Early DraftKings MLB Picks June 15: Strikeouts for Sale

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 14: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres at bat during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Early DraftKings MLB Picks June 15: Strikeouts for Sale

We have a pretty even split for our DraftKings MLB tournaments today. We have six games that start at 3:05 eastern or 5:10 eastern and eight more that start after 7pm eastern for the main slate. The Rays-Angels tilt at 12:05 eastern is in its own little showdown tournament. This will focus on the six game early slate.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Chris Sale ($11,600): Sale is expensive, but he’s worth it. The Orioles are only hitting .182 against Sale in 88 at bats with no homer, four runs, and a staggering 47 strikeouts. That means Sale has struck out more than half of the current Orioles that he has faced! I don’t think that I would fade Sale anywhere today. I would try and cram Strasburg with him, but a full fade is out of the question. There is way too much upside.

Stephen Strasburg ($10,700): Strasburg has been decent in a small sample size against Arizona. The current Diamondbacks are hitting .239 with a homer and four runs to go with 12 strikeouts in 46 at bats. It’s nice when we have one elite pitcher on a smaller slate, let alone two. I do like Sale a little better, but have no issue dropping down to Strasburg in GPP’s to allow an extra Washington bat or two. Strasburg is still a strong option.

Middle Tier:

Framber Valdez ($7,700): Valdez is being priced up to play the Jays. I get it. After all, Valdez put up 24.2 DraftKings points on Baltimore last week. This is another superb matchup for Valdez. One that is plenty good enough to pay the little extra money. The Jays offense is starting to hit, but the strikeout upside for Valdez is very real.

Pablo Lopez ($7,400): