DFS MLB Baseball Picks for June 17, 2021

We’ve got an eight-game slate for Thursday. It’s an interesting slate because Coors Field is on the docket but it doesn’t have the highest-projected run total! In addition, the best pitcher is throwing in Coors Field. To make things even more kooky, I’m going to be rostering one of the pitchers in Coors Field but it’s not the aforementioned best pitcher. Hopefully, I haven’t sinned. CHC, STL, DET, CIN, and SEA are projected for fewer than four runs. LAA, MIL, ATL, NYY, and TOR are projected for at least five runs. No teams are projected for fewer than three runs. 

All clear on the weather front as of this writing.

Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 6/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $100

Shohei Ohtani ($8,100)

Ohtani has a 14.3 percent swinging strike rate and has whiffed 68 batters in 47.1 innings. Unfortunately, he’s walked 28 batters. That shouldn’t be a problem against a Tigers team that is 1^stin strikeouts against right-handed pitching.

Gary Sanchez ($4,800)

Sanchez has been on a heater. Over the last six games, he has eight hits with four of those home runs. The strikeouts are always a concern but when he connects, it’s sayonara. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($5,900)

Vlad Jr.’s 2021 has been one big heater. He has 22 home runs, 50 runs, and 56 RBI. The slash is .345/.450/.690 with a .345 ISO. The most impressive thing is that the strikeout rate of 15.8 percent is almost the same as the 14.7 percent walk rate. He crushes righties and gets to face Michael King, who is a righty.

Francisco Lindor ($4,100)

Lindor has been bad this season. The slash is .220/.319/.350 with a .131 ISO. The walk and strikeout rates are both excellent though. He has six home runs and five stolen bases on the season. Over the last four games, he’s put up 9, 7, 8, and 20 DKFP. 

Giancarlo Stanton ($5,500)

The Yankees have the highest run projection on the slate as they get to face T.J. Zeuch. It’s only been 12 innings but the FIP is 9.33 and he’s allowed five home runs. Stanton has 12 home runs on the season and the ISO is .247. 

PITCHER

• STUD – Brandon Woodruff ($10,200). Woodruff is the best pitcher on this slate and one of the best pitchers in the game. The swinging strike rate is 12.5 percent and he’s struck out 97 batters in 83 innings. He’s only allowed six home runs and 17 walks. He’s scored double-digit DKFP in every start this season with eight above 20 and three above 30. That said, he’s in Coors Field so there is some risk.
• VALUE – German Marquez ($5,500) has the same risk as Woodruff and he’s coming off an outing in which he got clobbered for eight earned runs in five innings, good for -3.8 DKFP. That start was in Cincinnati, though, and Marquez has been brutal on the road and decent at home. Go figure. The slash is .298/.376/.471 with a 5.74 ERA on the road while it’s .232/.321/.324 with a 3.99 ERA at home. The Brewers are 6^th in strikeouts and 18^th in ISO against right-handed pitching. It’s scary but the price is too low to ignore.

CATCHER

• STUD – Max Stassi ($4,000) has a .364/.419/.614 slash with a .250 ISO against right-handed pitching. The Angels are projected for 5.1 runs and he gets to face Matt Manning, who will be making his MLB debut and allowed 11 home runs in 32.1 Triple-A innings. When he’s out of the game, the Tigers bullpen has the second-highest FIP.
• VALUE – Mike Zunino ($3,500) strikes out close to 40 percent of the time but he has 12 home runs with a .294 ISO. He is truly an all-or-nothing player as the slash is .191/.286/.485. Justin Dunn has been decent against righties and the Mariners bullpen has been good, but I’ll take the upside that Zunino can provide. 

FIRST BASE

• STUD – Jared Walsh ($5,000). Walsh has 15 home runs on the season. The slash is .291/.358/.560 with a .269 ISO. I went over Matt Manning and the Tigers bullpen earlier. An Angels stack looks good to me. 
• VALUE – Rowdy Tellez ($2,600). The ISO is only .134 for Tellez this season but he has a career .218 mark. I like the Toronto stack and Tellez is a cheap way to get exposure. 

SECOND BASE

• STUD – Marcus Semien ($5,100). Blue Jays stack in full effect. Semien bats leadoff and has 15 home runs and nine stolen bases on the season. He’s also scored 46 runs and driven in 37. The slash is .290/.358/.519. Big time bounce back season for Semien from last year’s debacle.
• VALUE – Rougned Odor ($3,500). Let’s go Yankees stack! The slash is only .198/.273/.389 but the ISO is .190. He has six home runs in 139 plate appearances. I went over T.J. Zeuch earlier so Odor may not stink in this one. 

THIRD BASE

• STUD – Gio Urshela ($4,600). Yup, another Yankee. Urshela has seven home runs and one stolen base on the season. He bats fifth in the lineup and has a .156 ISO. I went over why I want to attack Toronto pitching today.
• VALUE – Cavan Biggio ($3,700). Biggio bats eighth in the lineup, the strikeout rate is 29.2 percent, and the slash is .225/.331/.380. That said, the ISO is .183 against right-handed pitching and the entire Blue Jays could get busy in this one so opportunities could be plentiful for Biggio. He does have five home runs and two stolen bases on the season.

SHORTSTOP

• STUD – Bo Bichette ($5,600). Fernando Tatis Jr. is on the slate and I’m always inclined to go there regardless of price but Wade Miley has been good neutralizing the long ball. I like the Blue Jays stack so Bichette is a more than fine option. He has 14 home runs and nine stolen bases on the season with 57 runs and 42 RBI. The slash is .284/.332/.500 with a .216 ISO. 
• VALUE – Jose Iglesias ($3,700). Iglesias only has a .118 ISO so power is not his game. The slash is .275/.305/.392 and the strikeout rate is only 16 percent. He’s not sexy but he’s batting third in the lineup. I went over earlier why I want to attack Tigers pitching today.

OUTFIELD

• STUD – Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,100). John Gant has only allowed four home runs in 56.1 innings. He’s only struck out 42 batters though and walked a whopping 42. Acuna is a stud and has 18 home runs and 13 stolen bases. He’s scored 53 runs and driven in 41. The slash is .285/.390/.597 with a .312 ISO.
• VALUE – Raimel Tapia ($3,600) has to face Brandon Woodruff so that’s no bueno. That said, he’s cheap and has a little pop with speed. I like multiple paths to fantasy goodies. The main reasons I like Tapia are that he bats leadoff and he’s much better at home than on the road. Shocking, right? The slash at home is .306/.354/.500 with a .194 ISO compared to .2789/.314/.304 with a .026 ISO on the road.

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