DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 21: Scherzer is worth the money

CHICAGO, IL – MAY 26: A tarp coverts the field as game one of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers is postponed due to weather on May 26, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game will be made up on Saturday May 27, 2017 as part of a doubleheader. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 21: Scherzer is worth the money

We have the longest day of the year today, so let’s celebrate with some baseball! Just like last night, we have seven games in the main tournaments. Unlike last night, we have one sure ace and a whole lot of question marks. Which ones answer our call? Let’s check it out!

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Rain wiped out the Pittsburgh-Milwaukee game, and both starting pitchers are in much worse spots tonight. So much so that I probably wont use either of them after having both in several lineups last night. We could have an even more truncated slate just like last night. Rain is very likely in Cincinnati, and likely wont clear until after 9pm. Will they wait that long? Rain is going to go like The Kinks on Chicago….All Day and All of the Night. There is virtually no chance of the White Sox and A’s getting this one in, so I wont even break it down.

The only real wind that we will have to deal with is in San Francisco with the customary 16 mph wind blowing out to left center.

We will provide you with several options to build your lineup here. Want to spend all your money on pitchers and play bargain bats? We will highlight who is worth the money. Want to punt arms and pay up for the big boppers? We can help you with that as well, and everything in between!

These tips are based mostly on past performance. This is a nice tool for building a lineup, but should not be the only pieces of information you use. Stacking against a bad pitcher is always a good idea!

For you first time players, if you would like $20 in free DraftKings dollars, use this link for the referral bonus with your first deposit of $5 or more! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn those DraftKings dollars into more!

Next: DraftKings Pitcher Plays

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 15: Tyler Skaggs #45 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the first inning at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on June 15, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($14,500): The Orioles are hitting just .207 against Scherzer, but they do have six homers and 13 runs in 164 at bats. No matter, they also have 66 strikeouts. Scherzer may give up a run or three, but double digit strikeouts are a given. How can you fade that? We don’t have to worry about how to work Max in there with a Rockies stack, so there really isn’t any reason to go without Scherzer unless you are trying to gain separation. Even then, you better may sure you guess right with the extra money to offset how much more Max will score than any other pitcher.

Tyler Skaggs ($10,700): The Blue Jays have good career numbers against Skaggs, and Skaggs did give up three runs in five innings to the Jays earlier this year. However, Skaggs has been brilliant lately, putting up back to back games of more than 30 DraftKings points. Skaggs has a 2.27 ERA in eight road games. His last two dominating starts were on the road. Now he gets a Toronto team that is mostly struggling on offense. There is good potential here if you are being contrarian and fading Scherzer.

Middle Tier:

Madison Bumgarner ($9,400): The Padres are only hitting .218 in 119 at bats against Bumgarner with six homers, ten runs, and 29 strikeouts. Those numbers aren’t dominant, which will give pause to some looking at Bumgarner here. I get it. MadBum has not been sharp since his return. I’m not a huge fan here either, but the matchup deserves mentioning because of the strikeout potential and the fact that the San Diego offense just ins’t very good.

Carlos Martinez ($8,000): The Brewers are hitting a robust .286 with five homers and 16 runs against CarMart with 51 strikeouts. Those are pedestrian numbers, so why use Martinez? Aside from the fact that it’s a short slate…..well…..I would use Martinez anyway. Dig a little deeper and you will see that Martinez has a 2.36 ERA in 13 career Miller Park appearances (ten starts). The Brewers are pretty cold, and could be without Travis Shaw again. The price is right on Martinez.

Tyson Ross ($7,800): Ross has dominated the Giants this year. He has 47.4 DraftKings points on them in two starts, allowing just one earned run in 12 innings with 14 strikeouts. Ross has a penchant for running up pitch counts, so he isn’t going to go deep into this game. However, Ross may have the best strikeout upside aside from Scherzer on this slate.

Bargain Pitchers:

Zack Godley ($7,200): Godley is sometimes hard to get excited about. This isn’t one of those cases. His last two starts have been total domination, one of which came in Coors Field. He has 16 strikeouts in the last two games! The Pirates don’t strike out at alarming rates, but Godley gets a huge park upgrade here. There is the potential for another 20+ DraftKings points game, which is a huge win at this price.

Chad Kuhl ($6,700): Honestly, with Godley only $500 more, I’m not sure why you would drop down to Kuhl unless you are using both. Kuhl has solid at home and hasn’t given up more than three runs since May 17th. However, the lack of strikeouts has him priced where he should be. Since I think Godley is severely underpriced, the value just isn’t here with Kuhl tonight like it was last night.

