MLB DRAFT Picks (DRAFT.com): Tuesday, June 12th

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 06: Jose Ramirez #11 and Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians celebrate scoring on a hit by Carlos Santana #41 in the first inning against the New York Yankees during game two of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field on October 6, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games!<!–h2

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 a full fifteen game slate, with no weather to worry about. This slate will feature plenty of great hitters in great spots. The pitching options however, are quite the opposite. The best pitcher in action today is Phillies ace Aaron Nola, who will face the Rockies at home. While he is the clear-cut top option in my opinion, I don’t think he will be making or breaking this slate by any means. We will talk about this more in the pitcher strategy.

DRAFT Pitcher Strategy:

So we started talking about Nola in the last slide. He comes in a favorite, but the Phillies implied run total is going the wrong way. The line is moving towards the Rockies, which could be a bad sign. If you want Nola, expect to spend a late first round pick on him, should you be slated in that particular draft position. I’ll pass on a first round pitcher today 100% of the time.

There is also a clear cut number two SP according to the projections on DRAFT. Jon Gray will be on the flip side of the match-up against Nola, and he will face the struggling Phillie bats. What I am noticing today with draft trends however, is that some other lower projected pitchers are being grabbed ahead of him. I like Gray on the road, and if I can draft him later than some of these other options, I am all for that, considering the massive strikeout upside he has.

Speaking of other options, we have a solid group of mediocre pitchers in favorable spots that could all likely match the production of Nola and Gray. I can say I like and am happy drafting three of these four pitchers, and one of them I will pass on unless forced. Let’s start with the negative and get it out-of-the-way.

Lance McCullers Jr. has been at least a better than average pitcher up to this point in the season. Tonight, his Astros are on the road to face the A’s in Oakland. McCullers Jr. has faced them twice already this season. In one start, he shut them down for seven innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven at home. At the start in Oakland, he struggled a bit, lasting just five innings, walking four and only striking out three. Again we are back in Oakland tonight, and this is a patient team who can hit. I am avoiding McCullers Jr, at all costs, but he is my sixth best pitcher on a full slate.

Miles Mikolas has been a pleasant surprise for the Cardinals, off to a 7-1 start, with a fantastic 2.27 ERA. He gets the Padres at home, and looks to be in great shape to pick up a win. The Padres will counter with left-handed reliever Matt Strahm, in what will be a bullpen effort. Mikolas is no doubt in a great spot.

I also will look to Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez with a plus match-up against the Orioles, and Braves righty Mike Foltynewicz at home hosting the Mets. These two are also in great spots, and are on my radar.

ANAHEIM, CA – MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels celebrates his solo homerun with Justin Upton #8 for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

DRAFT Hitter Strategy:

A full 15-game slate is always fun when we have all day to draft. There are so many ways to go. For me, two top-tier two-man stacks is a great strategy, or a solid 3-man with a top one-off likely to homer, is also how I will target. I am in favor of ignoring stacks completely on a full slate as well, and grabbing hitter after hitter in plus match-ups. There really is no wrong way to draft today in my opinion.

It’s tough to even know where to start. First of all, we have great depth obviously at both the IF and OF positions. Again, it kind of thins out in the OF, but not terribly bad. Grabbing two of them early is probably not a bad strategy. Mookie Betts is back, and is right back to being drafted in the top three. The Red Sox have the highest projected run total on the slate at 5.4, so Betts and JD Martinez are hot commodities at the top of drafts. The Sox will face Baltimore and David Hess, who has been decent since joining the Orioles rotation mid-May. His worst outing however, was in Boston, in which he surrendered five earned runs on eight hits in just 4.2 innings.

The Indians usual are popular again. Jose Ramirez is a late first rounder, and Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley are being drafted soon after. Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb have huge DRAFT projections and are top picks today. They will face Pittsburgh righty Trevor Williams, who has really struggled in his last three starts.

To finish this up before you move on to the rankings, A couple of guys are falling a bit too far down the draft boards we should highlight. Giancarlo Stanton is the prime example. He isn’t on fire at the moment and that is likely hurting his projection. Tonight the Yankees will face the Nationals at Yankee Stadium in interleague play, and Tanner Roark will be on the bump for the Nats. Stanton has some history against him from his time with the Marlins. He is 8-for-33 in his career off Roark, homering four times. I’ll take this HR BvP for a superstar in Stanton, as he falls into the fourth round repeatedly today.

The other guy being overlooked today is Angels OF Justin Upton. Another notable BvP spot here to harp on. Upton is 9-for-22 in his career against Mariners pitcher Mike Leake who goes tonight. Upton has homered, tripled, and doubled in this match-up. He is a definite target for me late in drafts, especially in those that I have already drafted Trout.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 12: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated by J.D. Martinez #28 after scoring a run in the third inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 12, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/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. Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies – (8)

2. Jon Gray – Colorado Rockies – (16)

3. Eduardo Rodriguez – Boston Red Sox – (21)

4. Mike Foltynewicz – Atlanta Braves – (22)

5. Miles Mikolas – St. Louis Cardinals – (23)

6. Lance McCullers Jr. – Houston Astros – (30)

Infielders:

1. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (3)

2. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (5)

3. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (6)

4. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – (9)

5. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (11)

6. Jake Lamb – Arizona Diamondbacks – (12)

7. Scooter Gennett – Cincinnati Reds – (13)

8. Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees – (14)

9. Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves – (15)

10. Jose Martinez – St. Louis Cardinals – (20)

11. Trea Turner – Washington Nationals – (26)

12. Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers – (29)

Outfielders:

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

2. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (2)

3. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees – (4)

4. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (7)

5. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (10)

6. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (17)

7. Charlie Blackmon – Colorado Rockies – (18)

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

9. Scott Schebler – Cincinnati Reds – (24)

10. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (25)

11. Cody Bellinger – Los Angeles Dodgers – (27)

12. Matt Kemp – Los Angeles Dodgers – (28)

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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!