We have an fourteen-game slate with first pitch at 7:05 PM EST. Today’s slate of games is highlighted by Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking on Blake Snell and the San Diego Padres in the San Diego. The highest implied run totals tonight sit with the Houston Astros (5.6), Chicago Cubs (5.4), and Oakland Athletics (5.1).
There is some risk of a delayed start for the two games playing in New York today(Royals @ Yankees, Nationals @ Mets), but the chances of rain drops there significantly by 8pm so those games will likely get played in full.
Here is a selection of today’s Core Players 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 6/22/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Clayton Kershaw | $9,200 | |||
| Pitcher | |||||
| Catcher | |||||
| First Base | Jared Walsh | $5,000 | |||
| Second Base | Ozzie Albies | $5,000 | |||
| Third Base | |||||
| Short Stop | Wander Franco | $2,000 | |||
| Outfield | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | $3,600 | |||
| Outfield | |||||
| Outfield | |||||
Clayton Kershaw – P ($9,200)
Coming into tonight Kershaw has at least nine strikeouts in each of his last three starts, and has only given up two runs in his last two starts. If you take a look at his two games against the Padres this year he has 15 innings pitched, with 15 strikeouts and he has given up three runs.
Jared Walsh – 1B ($5,000)
Walsh has hit a home run in each of his last three games, and in five of his last eight games. The Angels will be facing Anthony DeScalafani and the Giants tonight, and while DeScalafani has played well recently, he has outperformed his FIP, so we could see some regression from him tonight against a hot Angels lineup.
Ozzie Albies – 2B ($5,000)
While I don’t love Albies price, he does have two home runs, and a steal in his last four games. He has the highest upside of any second baseman, so if you can afford to get him in, he is worth the look.
Wander Franco – SS ($2,000)
The long awaited debut of Franco has finally come. He has been the top prospect in baseball for a couple of years now. He is at the minimum price tonight, so expect his ownership to be very high as people flock to his pedigree and his price.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – OF ($3,600)
While Guerrero and Bichette grab most of the attention, we can get Gurriel tonight at a very reasonable price, and he has four hits in his last three-game, with two doubles and a home run.
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The A List
Shohei Ohtani – OF ($5,400) – Ohtani might be the hottest hitter in all of baseball right now. He has six home runs in his last six games and a steal. He is batting at the top of the Angels lineup and has been a threat every night.
Freddy Peralta – P ($10,000) – As a Kershaw alternative, Peralta isn’t a bad plan. He is facing a Diamondback’s team that has gotten on base just 28 percent of the time in the last two weeks, and has the second lowest team SLG in that time frame of 0.310. For Peralta, he hasn’t given up more than two runs in his last seven starts, and has struck out no less than six batters in those seven starts as well.
The B List
Adam Duvall – OF ($3,300) – Over the weekend Kyle Schwarber hit five home runs in two games, but do you know who still had a higher SLG over the weekend? Duvall. In the 13 at-bats he had against the Cubs, he had four home runs, scored six runs, ten RBI, and a stolen base. Not a bad weekend.
Luis Urias – 2B/3B ($4,200) – Urias is on a five game hitting streak, where he has eight total hits. While of those hits he has two doubles and a Home Run, he has also pitched in a steal. 3B isn’t really deep right now, but Urias is a player that can meet or exceed his value in a matchup against a Cubs team that was really knocked around last weekend.
Tarik Skubal – P ($6,600) – Skubal gets a discount because of the team he plays for, however, he has given up just seven runs in this last three starts and has struck out 24 batters in that span. To go along with that the Cardinals are among the worst teams in the league over the last two weeks at hitting left-handed pitchers, with a team triple slash of 0.184/0.257/0.224.
The C List
Jake Cronenworth– 2B ($4,700 DK) If you are out on Kershaw tonight, I would take a look at Cronenworth. He is on a seven game hitting streak, and in his last four games he has three doubles and two home runs.
Willson Contreras– C ($4,100 DK) Contreras went two for four yesterday with two doubles, and he may of broke out of his slump. Cleveland(his opponent), is struggling to put a pitching staff together due to injuries so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Cubs scored a lot of runs again today.
The Strategy
Cash Games – In cash games today you will want to eat the chalk on Franco, knowing that the large majority of the field is going to be using him, the key will be in how you distribute the wealth that you are saving by using him. Vegas says to look to the Astros or the Cubs, and I can’t say I disagree.
GPP Games – In GPP, I think you can use a similar strategy as I have noted in cash, it’s a nice path to getting into the money, however, there is going to be value in avoiding Franco all together. Many contests are not won with big expensive bats, so going to someone like Correa who will see less ownership in a good matchup makes sense, and then look for value elsewhere in players like Skubal and/or Duvall.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
