DraftKings Early MLB Picks For June 22

We have 11 games in the main DraftKings tournament. Tonight means more daylight than any other day this year. Will that affect the players on our team? Doubtful. So instead we will focus on stats and trends right now. Sound good? Let’s get to it! Right after we reflect for a bit on last night.

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The money line yesterday was at 109.15, which is a solid total for such a small slate. I had the gem from Max Scherzer, but he outscored the rest of my lineup combined.

The winning lineup was at 172.6. He used Dan Straily with Scherzer for a good foundation, then struck it big with cheap Rays and Salvador Perez.

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

P: Carlos Martinez ($13,500): At first glance, this is a huge price tag. It even is at second glance. However, Martinez may just be worth it. The Phillies are only hitting .175 against him in 40 at bats with just one extra base hit (a Tommy Joseph double), one run, and 14 strikeouts. Martinez is by far the best pitcher on this truncated slate, and he gets to face an offense that is near the bottom is most categories. He is worth paying for.

P: Ivan Nova ($7,400): Nova takes a park hit heading to Milwaukee, and the Brewers racked up ten hits off of him in the only time he faced them since his move to the National League. That said, those ten hits only yielded two runs and he did strike out eight. Nova’s numbers while with Pittsburgh speak for themselves. He is 7-4 with a 2.91 ERA for a reason. His ERA is slightly higher on the road, but not enough to make me not trust him. Nova isn’t going to pitch a shutout, but I will take a quality start along with Martinez this afternoon.

C: Kevan Smith ($2,900): Nik Turley has been flat out awful in his first two starts. This presents a nice stacking opportunity for White Sox righties. Smith was given the night off last night, so he should be well rested for batting practice against Turley.

1B: Joe Mauer ($3,400): Jose Quintana has struggled against the Twins in his career. They are hitting .263 with eight homers and 36 RBI in 247 at bats. At the core of this is Mauer, who bucks the platoon split with a .318 average (14-44), three walks, two homers, ten runs scored, and seven RBI off of Quintana. Normally I would use Brian Dozier here as well, but Dozier is still mired in a slump that practically began as soon as the Twins didn’t trade him this offseason.

2B: Eric Sogard ($3,700): Now, I’m not saying that you should drop Brian Dozier for Sogard in regular fantasy leagues. I will swap in Sogard for Dozier today and save the money though. Both are leading off, and though Dozier has a lot more power, he really hasn’t shown it lately. Sogard is riding a nine game hitting streak. He looks very safe today.

3B: Matt Davidson ($4,300): Davidson has destroyed left handed pitching this year. Davidson’s .374 wOBA against southpaws is in the top ten at third base. He has three homers and seven RBI in just 59 at bats with a solid .271 average. He should inflate those numbers today against Turley.

SS: Tim Anderson ($3,600): Anderson is no longer leading off, but there is still a lot to like here. The White Sox seemed primed to scored a lot of runs, which means the lower part of the order can be productive as well. He has scored DraftKings points in 11 of his last 12. Expect more today!

OF: Avisail Garcia ($3,900): Garcia will be batting cleanup today, and there will be plenty to clean up. He is arguably the biggest power threat that the Sox have right now. Garcia has hammered left handed pitching so far. He is hitting .444 with a homer and 15 RBI in just 63 at bats! He may not take Turley deep, but you can bet he will drive in a few.

OF: Gregory Polanco ($3,700): Polanco has had better years, that’s for sure. His history against Chase Anderson is proof of that. Polanco is 4-19(.211) off of Anderson. Not great, right? Well he does have two homers and two walks with four RBI. I will take a chance on him again today since he is still in the bargain bin.

OF: Josh Reddick ($3,600): Reddick has only faced Jesse Hahn twice. He has come away with nothing. However, Reddick spent a lot of his career in Oakland. He has 34 homers and 144 RBI in that park with a solid .253 average in 277 starts there. Reddick is averaging about a RBI every two games. I will take those odds.

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 2

P: Chase Anderson ($9,400): Like his mound opponent, Anderson has also struggled against his opponent today. The Pirates are hitting .287 against him in 94 at bats with five homers and ten runs scored, but Anderson has racked up 20 strikeouts. Also, none of those stats have come this season. Anderson is having an outstanding season, and has been even better at home. He has a 2.03 ERA in Miller Park this season in seven starts. The Pirates are starting to find their offensive rhythm, but the Bucs stop here. At least for one day.

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P: Marcus Stroman ($8,700): In Stroman’s limited history against the Rangers, he has dominated. They are hitting just .059 off of him in 17 at bats with four strikeouts. Stroman has actually pitched a little better on the road this year, but his 3.15 ERA speaks for itself. He has figured this pitching thing out. He should extend his quality start streak to five today.

C: Brian McCann ($3,800): McCann is an impressive 4-8 with a walk, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Jesse Hahn. The Astros as a whole are hitting .299 against Hahn in 67 at bats. They are expensive, but once again, stacking Astros could pay off.

1B: Yonder Alonso ($4,200): Alonso is hitting .315 with 13 of his 17 home runs against right handed pitching this year. He goes largely unnoticed on a team that isn’t much of an offensive threat, but the number show that Alonso is right up there with some of the better names at the position this year. I will take a shot on him for this price against a rookie righty.

2B: Jed Lowrie ($3,600): Lowrie is averaging just over nine DraftKings points per game in the last ten games. His price is starting to reflect that, but against rookie David Paulino, I will take a shot with Lowrie at a shallow position this afternoon.

3B: Josh Donaldson ($4,900): He is 6-18 with four walks, three doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Martin Perez. Perez has spun a 5.01 ERA at home, and even though the Jays are less powerful without Edwin Encarnacion, they still hit lefties hard. Especially those that aren’t all that good to begin with.

SS: Troy Tulowitzki ($3,400): Yeah, I get it. Tulo was a product of Coors Field. However, one could argue that he hasn’t really been healthy since the trade to Toronto. He is only 1-8 lifetime against Martin Perez, but that hit is a three run homer. For this price, I will take a shot that he gets into another Perez offering.

OF: Dexter Fowler ($4,800): Aaron Nola has pitched well against the Cardinals in his career with the exception of Fowler. Fowler is 3-5 with a walk, a double, two homers, three runs scored, and four RBI off him. That accounts for all of the Cardinals’ counting stats against Nola in their careers. Nola may be a nice play today if he can dodge Fowler.

OF: Jose Bautista ($3,900): Bautista is back to leading off, and this pricetag is still too low for him against a struggling left handed pitcher. I may go down with the ship here, but I am stacking up on cheap Blue Jays hitters against Perez.

OF: Jake Marisnick ($3,200): Marisnick is 2-3 with a run scored, a steal, and two RBI in his career against Jesse Hahn. He wont really wow you with anything he does, but Marisnick has 29 DraftKings points over the first three games of this series. For this price, why not?

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!