MLB Top DRAFT Picks for DRAFT.com for Monday June 11th

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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 – DFS Strategy

Today we are working with an eight-game slate, with limited “good” pitching options. There are no early games, so we get a full day of drafting a full slate for a change. We have a couple teams to stack that stand out, and a couple pitchers to attack with some hitters. There looks to be no threats of bad enough weather anywhere to watch, so it should be a less stressful day of drafting compared to yesterday. Max Scherzer was the debate yesterday. Heavy rains and flash floods in the area Saturday night put the game in question, but they did finish. At the time of writing this, Scherzer is just getting underway Sunday afternoon, so I will have to wait and see what happened there. Let’s move ahead to today’s strategy.

FanDuel MLB: WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 28: Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin #46 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws a pitch in the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 28, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

DRAFT Pitcher Strategy:

With the top arms on the slate being Patrick Corbin, Carlos Carrasco, and Madison Bumgarner, at first glance it appears you better grab one of those three. However, one of my bottom ranked pitchers is very appealing to me.

It appears the Tampa Bay Rays will go ahead and start a starting pitcher tomorrow, with lefty Ryan Yarbrough getting the nod. For a couple of weeks now, the Rays have been experimenting with starting games with pitchers that were classified as middle relievers (mostly Sergio Romo). The theory that it was better for the game flow of the “starting” pitcher. I have some pitchers ranked ahead of Yarbrough of course, but if I miss on my top guys, I think I will be almost just as comfortable with him. He will face the Blue Jays coming off a huge game, but their lineup is just not scary to me against a tough lefty with no Josh Donaldson available.

A name being drafted somewhere in between these four is Jack Flaherty, who will face the Padres at home. This is one of the largest expected margins of victory on the slate according to the odds, so Flaherty looks to be in a great spot to pick up a win. His current projection may be a little high, swaying those who only look at that to draft him too early. I like Flaherty and think he will be great tomorrow, but he is not a first round pick. If he is there for me in the third round with top three gone I will consider it. If there is a hitter I prefer quite a bit more though, I may pass on Flaherty at that point even still, and fall back on Yarbrough at the end of the draft.

To sum up how I am attacking drafting my pitchers today, it is clear that Carrasco and Corbin are the top arms, and they are being drafted accordingly. I personally don’t feel like either of them garner a top four overall pick, but because of the question marks left after these two, they must be taken in the top four.

Bumgarner did not look great in his first start of the season last week, but may be extended a bit here if he can put together a couple of good innings. He should have no problem doing so in Miami against the Marlins if he truly is 100%. We all know how good he can be if he returns to form. That alone is worth a second round pick, when you consider what is left after him. I already mentioned Flaherty is great for round three, and after that I am on Yarbrough. I see no other scenario happening. With that in mind, let’s talk about bats!

DRAFT Hitter Strategy:

The IF and OF position seem to be pretty equal as far as rankings and targets go, making the hitter strategy short and sweet today. There are only eight games, and this is like the type of slate to grab your favorite stack. This will kind of depend on where you slot in the draft of course, so I have deciphered a couple of stacks for you that should be able to slot in, according to your draft spot. It will not be dire for me to stack more than two guys, but I will put extra emphasis on it on this slate, because of the two match-ups I will highlight now.

My top stack is only attainable if I am drafting at the top. Mike Trout is my number one player on the slate, despite the scorching hot Paul Goldschmidt coming in ranked a little higher. Reason being is that despite the IF and OF positions being similar in depth, OF thins out a bit quick. I put a higher priority on the top outfielders almost always, as the top talent in the OF is most of the top talent in the league. Goldy is an easy top three pick today no doubt, but I am taking Trout just ahead of him.

If I get so lucky to land Trout, I am immediately thinking stack, as the Angels head north to Seattle to face Mariners lefty Wade LeBlanc. Justin Upton can be had in the mid rounds, and makes for a great pair with Trout. If you end up with both and are looking for a 3-man stack, consider Ian Kinsler, who should be there when drafting your last guy.

My other stack to target is the Indians, as they travel into the Windy City to face the White Sox and young right-hander Lucas Giolito. The top three of the order are the targets for me 99 out of 100 times, and that will be no different today. Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez are great targets if you end up picking at the end of the first round. Even at five overall a case can be made for Ramirez, as he continues to be one of the top hitters in the league. Coming back right away in the second with Lindor, then following that up with Brantley, is likely the only way you will complete this 3-man. It may be worth it though, as the Indians should score some runs off the youngster Giolito.

Now that you a few ideas of how to set your pre-draft rankings as you get ready to get in the DRAFT lobby, let’s move on to the rankings.

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 21: Paul Goldschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits an RBI triple during the seventh inning of the MLB game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field on April 21, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks won 6-2. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

DRAFT – 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. Patrick Corbin – Arizona Diamondbacks – (3)

2. Carlos Carrasco – Cleveland Indians – (4)

3. Madison Bumgarner – San Francisco Giants- (11)

4. Jack Flaherty – St. Louis Cardinals – (15)

5. Ryan Yarbrough – Tampa Bay Rays – (27)

6. Andrew Heaney – Los Angeles Angels – (30)

Infielders:

1. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (2)

2. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (5)

3. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (7)

4. Francisco Lindor -Cleveland Indians – (8)

5. Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs – (9)

6. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (13)

7. Jake Lamb – Arizona Diamondbacks – (14)

8. Matt Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals – (16)

9. Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners – (20)

10. Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs – (23)

11. Mitch Moreland – Boston Red Sox – (24)

12. Ian Kinsler – Los Angeles Angels – (25)

Outfielders:

1. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (1)

2. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (6)

3. Micheal Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (10)

4. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (12)

5. Lorenzo Cain – Milwaukee Brewers – (17)

6. David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks – (18)

7. Tommy Pham – St. Louis Cardinals – (19)

8. Marcell Ozuna – St. Louis Cardinals – (21)

9. Andrew McCutchen – San Francisco Giants – (22)

10. Starling Marte – Pittsburgh Pirates – (27)

11. Kyle Schwarber – Chicago Cubs – (28)

12. Jon Jay – Arizona Diamondbacks – (29)

Next: Check out Draftkings PGA US Open Primer!

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!

MLB Top DRAFT Picks (DRAFT.com): Monday, June 11th

By Chris Aliperto | Jun 11, 2018