MLB Top DRAFT Picks (DRAFT.com): Thursday, June 7th
Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games!
Welcome to today’s edition of MLB Top DRAFT Picks from FantasyCPR. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.
I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, you roster one starting pitcher, two infielders, and two outfielders. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 10-man drafts that start upon filling. Also, they have a tournament format, where one contest will span a few days. The further you advance, the more you win. I play mostly the six-man contests for cash games, which payout to the top two spots.
My goal here will be to give you my strategy for drafting today on DRAFT, followed by my top 30 overall rankings. Strategy of course changes day by day, depending on what type of slate we are working with. I always start with my pitcher, as everything else revolves around that. After having completed my rankings for today and done a few six-man drafts, here is how I am attacking this slate.
DRAFT Picks – DFS Strategy
Another beautiful day across the lower 48 states so no bad weather to watch is a great place to start. Not having to watch and worry about whether or not your games may be delayed or postponed makes for a much easier research day. We have ten games on the full slate on DRAFT today, starting at 12:35 ET, followed by a five game evening slate. This Top Picks and strategy article will cover the full 10, so let’s get into it.
DRAFT Picks
Pitcher Strategy:
We have two top dogs again today, (I believe that was the case yesterday) and so far I am doing my best to grab one of them. Gerrit Cole has a great match-up against the Rangers, but that game will be in Texas in the heat. Cole has been fantastic holding the Rangers batting average under .100 as a team in his two outings against them, but Joey Gallo has taken him deep twice, and could be a threat. For me, I will take Jose Berrios pitching against the White Sox at home.
Much like the Rangers against Cole, the Sox have struggled in their match-ups this year. Berrios hit a rough patch a few starts ago, but seems to have righted the ship. In his last four starts he has struck out 34 batters, while accumulating three quality starts. I have Berrios, Cole 1,2… and I hope to not have to draft a different pitcher today. Miles Mikolas and Jameson Taillon are my apparent fall-backs to this point.
DRAFT Hitter Strategy:
Only a couple really top studs in action today are making for a pretty clear-cut first round in most drafts today. JD Martinez, Charlie Blackmon, and Manny Machado, are probably the top hitters with the best match-ups, and all seem to be being selected accordingly. I think a good strategy for today will be wrapping up your last two rounds with an infield mini-stack. Oakland seems to be a good grab in the late rounds today, with Khris Davis and Matt Olson. Minnesota faces James Shields today, and presents a couple of decent picks at the end of drafts as well.
I will touch on something today that I have not mentioned yet. Some days, today being the first time this has happened since I started writing this article, one position is loaded, and the other is clearly weaker. Today we have a great selection of infielders to choose from, and the position as a whole is prime for a smaller-ish slate. Looking at the outfield however, there is a major drop-off after the first four or so. According to my rankings which will follow, eight of my top 12 fall in the bottom 10. For me, this puts a premium on guys like Blackmon, Eddie Rosario, George Springer and Andrew Benintendi.
If I miss on Cole and Berrios, I am likely drafting OF with my top two picks. Regardless, I am also likely waiting until rounds 3-5 for my infielders. If a situation presents itself and I am forced into JD Martinez or Machado, my strategy will shift to focus on some outfield mini-stacks I like. Tommy Pham and Marcell Ozuna being the first, followed by Starling Marte and Austin Meadows. Let’s move ahead to the rankings,
DRAFT Picks – Today’s Rankings
My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 30 overall. We will go six deep at pitcher, and twelve deep at IF and OF. Rankings are broken down into positions, and following each players name will be their overall ranking in parenthesis.
Pitchers:
1. Gerrit Cole – Houston Astros – (1)
2. Mike Leake – Seattle Mariners – (13)
3. Jalen Beeks – Boston Red Sox – (14)
4. Cole Hamels – Texas Rangers – (22)
5. Matthew Boyd – Detroit Tigers – (24)
6. David Hess – Baltimore Orioles – (30)
Infielders:
1. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (2)
2. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (4)
3. Jose Altuve – Houston Astros – (6)
4. Matt Olson – Oakland Athletics – (7)
5. Khris Davis – Oakland Athletics – (8)
6. Xander Bogaerts – Boston Red Sox – (9)
7. Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (10)
8. Mike Moustakas – Kansas City Royals – (12)
9. Mitch Moreland – Boston Red Sox – (17)
10. Carlos Correa – Houston Astros – (18)
11. Jed Lowrie – Oakland Athletics – (21)
12. Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners – (23)
Outfielders:
1. George Springer – Houston Astros – (3)
2. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (5)
3. Dustin Fowler – Oakland Athletics – (11)
4. Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles – (15)
5. Curtis Granderson – Toronto Blue Jays – (16)
6. Teoscar Hernandez – Toronto Blue Jays – (19)
7. Joey Gallo – Texas Rangers – (20)
8. Trey Mancini – Baltimore Orioles – (25)
9. Nomar Mazara – Texas Rangers – (26)
10. Jorge Soler – Kansas City Royals – (27)
11. Nicholas Castellanos – Detroit Tigers – (28)
12. Mallex Smith – Tampa Bay Rays – (29)
That is all for today’s MLB Top DRAFT picks on FantasyCPR. If you have any questions regarding any of my rankings, reach out to me on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond. Good luck tonight and happy drafting on DRAFT!