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We have an 8-game main slate on tap tonight. As of now, it appears to be a very straightforward slate with the Braves in an absolute smash spot and Coors being the attraction most will flock to in stacks. So, I am fading Coors bats and loading up on the Braves and the red hot Astros bats. But it gets even more fun when looking at the other stacks tonight. That's where the low roster rates may come into play for those nice GPP plays. Listen in to MLB DFS Quick Hits for a full slate breakdown and lineup building strategy.
The slate starts with which pitchers to build around. Woodruff would usually be autoplay, but many will be skeptical pitching in Coors. Outside of Woodruff, there are not many pay-up spots at pitcher, which will help pay for the pricier bats. Speaking of those bats, there are a few studs like Acuna and Altuve, but most bats are rather affordable for the most part. This should be a fun slate with some rather balanced builds and a Coors fade!!!!!
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/17/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Shohei Ohtani - P, LAA vs DET ($8,100)
Every fifth day I look at the DK pricing and chuckle at the Ohtani price. Sure there are always concerns about how deep in a game he goes, but that can be said for many pitchers. Not many pitchers with injury concerns can do what Ohtani can do with limited innings. Ohtani has made nine starts this season and has pitched at least five innings in six of his last seven starts. He has struck out at least five in those seven starts and seven or more in five of the seven starts. Ohtani has also limited the damage with two earned runs or less in five of his last six starts. Ohtani has been nothing short of outstanding this season and is too cheap start after start. He will take on the Tigers, who are striking out 27% of the time over the last three weeks versus RHP with a .230 average. I will have way too much Ohtani and am ok if something happens that limits his production as the ceiling is way too high for his price tag.
Brandon Woodruff - P, MIL at COL ($10,200)
So many will fade Woodruff immediately when they see Coors Field. I can't say that isn't usually a good strategy; Coors is scary. What is not scary is the current Rockies offense. Over the last three weeks, they are striking out 23% of the time versus RHP while hitting .241 with a 72 wRC+. The Rockies' offense has been atrocious for the majority of the season. Woodruff is such an underappreciated machine these days. He has thrown at least six innings in 11 of his 13 starts this season. Over his last six starts, he has thrown seven or more innings in five of six starts. Over the six games, he has 46 strikeouts over 41.1 innings with only six walks, good for an outstanding 26.5% K-BB%. Anything can happen in Coors, no doubt about that, but the idea of getting a low-owned ace-like Woodruff is too good to pass up.
Other Options: Marcus Stroman (NYM vs CHC) $8,600, Jose Urquidy (HOU vs CWS) $7,900, Wade Miley (CIN at SD) $8,000, German Marquez (COL vs MIL) $5,500
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Gary Sanchez - C, NYY at T.J. Zeuch ($4,800)
I do not know where the Sanchez we have known for years has gone, but the new and improved hitting machine has been a nice addition to the Yankees' offense. Over the last two weeks, Sanchez is hitting .319 to raise his season average to .225. He has seven extra-base, including three home runs to go with a .277 ISO. He is still striking out around 34% of the time, but he is walking 9.6%, which gives him a .385 OBP. Sanchez has been getting it done game after game for the Yankees and is worth the pay-up price he had not been for so long. He gets a solid matchup versus Zeuch and then a not-so-great Jays' bullpen.
Freddie Freeman- 1B, ATL vs. John Gant ($5,100)
I was blown away last night when I saw Freeman hit a home run, and now he has 16 home runs this season. Literally, the quietest 16 home runs this year. All the talk surrounding Freeman was his disappointing start to the season, but his .237 batting average comes with a .309 xBA, and all of his other xStats are pointing towards some serious positive regression. An 11.8% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate would also suggest that Freeman is hitting the ball just fine, and a major Freeman summer could be coming up. Tonight he faces our good buddy Gant who has seen the regression monster as he has allowed 12 runs over his last two starts (5.2 innings), and I do not see that stopping tonight. Freeman is worth the pay-up tonight with his teammate Ronald Acuna Jr. in your Braves' stacks.
