700 Opponent - WSH (Josiah Gray) Park - WSH FD - 11.69 DK - 8.71 There is no shortage of plays at first base tonight and as much as I want to load up on Vlad here(I am a homer), I can't ignore the price tag on Olson. While the average(.251) is still not where he would like it, he has been better recently, especially from a fantasy production standpoint with six doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBI over the last two weeks. What really stands out is...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 6/11/22(Early Slate) Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Zack Wheeler FD 10500 DK 10100 Opponent - ARI (Madison Bumgarner) Park - ARI FD - 37.08 DK - 19.99 The early slate is loaded at the top when looking at pitching with both Gausman and Wheeler in great spots but I am leaning slightly leaning the latter as my top choice. Both get terrific matchup but Wheeler takes the mound at home and has been more consistent in the short term. Over his last seven starts, he is averaging over six innings per outing, has allowed just eight earned runs(1.61 ERA/2.60 xFIP) and has struck out seven in each of those starts(32%). He now faces a below-average Dbacks offence that strikes out 25% of the time(2nd most overall). Fire up Wheeler in all formats today. Zach Plesac FD 8100 DK 6500 Opponent - OAK (Frankie Montas) Park - OAK FD - 32.08 DK - 15.85 There is a path to paying up for both pitchers on DraftKings on this slate but I prefer the value route to help get more bats and Plesac is the one that stands out. After a rough start in Houston(7 ER), he has bounced back in a huge way allowing just two earned runs over his last two starts with 13 strikeouts while hitting at least 3x value at these prices in both. Yes, those were against lesser competition(BAL, KC) but the good news is that he gets another top matchup today facing an A's team that ranks dead last in wOBA and 2nd last in wRC+ against right-handed pitching with a 24.4% K rate. Please is easily our top PTS/$ value arm on this slate. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD 3600 DK 5300 Opponent - PIT (Zach Thompson) Park - PIT FD - 12.6 DK - 9.38 The Braves have gone from massively underpriced on DraftKings to one of the most expensive teams in the course of about a week. They sit with the highest implied total today and they are our top team to target in all formats. It starts with Matt Olson who has hits in five of six games since being moved back to the cleanup spot and overall has hits in 10 of his last 12 games with six doubles and two home runs. It is very close at the top with Vladdy and Olson both in good spots here but I lean toward the latter who comes...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday 6/9/22 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD - P 10800 DK - SP 10400 Opponent - MIN (Dylan Bundy) Park - MIN FD - 34.49 DK - 19.41 We have a ton of pitching options on this main slate tonight and I will start with a pitcher in Cole who provides an elite floor for multiple reasons. First of all, the Yankees are almost always -200 or great favourites when he is on the mound and he has completed six or more innings in eight straight starts giving him huge win equity. Then we look at the strikeouts and see he has tallied nine or more in three straight and six of his last eight starts with an elite 33% K rate. The matchup is average-at-best as the Twins are a Top 10 team against right-handed pitching but we are getting an elite pitcher whose price is trending back down. I will have exposure in all formats. Nick Pivetta FD - P 9100 DK - SP 8400 Opponent - LAA (Shohei Ohtani) Park - LAA FD - 31.45 DK - 16.52 After not making it through five innings in any of his first five starts, Pivetta has been elite over his last six going 6+ innings in each while allowing one or fewer earned runs in five of those starts for a 1.32 ERA. He is never going to give you that ultimate K upside but does have five or more in seven of his last eight with 7+ three times. What stands out the most here is the matchup against the struggling Angels who, going into Wednesday night, had lost 13 straight games while scoring just over three per game and striking out 24.9% of the time(2nd most in that time). With Mike Trout likely to miss his second straight game, Pivetta is our top PTS/$ pitcher on this slate. Also Consider: Max Fried(ATL) who is a big home favourite against a bottom-five Pirates offence or for more value Connor Pilkington(PHI) who is a home favourite against another bottom-five offence Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 5300 Opponent - PIT (JT Brubaker) Park - ATL FD - 13.18 DK - 9.81 The Braves have been red-hot winning seven straight games and have been carried by the offence that is scoring 7.4 runs per game during that stretch. For Olson, it has been a slow start to his tenure...