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Greetings RotoBallers! We have a smaller eight-game slate tonight rather than the usual double-digit game slate. Personally, I prefer these smaller slates as if nothing else, it gives me less to sift through. If you are looking for a game stack, look no further than Baltimore at Toronto as both starting pitchers have an ERA over six. It's not surprising that the Toronto game has the highest projected total runs of 11.0 runs. On the flip side, we have the LAD/CHC game which has a combined expected run total of only 8.0 runs. As of publication time, we don't know who is pitching in the CIN/ATL game, but that game could be very interesting as well.
But more specifically, what players do I like tonight? Read below to find, as I provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/24/2021. And if you want more detailed thoughts on some of the earlier games, please hit me on Twitter (@MarkStrausberg).
Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Meanwhile, if we are not going with Marquez, who are going with on the bump tonight?
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Luis Garcia, HOU at Detroit ($9600)
I've been riding Garcia all season and this is not the first time I've recommend him. He will be an extremely popular pick tonight, but with good reason. As we all hopefully know, a high floor is key in cash games. And Garcia brings exactly that as he has yet to give up more than three earned runs in a game. Even in one of his worst outings against Minnesota a few weeks ago when he couldn't get out of the fifth inning, he still struck out four and was charged with only three runs.
Garcia's 2.82 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 80 Ks in a little over 70 innings speak for themselves. Furthermore, he has one of the better match-ups of the night taking on the lowly Tigers. Detroit batters have struck out more than all but one team in the league. I'd rather have Garcia than the far more expensive Walker Buehler. I won't be alone in the camp, making Garcia a poor choice in a GPP. But he is the easy cash game choice.
GPP Potential Alternate Play
Cody Poteet, MIA vs WSH ($5900)
And we move from an obvious play to what might seem like a head-scratcher. While Poteet's stats don't jump off the page, his 3.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in nearly 28 innings are not bad at all. Given that the league averages are currently a 4.12 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP, Poteet's stats are definitely better than average. And at a price under $6K, I'm happy to take the gamble that he continues to pitch better than average.
And I don't see why he can't do that against Washington. One of the concerns with Poteet is that his ground ball percentage is less than 36%, but the Nationals are not exactly a power team. The Nationals have the eight fewest HRs in the league. Playing in Miami's pitcher-friendly park won't hurt either.
Watch what he did to one of his fellow young stars last week:
The best hitter alive, Patrick Wisdom, gets overpowered by Cody Poteet pic.twitter.com/cY94coEIdg
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) June 19, 2021
He is not the best hitter alive, but I do like Patrick Wisdom and he has shown some excellent power this year. Poteet makes for a sneaky pick that will also allow us to load up on bats tonight.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Trey Mancini - 1B/OF BAL at TOR ($3300)
We will spend up but at first base, I really like some of the mid-priced options including Mancini. Manchini is having another solid season and is currently hitting .265 with 14 HRs. We know he has the potential for the huge night like he did just four nights ago when he clubbed two homers against this same Toronto team. The right-handed Mancini will be facing the left-handed Anthony Kay who currently sports a 6.43 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. If Steven Matz wasn't still on the Covid-19 injured list, Kay would probably be back in the minors. Any time an opposing pitcher is on the mound who probably shouldn't, I'm selecting players opposing him.
Jazz Chisholm Jr - 2B MIA vs WSH ($3000)
It appears that FanDuel has removed Jazz's SS eligibility. Fine, priced still at only $3K, I'm still happy to start him at 2B. My regular readers know he is a frequent recommendation of mine. Go read my previous articles to see why. With a great match-up against Joe Ross and his 4.54 ERA, I don't think I need to detail more here.
Ke'Bryan Hayes - 3B PIT at STL ($3100)
Hayes has been facing off against some of the better pitchers in the AL Central the last few days, so I've been pivoting elsewhere just waiting for the right match-up. Well, the match-ups don't get much juicier than Carlos Martinez and his 6.62 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. There is a reason he's 3-8 this season.
Meanwhile, Hayes was unfortunately injured during the first week of the season, but since he came back on June 2nd, he has been showing why he is one of the most exciting players in the game. In just under 20 games this season, he has yet to fail to score fantasy points. Go back and read that sentence again. I challenge you to find many other hitters who have gone 20 straight games without a zero, and if so, I bet you they cost a lot more than $3100. And he's put up double-digit fantasy points in over 40% of his games this year.
Reasons abound why I made him my cover player today. Lock him in.
Rafael Devers - 3B BOS at TBR ($3900)
I normally choose one player at each INF position and if you want a shortstop, go with wunderkind Wander Franco and his cheap-not-for-long salary of $2700. But we really haven't spent up yet and I think Devers is a bargain at just $3900. In addition to his .282 average and 18 HRs, he's also chipped in a handful of stolen bases. He gets the LvR advantage against Michael Wacha today as well. If for some reason you have an anti-Pirate bias or perhaps you are a Cardinals fan and don't want to play Hayes (which is a dumb decision btw), I'd strongly recommend Devers.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU at DET ($3800)
The Astros have been on absolute fire lately and to be honest, you should probably stack Astros. And against Jose Urena and his 5.79 ERA and 1.60 WHIP, there is probably not a single Houston starting hitter I would say not to play. However, Alvarez might be my favorite. He went long again last night, hitting his 11th HR of the year, and now has an average of .306 on the year. ICYMI....
OH MY ?
Yordan Alvarez with a 448 ft MOONSHOT ?
(via @mlb)pic.twitter.com/ebpMVrsN1Y
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 24, 2021
Cedric Mullins - OF, BAL at TOR ($3000) and Austin Hays BAL at TOR ($2600)
But if an Astros stack is not for you, I'd strongly consider the Baltimore Orioles. Mullens and Hayes provide a nice 1-2 punch, almost literally, as they will likely bat first and second in tonight's lineup. Hayes brings us some nice savings if we need it, but I honestly don't understand why Mullens is still priced at only three grand. He's having a better season overall than the aforementioned $3900 Devers. Mullens is hitting a better than solid .311 with 13 round-trippers. He's also chipped in a dozen swipes!
If you want a bonus pick of a high-priced OF, I will have a few lineups with Jesse Winker, who is threatening to win the triple crown in the NL with a .333 average, 17 HRs, and 45 RBIs. I will be playing a few lineups tonight though, so I need some cheaper plays. And for a team with the worst record in the AL, the Orioles have a sneaky-good offense.
Good luck with your entries!
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