DraftKings MLB Picks June 26: Which ace is wild?

ST LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 07: The St. Louis Arch is seen during Game Four of the National League Divison Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium on October 7, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks June 26: Which ace is wild?

There are 14 games in our main DraftKings tournament today. The Rays and Nationals are playing a matinee game. That one is available in showdown mode only. We have five pitchers topping five figures tonight. Which ones are worth the money? Who in the middle tier can help us out? Are there any bargain pitchers worth using? Let’s check this out and more!

More from DFS

They are going to be dodging thunderstorms in St Louis, Chicago, and Atlanta again tonight. Storms are possible in Detroit, but it wont be until the late innings. Starting pitchers are safe there.

We have a 12 mph wind blowing out to left in Busch with or without storms. The same wind is blowing out to left in Citi Field as well, so it could give the righty bats some extra oomph there. We also have the customary 16 mph wind out to left center in San Francisco, but the ballpark takes care of that.

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

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 04: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees pitches in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 4, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Luis Severino ($13,100): Severino has established himself as the Yankees ace this year. The Phillies are hitting pretty well right now, but the inflated strikeout totals of Severino will keep him from having a bad game. Even in the Phillies get a few runs off of him, I still expect a game in the low 20’s or better in DraftKings points for Severino tonight.

Corey Kluber ($12,900): Kluber only has one start against the Cardinals in his career. He gave up one hit in eight innings while striking out 18. No, that is not a typo. This is a different Cardinals team than they had in 2015, but the current Cardinals are just 2-19 off of him with 12 strikeouts. I’m not sure why Severino is more than Kluber. I trust Kluber more in this situation.

Charlie Morton ($12,000): The Blue Jays are only hitting .157 in 51 at bats against Morton with only three runs and 13 strikeouts. The BvP predicted Verlander’s “poor” (read: proof that he is still human) outing last night. I trust Morton here, and though he doesn’t have near the strikeout upside that Severino does, I like Morton more based on price.

Zack Godley ($9,200): Godley’s price has been jacked up due to the opponent. Truth be told, Godley has been pretty awful on the road this year, but he did hold his own in Pittsburgh last week. The Marlins have been pretty decent at the plate lately, but there is no reason Godley can’t shut them down in a pitcher’s park. Is the inflated price worth it? Maybe. The top tier isn’t free of flaws.

Middle Tier:

Jon Lester ($8,700): The Dodgers are only hitting .198 in 116 at bats against Lester with only four homers and ten runs. The 27 strikeouts is a bit disappointing, and also presents the risk here. The Dodgers hit lefties pretty well. Actually, they hit everyone pretty well. Lester is a solid contrarian pick, but there is no way I would touch him in cash games.

Tyson Ross ($8,500): The Rangers are hitting just .190 off of Ross in 42 at bats with just two runs and ten strikeouts. There is a lot of potential here against an all-or-nothing Rangers lineup. The Rangers didn’t really get going last night until the Padres went to the bullpen. Ross should be good for a quality start and 6-8 strikeouts at the very least.

David Price ($8,300): The current Angels are only hitting .202 off of Price in 89 at bats, but they do have two homers and ten runs. However, Price held the Angels to one run in five innings en route to 21.1 DraftKings points earlier this year. There is risk involved here as the Angels have some good hitters, but I see Price picking up the win against Lamb and getting around that 20 DraftKings point mark again.

Freddy Peralta ($7,900): The rookie has dazzled at times this year. Okay, most of the time. The only team to score a run against him is the Twins, and let’s not forget that Peralta made his major league debut in Coors Field. His first home start is against the offensively challenged Royals. Peralta has one of the highest ceilings of the night at any range, but there is still some risk involved with using a rookie.

Anibal Sanchez ($7,800): If you are like I am, we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Sanchez. It may not. Sanchez has a 1.71 ERA in four home starts. If he can succeed in that park, this may not be a fluke after all. The current Reds are hitting just .125 in 16 at bats with only a Curt Casali solo shot to show for their troubles.

