DFS MLB Baseball Picks for June 15, 2021

We’ve got a 15-game slate for Tuesday. Coors Field is on the slate and one of the best pitchers is pitching there. That takes on more significance because the pitching options up top aren’t plentiful and there are plenty of pitchers to attack. It should be an interesting slate for sure. I’m paying up at pitching in both slots so I had to be very judicious in how I allocated money for bats. PIT, CHC, TEX, MIA, STL, and PHI are projected for fewer than four runs. LAD, SD, and CLE are projected for at least five runs. No teams are projected for fewer than three runs. SD is projected for a whopping 6.4 runs, the highest I’ve seen all season. ARI/SF have not had their lines posted yet.

All clear on the weather front as of this writing.

Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 6/15/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $500

Julio Urias ($9,600)

Urias is my favorite pitcher on the slate. The FIP is 3.18 and the swinging strike rate is 13.1 percent. He’s struck out 85 batters in 78.1 innings and allowed 10 home runs and 11 walks. The Phillies are 5^th in strikeouts and 20^th in ISO against left-handed pitching. In addition, the Dodgers are -182 to win so there’s win equity. 

Omar Narvaez ($3,800)

I had around $3,800 each to spend on bats. Hey, what do you know? Narvaez bats fifth in the order and has a .347/.426/.559 with a .212 ISO against right-handed pitching. Now, Luis Castillo isn’t a bad pitcher but he’s been far from great. He has been better against lefties than righties but the FIP is still 4.27. When Castillo leaves the game, the Reds bullpen has the highest FIP and allows the most home runs per nine innings. 

Daniel Vogelbach ($3,800)

A mini-Brewers stack. Vogelbach will likely bat second in the Brewers lineup and he is much better against righties than lefties. The slash is .237/.362/.424 with a .186 ISO. 

Brendan Rodgers ($2,900)

Rodgers only has three home runs with a .254/.357/.424 slash. The ISO is .169 and the strikeout rate is 18.6 percent. He does have to face Yu Darvish but he’s sub-$3,000 and batting in Coors Field.

Trent Grisham ($4,400)

Did someone say Coors Field? Grisham will likely bat second in the order and he has multiple paths to fantasy goodies. He has six home runs and seven stolen bases on the season. The slash is .291/.375/.496 with a .206 ISO. The strikeout rate is high at 26.9 percent and the BABIP is elevated at .380 but the walk rate is 11.9 percent and…..he’s in Coors Field.

PITCHER

• STUD – I mentioned that Urias is my favorite pitcher on the slate. Mike Minor is my second-favorite. The price seems high at $9,200 but he’s gone rfor at least 23 DKFP in three of the last four games with a high of 31.4. Now he gets to face a Tigers team that is 1^st in strikeouts and 29^th in ISO against left-handed pitching.
• VALUE – I’m not crazy about the lower-priced options but if I had to choose one, it would be J.A. Happ. I just puked. Happ has put up 1.9 and -0.8 DKFP in the last two starts. Prior to that, though, he went for 18.3 and 20.1 DKFP. The Mariners are 6^th in strikeouts and 18^th in ISO against left-handed pitching. Happ is also only $6,700. 

CATCHER

• STUD – Yan Gomes ($5,000). Gomes has a .366/.366/.561 slash with a .195 ISO against left-handed pitching. Brett Anderson has a 4.45 K/9 and 5.29 FIP against righties this season.
• VALUE – Jorge Alfaro ($2,600). Alfaro bats seventh so that stinks but he’s super cheap. In addition, he gets to face a lefty and the slash against them this season is .292/.292/.500 with a .208 ISO. Kwang Hyun Kim has allowed eight home runs to righties and the K/9 is only 5.98.

FIRST BASE

• STUD – Shohei Ohtani ($5,300). The strikeout rate is high at 29 percent but whatever. The ISO is .340 and he has 17 home runs, nine stolen bases, and 45 RBI. Against righties, the slash is .290/.376/.614. He faces Frankie Montas who has been decent against lefties but Ohtani is not a normal lefty.
• VALUE – Josh Naylor ($3,500). He gets to face Matt Harvey. End of analysis. Thanks and good luck tonight! Fine, Naylor has a .280/.323/.440 slash with a .160 ISO against righties. Harvey has a 6.15 K/9 and 5.4 FIP against lefties. The HR/9 is also 1.71.

SECOND BASE

• STUD – Jake Cronenworth ($5,600). The price is high, especially since Cronenworth usually bats in the lower third of the order. He’s in Coors Field, though, and he gets to face Chi Chi Gonzalez who has a 6.6 percent swinging strike rate. 
• VALUE – Ozzie Albies ($3,900). Albies bats third in the order. Against left-handed pitching, the slash is .323/.354/.645 with a .323 ISO. Eduardo Rodriguez does miss bats, as the strikeout rate is 26 percent against righties, but the HR/9 is 1.41 and the FIP is 3.84.

THIRD BASE

• STUD – Manny Machado ($5,600). The batting average is low by Machado’s standards this season at .242. The BABIP is only .261 so some good fortune should come his way. He still has nine home runs and six stolen bases on the season and the walk rate is 11.7 percent while the strikeout rate is only 18.1 percent. He’s still a really good hitter. Now he’s in Coors Field and gets to face Chi Chi Gonzalez. 
• VALUE – Jonathan Villar ($4,000). Villar bats leadoff for the Mets and has six home runs and seven stolen bases on the season, so multiple paths to fantasy goodies. Yipee! He faces Alec Mills who has a 5.7 K/9 and 5.86 FIP.

SHORTSTOP

• STUD – Fernando Tatis Jr. ($6,400). Tatis is expensive but he’s well worth it. He has 19 home runs and 13 stolen bases on the season. Now he gets to face Chi Chi Rodriguez in Coors Field. Oh, Lordy.
• VALUE – Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($3,800). IKF only has five home runs but he has a whopping 15 stolen bases and has scored 37 runs. The strikeout rate is only 16.6 percent and the slash is .294/.330/.415. In the last five games, IKF has scored at least 10 DKFP in four with a high of 32.

OUTFIELD

• STUD – Nick Castellanos ($4,900). The slash against left-handed pitching is .404/.440/.766 with a .362 ISO. Uh, that’s pretty good guys. Now he faces Brett Anderson who has a 4.45 K/9 and 5.29 FIP against righties.
• VALUE – Anthony Santander ($2,900). Santander bats third in the lineup. That in of itself makes Santander a good play. The numbers aren’t spectacular as he has four home runs and the slash is .252/.282/.417 with a .165 ISO. That said, he put up 23 and 21 DKFP five and six games ago.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.