Identifying the top high salary and value first baseman plays from around Major League Baseball for your June 9 DraftKings lineup.
Our goal is to help you win DraftKings contests with consistently strong lineups. To accomplish that, we’ll be highlighting some higher salary players worth paying up for, and some value picks that will help you save salary in key areas. These picks are specifically for DraftKings lineups, so all references to prices and fantasy points are based on DK figures.
As always, be sure to double-check final MLB lineups and monitor weather situations before locking in your DFS lineups.
High Salary
Albert Pujols, Angels (4,700): Pujols is no longer the annual MVP candidate he once was in St. Louis, but he’s also not as bad as public perception might indicate. He’s hit safely in eight of his last nine starts and has five double-digit fantasy point performances over that stretch. He’s 4-for-12 with a pair of home runs in his career against New York Yankees starter Ivan Nova. Pujols looks like a solid play on Thursday.
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (4,600): Toronto is chasing the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East standings, but the Blue Jays have a great chance to win Thursday with Marcus Stroman on the mound against Tyler Wilson (2-5, 4.39 ERA). Encarnacion is 1-for-3 against Wilson in his career.
High Value
Jose Abreu, White Sox (3,600): Abreu has never faced Washington Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez, nor is he hitting particularly well against lefties this season (.244, one HR). But Abreu is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak that includes four double-digit fantasy point performances. For this discounted price, you can roll the dice hoping that he stays hot.
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Carlos Santana, Indians (3,300): The switch-hitting Santana has been very much up and down this season, but he does have five hits in his last four games, including a home run. He’s 2-for-8 in his career against Seattle Mariners right-hander Nathan Karns, but all 10 of his home runs this season have come against righties. Santana is an intriguing GPP play on Thursday.
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