Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks for June 17
By Rich Pelesky
Jun 13, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks for June 17
Welcome back to the best place to get expert fantasy baseball picks for DraftKings.
The results for our picks in the contests on June 13th were as follows: Gerrit Cole ($10,700, 26.5 FP, 2.48 per $1K), Jacob deGrom ($10,500, 30.15 FP, 2.87 per $1K), Zach Greinke ($10,500, 22.6 FP, 2.15 per $1K), and C. J. Wilson ($8,200, 32.75 FP, 4.0 per $1K)).
If you haven’t joined DraftKings yet and want to play in their exciting contests, use this link to sign up and you will earn a free ticket ($20 value) into the PGA Millionaire Contest. Offer expires 6:00 a.m. on 6/18/15. Sign up today and DraftKings will also match your initial deposit up to $600.
My selections are tailored toward DraftKings scoring system but these picks can also be helpful in H2H formats with daily rosters where some of my recommended players may be available to pick up off the Waiver Wire. Also, a majority of these selections would also be recommended for FanDuel, but you should first understand the differences between each baseball scoring system before plugging players in both.
Here are my best picks for DraftKings lineups in the full slate of MLB Games on Wednesday, June 17th. The main DraftKings contests (15 MLB games) start at 7:05 p.m. with various other late contests using a smaller pool of MLB games at 8:10 p.m., 9:40 p.m., and 10:05 p,m.
Next: Early Pitchers
May 27, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda (35) receives a fist bump from catcher Brian McCann (34) as he leaves the game in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Early Pitchers
Michael Pineda (NYY) home vs. MIA for $8,600: Pineda is having a fine year with a 7-3 record along with a 3.74 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 78 Ks in 74 2/3 IP. He has been up and down lately but this is mainly attributed to opponent and ball park matchups. He loves pitching at Yankee Stadium so look for him to rebound tonight against Miami (21st in MLB w/ 3.92 rpg) at home where Pineda’s ERA (2.54) is almost half of his road ERA (5.05). Plus, he has averaged 25.6 FPPG in his last 5 home starts. At $8,600 and with his Yankees a big -200 favorite, Pineda is a steal here.
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Tommy Milone (MIN) home vs. STL for $5,300: The Twins lefty (2-1, 4.15 ERA, 1.36 WHIP in ’15; 34-24, 3.99 ERA lifetime) is back on the mound for his 4th straight start for the Twins after spending some time in AAA to work out some issues. Asked to be more aggressive, he was extremely successful in Rochester with a 0.70 ERA and 47:3 K:BB ratio in 38 2/3 IP. After a couple of mediocre outings after his call-up, he pitched great (25.4 FP, 8 K, & 7 IP) last time out on the road vs. TEX. Tonight he is at home vs. the Cardinals at home, who are a poor 27th in the majors in hitting vs. LHP (.227) and have the 2nd worse strikeout ratio (1 K per every 4.22 PA) in the league against them. At this low price, you can afford to get a very good hitter stack.
Next: Late Pitchers
May 26, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) in the third inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Late Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) home vs. TEX for $12,900: Kershaw (5-3, 3.21 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) is by far the costliest SP tonight at $12,900 but the strike out machine (112 K in 87 IP) is worth the price. He faces Texas (19th in ML w/ a .246 BA vs. LHP) at home for the Dodgers who are a huge -260 favorite. The most important thing about Kershaw (24.7) is his consistency – only once in his last 10 starts did he put up less than 16.5 FP and in 8 of the 10 he had 23.5 FP or greater. That is what you need when you spend big bucks on SP. Take Kershaw and target some low-priced hitters in the late contests.
Madison Bumgarner (SF) at SEA for $10,700: Bumgarner has been his usual superb self in 2015 going 7-3 with a 3.16 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 79 Ks in 85 1/3 IP. He has been especially dominant of late with 26.3 FPPG in his last two starts with 18 Ks in 16 IP. He gets to pitch in non-hitter-friendly Safeco Field, which is 27th in Park Factor runs (0.77) and 26th in Park Factor HRs (0.78) in 2015. Ignore the matchup against Felix Hernandez, the King he hasn’t been his royal self lately (giving up 7+ ER in 2 of his last 3 games) and the DK format rewards IP and Ks much more than Ws.
Next: Hitter Strategy for June 17
General Hitter Suggestions for June 17
Due to the differences in the early and late slate, I recommend two different strategies tonight.
For contests starting at 7:05 p.m. my suggestion is to spend most of your money on one or more the following hitter stacks: 1) Astros vs. Kyle Kendrick (COL) at Coors Field, 2) Rockies vs. Brett Oberholtzer (HOU) at Coors Field, or 3) Blue Jays vs. Jonathon Niese (NYM) at Rogers Centre.
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On the other hand, for the contests starting at 8:40 p.m. and later, spend the extra money on starting pitching then you can comb the starting lineups for value players with lower salaries to get under the cap. My suggestion is to target spot starters, platoon hitters, lower-priced batters at Coors Field and Rogers Centre, and/or hitters moving up in the batting order.
Good Luck!
Need help with your daily or Head-to Head fantasy baseball team? Contact me on Twitter @Rich_Pelesky and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, start/bench decisions, and the waiver wire!