Bargain Pitchers:

Chad Kuhl ($7,700): Kuhl’s numbers took a huge hit after he got blasted by Arizona last week. However, he was going pretty well before that, and the Mets are, well, not. Kuhl is pretty close to a strikeout per inning this year, and though Citi Field is a decent hitter’s park, you still have to have decent hitters to put in it. I see Kuhl doing well here like Taillon did last night. A lot of that damage was done to the bullpen. Oh, and the healthy Mets are just 1-11 against Kuhl lifetime.

Frankie Montas ($7,600): Montas has been very good against anyone not wearing an Astros jersey this year. The Tigers are 3-11 against Montas in their career, but haven’t hit him particularly hard. Montas gets a team that is struggling offensively in a pitcher’s park that may even be better than his own. He wont wow you with strikeouts, but Montas is capable of putting up over 20 DraftKings points here.

Lance Lynn ($7,300): Lynn picked up 22.7 DraftKings points on the White Sox earlier this season, and is pitching well enough to do it again. However, he has struggled on the road this year. Lynn has not allowed more than three runs in a stack anywhere since May 11th though, so his early struggles are skewing those stats. I like Lynn’s upside for this price against the struggling White Sox quite a bit tonight.

Steven Matz ($6,100): Matz’s numbers at home aren’t very good, but in his last two starts against the Yankees and Cubs, Matz has turned in quality starts. His price looks too low tonight for what he could do against a Pittsburgh team that is mostly slumping as well. Most of Pittsburgh’s best hitters are left handed, so Matz can neutralize that as well. There is really good potential here.

Chad Bettis ($5,400): Bettis picked up 13.3 DraftKings points in his start in San Francisco earlier this year. You can’t judge Bettis by his Coors performance. He has a 2.70 ERA in eight road starts this year, and the Giants offense still doesn’t scare me. Bettis lacks upside because he doesn’t rack up a lot of strikeouts, but he is criminally cheap at this price. Take your double digits with your Astros stack and be happy.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 26: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated by Mookie Betts #50 after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Boston Red Sox vs. John Lamb:

Yes, lefties have given the Red Sox some issues this year, but not really at home. The right handed power in this lineup are elite plays with a middling lefty and the Monster out there. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are worth paying for. Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Nunez, and Sandy Leon are all worth a look as well. Devers is hitting well enough that I may even throw him out there against Lamb to see what happens. I doubt Lamb lasts five innings anyway.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Elieser Hernandez:

Okay, so this isn’t a fool proof plan. Hernandez has been solid at home. However, this Arizona offense has been humming along lately. I definitely want a piece of Lamb and Goldschmidt here. the red hot Ketel Marte is worth a look as well as David Peralta. Throwing Jon Jay out there leading off is a good play as well.

Atlanta Braves vs. Matt Harvey:

Harvey is doing much better as a Red, but SunTrust Park has been a bit of a house of horrors for Harvey. Harvey has a 6.61 ERA in three career starts there. The Braves are also hitting .265 with two homers and 18 runs in only 102 at bats off of Harvey with just 17 strikeouts. You will have to look elsewhere for value. Albies and Freeman have the two homers and eight of the RBI. Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis have accounted for six more. If you don’t know where to go for the fifth piece of the stack, whoever starts at catcher is as good a bet as any.

Houston Astros vs. Ryan Borucki:

Borucki will make his major league debut against the Astros. That’s just inhumane, especially for a lefty. The Astros have a ton of right handed power, and Toronto is still pretty much a hitter’s park. George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Evan Gattis are the elite plays. Jose Altuve is as well, but price will be a factor trying to pull off this stack. I would rather go down to Yuli or the hot Alex Bregman.

Colorado Rockies vs. Derek Holland:

The Rockies are hitting .342 with five homers and 20 runs in just 76 at bats against Holland. That isn’t all Coors Field, folks. The Rockies hit lefties hard anywhere. You have to find room for Arenado here. He is 3-7 with a homer and four RBI against Holland. Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, Ian Desmond, and Chris Iannetta have all homered against Holland before. Trevor Story is worth a long look as well.

Next: Other notes for 6-26

CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 22: Scooter Gennett #3 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates with Tucker Barnhart #16 and Joey Votto #19 after hitting a grand slam in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on May 22, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds won 7-2. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jake Arrieta has been outstanding at home, but there is no way I trust him against the Yankees. Didi Gregorius and Aaron Judge are elite plays. Stanton, Brett Gardner, and Andujar are just below that. You could make a case for stacking Yankees, but I think there are better places to attack.

