Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Early MLB Picks For June 7

Jun 6, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Scooter Gennett (4) hits a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks For June 7

There are only three afternoon games today for the early DraftKings tournament, but wow, this is still a great slate! We have two aces taking the mound, but they are facing each other. The four other pitchers present plenty of risk, but you have to use at least one if you want to stack offenses at Coors Field. Should we stack a game in Oakland that features two struggling pitchers in the ultimate pitcher’s park? There are plenty of ways to approach this!

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The money line was up at 132.1 last night. My mini Diamondback stack with Chase Anderson and James Paxton made the cut while the lineup with Robbie Ray just missed due to a few failed hitters.

The winning lineup was way up at 259.15 thanks to the 71 DraftKings points from Scooter Gennett and his four homers with 1.4% ownership. He also had Chris Archer and Robbie Ray and huge nights from every hitter but Cameron Rupp.

These picks are based mostly on statistical analysis . If you have a gut feeling, then by all means, follow that. This is not an exact science. The best lineups usually have a mix of proven stats and hot players. Check out this post from Matt McGarvey for great tips about whether to use a hot player in DFS or not.

For you first time players, if you would like $10 worth of free entry tickets, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn that $10 into more!

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup

May 21, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

P: Clayton Kershaw ($12,800): It’s Kershaw day and he is at home. So why are some people going to fade him? Because he is playing the Nationals and the other ace on the early slate. Don’t let that scare you. Kershaw’s home dominance is well documented. He has a 2.01 career ERA at Dodger Stadium in 143 starts. Wrap your head around that. I’ll wait. Furthermore, he has held the current Nationals to a .217 average in 106 at bats with just one homer (Bryce Harper‘s only hit in 15 at bats against Kershaw) and four runs to go with 27 strikeouts. Fade him if you want. Kershaw will be planted firmly in my lineup.

P: Stephen Strasburg ($11,400): Let’s take a look at the rest of the grab bag of pitching, shall we?Francisco Liriano has a 5.94 ERA and has struggled against Oakland. Trevor Bauer takes his 5.83 ERA to Coors Field. Ouch. Jharel Cotton has a dreadful 8.27 ERA in four home starts. How?? The only other one I would consider is Kyle Freeland, who has posted a 3.94 ERA in five Coors Field starts. However, he is playing an Indians team that hits lefties well, and he doesn’t strike out hardly anyone. I will go with Strasburg, who has held the Dodgers to a .211 average in 57 at bats with only four runs and 16 strikeouts. I will pay up for pitching instead of gambling on Freeland and a Coors stack.

C: Tony Wolters ($3,200): Ryan Hanigan is still nursing an ankle injury, and the Rockies were off on Monday, so it seems as though Wolters will be in there. He still hasn’t gone deep yet, but he is hitting .301 in 103 at bats. He is bound to get a hold of one sooner or later.

1B: Edwin Encarnacion ($4,800): Edwin has struggled so far this year, but he is a career .354 hitter at Coors Field with two homers in 48 at bats. Oh, and he gets to face a left hander. A rookie left hander. He looks like a reasonable option for this price.

2B: Darwin Barney ($2,000): If you are using Kershaw and Strasburg like I am, you need to go cheap somewhere. It appears as though Devin Travis will still be out, which means the super-cheap Barney will be in the lineup. He is playing in a lineup that will likely score some runs, so he is a suitable punt play.

3B: Trevor Plouffe ($2,300): Another punt play? On the surface, yes. Dig a little deeper and you will see that Plouffe is 4-7 with a double, three homers, and six RBI against his former teammate. Plouffe’s bat has been mute since his move to Oakland, but considering his past stats against Liriano, it could break out in a big way today.

SS: Troy Tulowitzki ($3,100): I don’t care what Tulo’s stats look like. He is ridiculously cheap against a struggling pitcher. He didn’t suddenly forget how to hit. Tulo could also get going this afternoon in what may be a high scoring game in the league’s best pitcher’s park.

OF: Khris Davis ($3,900): Davis is 5-14(.357) with two doubles, two homers, four runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Francisco Liriano. He has also struck out seven times. This lineup is full of risk anyway, so the all-or-nothing proposition of Davis doesn’t really bother me. He is due to start hitting again.

OF: Carlos Gonzalez ($3,600): CarGo is struggling, but so is Bauer. I tend to think that both of them will start heading towards their established numbers at some point. I will say CarGo first since he has the benefit of hitting at Coors Field.

OF: Rajai Davis ($2,900): The lesser-known Oakland Davis is 9-30(.300) with a walk, three doubles, a homer, four runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Liriano. Surprisingly enough, he has yet to steal a base against Liriano, but with the hitting stats that good, I don’t really care if he does just so long as he racks up a couple more extra base hits!

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have plenty of NFL stuff to get you ready for football!