DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 30: Don't fade Chris Sale

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 04: Captain, the Texas Rangers mascot, waves the team flag after the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Opening Day at Globe Life Park in Arlington on April 4, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 30: Don’t fade Chris Sale

Our Saturday is all chopped up. There is a “turbo” tournament that takes the two early games. The next six afternoon games are the early tournament, followed by the remaining seven as the main slate. There is an all day tournament so we can get in on all of this. The main slate has one elite option and a lot of guesswork afterwards. I guess that means plenty of stack options!

More from DFS

The main slate is all clear for rain as well, but there is a 12 mph crosswind in St Louis, and a brisk 16 mph wind in from right in Arlington. It is also not nearly as humid, so that should help keep scoring down.

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. We have plenty of writers on here who give you relevant information no matter which site you play on!

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

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 25: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the second inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on June 25, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Chris Sale ($13,000): No, Sale isn’t an automatic fade just because he is playing the Yankees. They are only hitting .237 off of Sale in 97 at bats with just one homer and six runs to go with a staggering 39 strikeouts. If you are willing to sink that much into a pitcher, Sale is worth the price. Another thing to note: Yankee Stadium doesn’t intimidate Sale. He has a 2.18 ERA there is seven career starts.

Kenta Maeda ($11,000): I liked Maeda until I saw this price. Ouch! The Rockies are only hitting .207 against Maeda in 92 at bats with just three homers and seven RBI with a whopping 30 strikeouts. My main gripe about Maeda is that he doesn’t go deep into games. That said, there is serious potential here against a Rockies team that doesn’t hit well, especially against righties, outside of their home park. That is a lot to sink into a guy that usually doesn’t go six innings though.

Middle Tier:

Felix Hernandez ($8,100): The King has lowered his ERA almost a run in June, so I’m not all that concerned that he struggled a little against the Royals in KC earlier this year. Hernandez has a 3.65 ERA in eight home starts, and the Royals can’t score off of anyone right now. The Royals have only scored just 51 runs in 25 June games. This is the place to lean on Felix, though I don’t think he lives up to this inflated price.

Carlos Rodon ($7,700): The Rangers treated Covey like a pinata last night. That is going to have plenty on the Texas offense tonight and off of Rodon. This is the perfect time to pounce here. The humidity is going to be around 40%, which is about half of what it has been this week. With the wind blowing in as well, it should temper offense in this game. Rodon has held the White Sox to a .216 average in 51 at bats with no homers, just three runs, and an impressive 16 strikeouts. Rodon has struggled a bit on the road this year, but those starts were in Boston and Cleveland. He is going to improve his road marks here.

Bargain Pitchers:

German Marquez ($5,900): Yes, I realize that Marquez has a 5.53 ERA. He also has 84 strikeouts in 83 innings. He also racked up 24.8 DraftKings points in his first start against the Dodgers in L.A. In fact, Marquez even held his own against them in Coors! Marquez has had a rough June, but the track record is there against the Dodgers. The bad news? The Dodgers have five homers against Marquez in just 67 at bats.

Bartolo Colon ($5,100): The White Sox are just 3-15 with one run and six strikeouts off of Colon. That means that they Sox are young, and Colon spent a lot of time in the National League recently. At any rate, this offense is struggling right now. Colon isn’t going to go much more than five innings, and he isn’t going to reach the second hand in strikeouts. What he will do is get some outs at a very low price.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 21: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates scoring a run against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning of the game on June 21, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Red Sox defeated the Twins 9-2. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Boston Red Sox vs. Sonny Gray:

The Yankees took it to Eduardo Rodriguez last night. Now the Sox get revenge. They are hitting .242 with seven homers and 24 runs in just 128 at bats against Gray. Mitch Moreland has absolutely destroyed Gray. Moreland is 8-27(.296) with four homers and seven RBI. J.D. Martinez has a homer and four RBI. Benintendi and Eduardo Nunez have also homered off of Gray. Jackie Bradley is cheap, heating up, and has five career RBI against Gray. I would go with him over Mookie, who is just 2-17 lifetime against Sonny Gray.

