MLB Top DRAFT Picks June 15th from Chris Aliperto and FantasyCPR

FanDuel MLB: BOSTON, MA – JUNE 08: Fans hold up 10 K signs in the eighth inning to mark Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox’s 10 strikeouts during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park on June 08, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

MLB Top DRAFT Picks (DRAFT.com): Friday June 15th

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.

DRAFT MLB Pitcher Strategy:

Top Tier:

The top pick should be Corey Kluber in most drafts today, followed shortly thereafter by Charlie Morton. Kluber has owned the active Twins over the years, and this lineup is still struggling to score runs. With this extreme upside, and shaky SP choices further down the road. I am taking Kluber first overall today.

Morton has a high upside spot against the Royals in KC. He continues to dominate this season with a 7-1 record, a 2.82 ERA, and 96 strikeouts in just under 77 innings pitched. Morton should also garner a first round pick. After these two, it looks like a wait until the end of the draft kind of day.

Mid Tier:

There are some other decent names to choose from on the bump today, but none of them have that combination of being dominant, and in a great spot, like Kluber and Morton. Of course, James Paxton is a clear third overall in my opinion, as he will have a tough go against the Red Sox. The strikeouts will likely be there, but he could easily give up a home run or two. Rick Porcello on the flip side of this game facing the Mariners is also in play for me today.

Bottom Tier:

The last two pitchers to look at that might be good enough today are Ross Stripling and Zack Godley. Of course it helps if the correct hitters are drafted with them. That is the hard part. Kluber, Morton and Paxton could all exceed 15+ DRAFT points, and the two other pitchers I think that have that kind of upside are Stripling and Godley. Godley is coming off of an eight strikeout win in Colorado of all places. Considering he pitched well in that tough atmosphere, and he is actually a historically better pitcher at home, I like his chances tonight against the Mets. Stripling has been hot, and he sits in an above-average match-up at home against the Giants. If you end up at the end of the draft still looking for a pitcher, consider these two.

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 30: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals warms up in the batter’s circle against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

DRAFT MLB Hitter Strategy:

As always on a huge slate, we have a ton of different ways to go with our hitters. To stack or not to stack, that is always the question. Tonight I am going to say yes. We have a couple of pitchers in action that I think we can attack in Aaron Sanchez and Kyle Gibson, but I don’t think I will be alone on that one. Let’s break it down.

Cleveland Indians:

I really have my eye on the Indians hitters, as they will face Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson. Gibson has been decent this year, and certainly is not getting blown up often, but the Indians have some BvP history here. Edwin Encarnacion is 7-for-19 with four home runs in his career versus Gibson, and Yan Gomes, Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall all have batting averages over .300, all with 16+ at-bats. I am sure we will not be drafting Gomes, Kipnis, and Chisenhall, but you get the point. There are so many options today, Lindor, Ramirez, and Brantley are slotting in around the third and fourth round.

Washington Nationals:

My second point of attack will be with the Nationals lefties who will square off against Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez. Bryce Harper is shaping up to be my second overall ranked player behind Kluber, and Daniel Murphy and Adam Eaton are both finally healthy together. This offense has struggled at times, but with these guys back, and the emergence of 19-year-old rookie Juan Soto, I expect this team to start scoring more runs. I will likely have some Nats three-man stacks in multiple lineups today.

Now that we have established a couple of stack targets, let’s focus on a few other players I will be targeting before diving in to the rankings.

Nolan Arenado – IF – Colorado Rockies

The Rockies will be in Texas, in what is likely now the second best hitting park behind Colorado’s own Coors Field. The runs are expected to be aplenty in this one, as the Vegas projected game total sits at 11. Chad Bettis will take the hill for the Rockies, against a Rangers lefty by the name of Yohander Mendez. The Rangers bats such as Shin-Soo Choo, Nomar Mazara, and Joey Gallo are being drafted quite early, but If I attack this game at all, it will be on the Rockies side. Arenado, along with the usual suspects in Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon will be high on my rankings. The Texas side not so much.

Rhys Hoskins – OF – Philadelphia Phillies

I keep chasing Hoskins, because we all know what he is capable of at this point. Anytime he is faces a lefty, he is firmly in play for me. Hoskins and the Phillies will face Brewers left-hander Brett Suter, and with Hoskins low projection on DRAFT, I am happy taking him with my last pick. I would rather have both of my outfielders at that point of the draft, because infield is so deep again and outfield thins out, but if you need an outfielder with your last pick, Hoskins could be your guy.

JD Martinez – IF – Boston Red Sox

Normally getting written up and projected high in a stack, we have Martinez getting almost unnoticed as fantastic one off. The Red Sox will face Mariners ace James Paxton, and the projections for Boston’s stars are a bit on the low side. You will have to scroll past all of the Rockies and Rangers to find JD Martinez, making him a steal in my opinion. JD crushes lefties, and despite how good Paxton has been, it is certainly possible he takes him deep. Pair him with Mookie Betts and this mini-stack can be had as late as the third round / fourth round wrap around.

With an idea of the top pitchers on the slate, along with my favorite stacks and one-off bats, let’s move on to today’s rankings.

DENVER, CO – MAY 29: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies watches his RBI double during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on May 29, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

DRAFT MLB – 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. Corey Kluber – Cleveland Indians – (1)

2. Charlie Morton – Houston Astros – (6)

3. James Paxton – Seattle Mariners – (7)

4. Ross Stripling – Los Angeles Dodgers – (17)

5. Rick Porcello – Boston Red Sox – (29)

6. Zack Godley – Arizona Diamondbacks – (30)

Infielders:

1. Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies – (4)

2. Trevor Story – Colorado Rockies – (9)

3. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (10)

4. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Indians – (11)

5. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (12)

6. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (15)

7. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – (18)

8. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (19)

9. Jake Lamb – Arizona Diamondbacks – (20)

10. DJ LeMahieu – Colorado Rockies – (22)

11. Daniel Murphy – Washington Nationals – (24)

12. Scooter Gennett – Cincinnati Reds – (25)

Outfielders:

1. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (2)

2. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (3)

3. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees – (5)

4. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (8)

5. Adam Eaton – Washington Nationals – (13)

6. Charlie Blackmon – Colorado Rockies – (14)

7. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – (16)

8. Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (21)

9. Scott Schebler – Cincinnati Reds – (23)

10. Joey Gallo – Texas Rangers – (26)

11. Nomar Mazara – Texas Rangers – (27)

12. Starling Marte – Pittsburgh Pirates – (28)

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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!