I’m not one for stacking in a hitter’s park, but Oakland is hitting .375 off of Blaine Hardy so far and has a ton of right handed power in this lineup. I’m a big fan of Khris Davis, Jonathan Lucroy, and Marcus Semien here for a mini stack.

If you think the other shoe will drop on Anibal Sanchez, you can throw Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett out there without compromising your lineup too much. I’m not confident enough for a stack though.

Brandon Belt is 9-22(.409) with a homer, seven runs, and four RBI off of Chad Bettis. Brandon Crawford and Andrew McCutchen are worth a look as well, but don’t get too crazy.

I find it very hard to trust Carlos Martinez right now, even at a reasonable price. It makes far more sense to me to stack against the struggling ace with Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Yonder Alonso. Alonso is the only current Indian to face CarMart. Yonder is 4-9 with a RBI off of him.

Jake Junis has been bitten by the regression monster. A monster named Eric Thames could get to him tonight. I like Travis Shaw and Lorenzo Cain here as well.

I see Stripling as overpriced tonight with all of the other good pitching on the slate. He was average against the Cubs at Wrigley. I expect the same tonight. Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are the favorites, but I wouldn’t trip over myself trying to use Cubs here. Stripling is a solid pitcher.

More from FanSided

Middle Tier:

Denard Span is 6-13 with three doubles and three RBI off of Kevin Gausman so far. I don’t distrust Gausman enough to stack on him, but Span, Cruz, and Kyle Seager look good here.

I’m not crazy about any Phillies against Severino, but if you want to use Odubel Herrera, I understand. He is the only one I would consider though.

Josh Harrison is the only current Pirate to face Steven Matz. He is a perfect 3-3 against him with a triple and two RBI. Starling Marte is worth a look as well. If you need to go cheap, I like Jordy Mercer as a punt here.

I’m not a big fan of any Rangers against Tyson Ross, but Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor are priced cheap enough to consider with the way they are hitting.

If you want to put a couple of Marlins out there, but don’t know exactly where to pick with Godley on the mound, you aren’t alone. However, Brian Anderson and Justin Bour are solid places to start.

Bargain Shoppers:

I played King Felix against Baltimore last night, but there is no way that I’m playing Paxton against all of these right handed hitters. The Orioles are hitting .452 off of Paxton in 31 at bats so far. I like Danny Valencia and Adam Jones here. Caleb Joseph is the only Oriole to homer off of Paxton so far, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say I trust him. Jonathan Schoop is worth a look, but I’m staying away from the high priced Machado.

Stacking Padres with a righty on the mound is very risky, but with Manuel Margot back to leading off and still this cheap, I’m interested. Also, Hunter Renfroe‘s power makes him tempting here.

Kike Hernandez is 5-16 with two homers and six RBI off of Jon Lester. The late night hammer may not come in the form of a high priced player tonight. I’m a huge fan of Hernandez. Matt Kemp is in play as well. He and Bellinger have the other homers against Lester.

You wont see me paying up for Mike Trout. He is just 4-23 with one RBI lifetime against David Price. However, Kole Calhoun is cheap, and is 5-19 with a homer and two RBI off of Price.

Victor Martinez has a homer and two RBI off of Frankie Montas so far. Leonys Martin is worth a look as well, but I’m not going out of my way to pay for overpriced Detroit players.

How’s this for a stat: Reynaldo Lopez has allowed five runs to the Twins this season. Logan Morrison has driven in all five of them. At just $3,300, LoMo will be in my lineup. Brian Dozier is worth a look as well.

Jedd Gyorko is really cheap, and he has both of the Cardinal hits and all three of the RBI against Corey Kluber. His price makes Gyorko worth a flyer in a GPP lineup.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

We promised some big news in June for Fantasy CPR, right? Well here it is! We are now looking for PAID writers to join our team to write about fantasy sports. Seasonal or DFS, any sport you want – get your voice heard and get paid for talking fantasy sports. Apply today HERE!