Identifying the top high salary and value first baseman plays from around Major League Baseball for your June 17 DraftKings lineup.
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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
David Ortiz, Red Sox (5,500): The Red Sox suffered an unusually quiet offensive performance Thursday night, but their lone run? That came courtesy of an Ortiz home run in the ninth inning. He’s now third in the American League in average (.344), fifth in home runs (17) and second in RBIs (57), all at the age of 40. He’s 4-for-8 with two home runs against Seattle Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma (5-5, 4.10 ERA).
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (5,400): Encarnacion is arguably the hottest player in the majors right now. He’s hit safely in six straight games, with three doubles and a staggering six home runs over that stretch. He’s hit at least 21 fantasy points in each of his last five games, and now draws a favorable matchup with Baltimore Orioles righty Mike Wright (3-3, 5.31 ERA).
High Value
Brandon Belt, Giants (3,800): Belt currently holds an eight-game hitting streak, a stretch that includes two home runs and three double-digit fantasy-point performances. He missed Thursday’s game, so make sure he returns to the lineup. But if he does, he’s a nice value option against Tampa Bay Rays righty Chris Archer (4-8, 4.61 ERA). Belt is 3-for-3 with a triple and home run in his career against Archer.
Tyler White, Astros (3,200): White is best considered a GPP play, simply by virtue of his low average (.211) and boom-or-bust approach at the plate. But the Astros should be able to do some damage against Cincinnati Reds left-hander John Lamb (1-4, 5.14 ERA). Four of White’s nine hits against lefties this season are home runs.
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