Aaron Sanchez ($6,400): How brave/crazy are you? Sanchez picked up 11.1 DraftKings points on the Angels earlier this year, only giving up two hits in five scoreless innings. Sanchez is going deeper into games now, and the Angels only have one homer and three runs in 51 at bats against Sanchez. There is decent value here. Just keep in mind that the lack of strikeouts means Sanchez has a low ceiling and a low floor.

CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 19: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a grand slam in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Great American Ball Park on June 19, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

Cincinnati Reds vs. Kyle Hendricks:

Hendricks has okay numbers against the Reds, but he has a 5.65 ERA in five career starts at Great American Launching Pad. That is far and away his first road stadium with three or more starts, and yes, Coors Field is on that list. In case you’re wondering, Hendricks has a 3.64 ERA at Coors. Joey Votto has homered off of Hendricks twice, and is 8-16 against him lifetime. Adam Duvall also has taken Hendricks deep. Suarez has cooled off, but I still like the power potential there. I’m on Scooter and Billy Hamilton too since both are heating up.

Chicago Cubs vs. Matt Harvey:

The Cubbies are hitting .349 off of Harvey with four homers and eight runs in 43 at bats. I am comfortable stacking either side of this game since I expect showers in Cincy to be in the middle of the game, and to depart before too long. That’s not good for starting pitchers, and both bullpens are weak. Happ, Schwarber, Rizzo, and Heyward have all taken Harvey deep. Noticing a trend? All of them bat from the left side. Add in a little Ben Zobrist to fully attack Harvey tonight.

St Louis Cardinals vs. Brent Suter:

What a difference a day makes. Last night, I was primed to use Suter in Pittsburgh. Now I’m ready to stack against him in Milwaukee. Why? I’m not a big fan of Brent Suter against the Cardinals. He has only pitched 10.1 innings in two starts against the Cardinals this year. Suter wasn’t sharp in either of those games. Tommy Pham is the guy you want in the lineup for sure. Jose Martinez and Matt Carpenter are also worth a look here. Continuing the stack, Yadier Molina homered twice last night, and is definitely worth a look here. For the fifth, you can go with Harrison Bader or Gyorko. I prefer Gyorko because of the power potential.

Next: Other notes for 6-21

PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 15: Paul Goldschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks bats against the New York Mets during the MLB game at Chase Field on June 15, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Kevin Gausman has been serviceable lately, and the Orioles-Nats game was pretty low scoring last night. I kind of expect that to be the case tonight. I’m not confident enough in that to use Gausman, so Bryce Harper and Rendon are still in play for me. Juan Soto as well. Beyond that, I’m not going to force Nationals. There are better options, even on a shorter slate.

Paul Goldschmidt is hitting everything right now, so I’m not afraid of Chad Kuhl shutting him down. However, I’m not putting a lot of Diamondbacks out there. I still expect a quality start from Kuhl. If I go beyond Goldy, it will only be for David Peralta.

Eric Thames has two career homers against Carlos Martinez, so he is worth a look here. So is Jonathan Villar, but I wouldn’t go any deep than that unless Shaw plays.

Mike Freaking Trout. Heard of him? Trout has only recorded seven outs in the last eight games. You are literally leaving money on the table if you don’t play him right now. Kole Calhoun looks like he could be warming up as well, and is still really cheap since he is recently off the DL.

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Middle Tier:

I find it hard to get really excited about anyone on the Pirates offense right now. If I dabble in this game from the Pirates side, it will be with lefties Gregory Polanco and Chris Dickerson, but not much else.

If by some miracle the White Sox and A’s play, the only players that I’m really interested in are Jose Abreu and Dustin Fowler, and even then, it’s a passing interest.

Yangervis Solarte hits lefties well, and he has homered off of Tyler Skaggs before. So has Devon Travis. I am a big fan of Teoscar Hernandez tonight as well.

Andrew McCutchen is the only current Giant to take Tyson Ross deep. Not coincidentally, he is the only Giant that I am interested in here.

Bargain Shoppers:

Adam Jones is 13-32(.406) with four homers, nine runs, and five RBI off of Max Scherzer. He is the only Oriole I will even consider, and yes, I don’t mind putting him in the same lineup with Max. You need to find cheap offense to use Scherzer, and Jones at $3,200 is an absolute steal.

Contrarians unite! If you believe that Bumgarner’s struggles are going to continue, Hunter Renfroe and Jose Pirela are worth a shot here against the former All Star. Renfroe already has two homers off of MadBum in just ten at bats! A.J. Ellis has also taken him deep twice.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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