St Louis Cardinals vs. Max Fried:

Look, Fried is still one of my favorite prospects anywhere in baseball. He looked good in his first major league start a month ago, but that was against the Mets. Fried jumps into the fire here against a St Louis team that is hitting pretty well right now. It’s going to be a hot and humid night in St Louis. The conditions are favorable for hitters, which takes some of the luster off. I can see the point for starting Fried. I can also see the point in leaving this whole thing alone, which I am leaning towards. However, with the weather like it is, I like the power potential of Pham, Matt Carpenter, and Jedd Gyorko for sure. Yadier Molina is worth a look as well, as is Jose Martinez.

Atlanta Braves vs. Luke Weaver:

This isn’t necessarily a knock on Weaver. Weaver has not gone six innings since May 22nd. This is as much of an attack on the St Louis bullpen as it is on Weaver himself. As I mentioned previously, this weather seriously favors hitters, and Atlanta has a ton of them. Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies are elite plays. Ronald Acuna and Markakis are a notch below. To finish off the stack, it looks like Bautista or Dansby Swanson are the best places.

Seattle Mariners vs. Jason Hammel:

Hammel has been an absolute disaster in 2018. He has a 5.34 ERA, and a 6.22 ERA in nine road starts. Seattle is a pitcher’s park, and they have not hit Hammel well from his time in Oakland. However, I’m going on Hammel’s struggles this year. Nelson Cruz has only faced Hammel twice, so throw him out there. Segura has struggled against Hammel, but he is hitting well right now. I’m also big on Haniger, who has never faced Hammel, and Denard Span.

Next: Other notes for 6-30

PHOENIX, AZ – OCTOBER 04: Jake Lamb #22 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates with teammate Paul Goldschmidt #44 after beating the Colorado Rockies 11-8 in the National League Wild Card game at Chase Field on October 4, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Aaron Judge is the only current Yankee to hit a homer off of Chris Sale. I’m not sure I want to sink that much into a hitter against a good pitcher though. There are as good or better options at the same price.

The price on Joey Luccehesi is just nuts. He hasn’t gone six innings since Tax Day, and has been on a pitch count since his return. I would much rather put a couple of Pirates out there and see what sticks. Starling Marte is a favorite. Austin Meadows hits lefties well enough to put out there. Josh Harrison and Colin Moran are heating up as well.

I like Dereck Rodriguez, but not in Arizona against the team that hits there. Rodriguez has pitched very well lately, but that was against the Marlins twice and the Padres. I like Goldy a lot here, and Jake Lamb could be an elite play. Beyond that, Jon Jay looks good leading off as well.

More from FanSided

Middle Tier:

I’m not sure I trust Marquez after his rough June. If I take any exposure to him though, it will be with Joc Pederson. Pederson is 3-7 with two solo homers off of him. Max Muncy, Puig, and Justin Turner have all homered off of Marquez as well.

Moose has two career homers against King Felix, but he is hitting just .190 in June. I would also consider Merrifield, but with this whole offense struggling, I will likely just avoid this mess.

Trevor Williams struggled against the Padres at home, but he has pitched well lately. I don’t trust him, but I don’t trust this San Diego offense either. Wil Myers and Jankowski are about all the exposure I can handle.

Big Bart has shut down the White So in limited career numbers. I’m not big on a stack here since I don’t think this game is nearly as high scoring. However, I like Jose Abreu and Moncada here, but not much else.

Bargain Shoppers:

You think of all those mashers on the Rockies, and wonder….who has all these homers against Maeda? Story? Nope. He’s 1-9 lifetime against Maeda. Arenado? Nope. And he is just 2-16 against Maeda. Blackmon? Getting warmer. Chuck has one of the homers, and is a solid 4-13. Most of the damage has been done by Chris Iannetta. Iannetta is 3-8 with two homers and three RBI off of Maeda in his career.

Ugh. I just can’t find it within myself to stack Giants. Shelby Miller struggled in his return, and likely will again. Joe Panik is 5-13 with a homer and three RBI. Nick Hundley also has a homer and three RBI. Andrew McCutchen is 8-25(.320) with four RBI. All of them cost you $4,000 or less. Thinking about Brandon Belt? Don’t. Belt is just 1-20 against Shelby Miller.

I’m not a big fan of any Rangers tonight, but Adrian Robinson Chirinos and Ryan Rua are worth a punt with a lefty on the mound.

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!