Other Options: Jared Walsh (LAA vs. DET) $5,000, Joey Votto (CIN at SD) $4,300
Brandon Lowe - 2B, TB vs. Justin Dunn ($4,700)
Altuve is my top play, but I do not want to write up all the $5K+ Captain Obvious plays. So we go to Lowe, who has been sneaky good of late and gets a hittable RHP tonight. Lowe has hit safely in five of his last six games with four extra-base hits (two home runs) and even a stolen base. More importantly, for Lowe, he is facing an RHP, and on the season, he is hitting .250 versus RHP with a .219 ISO and a 20.5% HR/FB. Lowe has had nearly all of his success this season versus RHP and will look to stay hot tonight versus Dunn. Dunn is allowing LHH to slug .416 this season while allowing 1.8 HR/9. The Rays will be one of the lower rostered teams tonight, and Lowe will be heavily overlooked if you are looking for a very low rostered tournament play tonight.
Other Options: Jose Altuve (HOU vs. CWS) $5,400, Ozzie Albies (ATL vs. STL) $4,200
Bo Bichette - SS, TOR vs. Michael King ($5,600)
Bichette is in the zone this season and especially of late. He has hit 14 of his last 15 games safely and brings a six-game hit streak into tonight's game versus King and the Yankees. Over the last six games, the power has returned as he has four extra-base hits, including three home runs. Bichette has also thrown in two stolen bases over the last six games and is striking out less than 7% of the time. Bichette is putting the ball in play early and often, and that works very well when he has a 12% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate over the last six games. Bichette is raking and makes for locked-in cash gameplay and a solid piece of a Jays' stack tonight.
Other Options: Francisco Lindor (NYM vs CHC) $4,100, Dansby Swanson (ATL vs STL) $3,800
Jonathan Villar - 3B, NYM vs. Kyle Hendricks ($4,100)
Villar has been a steady producer yet is usually lowly rostered night after night. He has hit safely in five of his last eight games, with multiple hits in four of those games. Villar has four extra-base hits and even two stolen bases over the last six games. He leads off for the Mets, and that has proven very good as their offense is getting healthy and starting to score a lot of runs. Villar has scored seven or more DK points in five of the last six games and has double-digit DK production in four of those games. Villar is not that expensive, and it brings solid cash game value, as well as a nice GPP piece of a sneaky Mets stack tonight. People need to stop sleeping on the Villar value.
Other Options: Gio Urshela (NYY at TOR) $4,600, Ryan McMahon (COL vs. MIL) $4,900
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Dominic Smith - OF, NYM vs. Kyle Hendricks ($3,800)
It has been a very rough start to the 2021 season for Smith, but it may be time to jump back on the train before the price leaves town. He is still extremely affordable and has been mashing the ball the last three games. Over the last three games, Smith has three extra-base hits, including two home runs. He is 4-9 over the last three games while also walking a good amount (16.7%) and is just stuffing the DK stat sheet with 14, 9, and 21 DK points. He will face Hendricks tonight, who has struggled tremendously versus LHH this season, allowing then to hit .320 with a .625 SLG and 2.9 HR/9. After that, the sneaky Mets stack is ready to rock and roll with Villar, Smith, Francisco Lindor, and others.
Myles Straw - OF, HOU vs. Dylan Cease ($2,700)
Straw has been having a decent season but is really heating up over the last few games. He brings a six-game hit streak into tonight's game which has seen three multi-hit games. Straw is hitting .409 over the six-game stretch with three extra-base hits and a stolen base. Straw has a .227 ISO, and 1.059 OPS over the six-game stretch yet stays below $3K. He gets a tougher matchup versus Cease tonight but should not be fully ignored as Cease has been very up and down, and the Astros offense is RED HOT. Straw brings a nice value tonight with his outfield partner Michael Brantley. Straw also brings value when using a wrap-around stack that involves Altuve. He opens the door to the Astros' stacks and should not be as lowly rostered as he usually is nightly.
Abraham Almonte - OF, ATL vs. John Gant ($2,200)
When speaking of value and one of the top stacks on the slate, then look no further than Almonte, who has been hitting cleanup in two of the last three games and usually sixth when he is not. Almonte has been a hitting machine hitting .345 over his last 10 games with six extra-base hits and an insane 21.1% walk rate. Additionally, Almonte averages 8.5 DK points per game over the last 10 games, scoring double-digit points in five of the ten games and three of his last four games. Almonte has been super productive and should be played in all lineups today for his value alone, along with the great Braves stack as they beat down Gant.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Atlanta Braves (John Gant, RHP)
- Houston Astros (Dylan Cease, RHP)
- Los Angeles Angels (Matt Manning, RHP)
- Sneaky Stack- New York Mets (Kyle Hendricks, RHP)
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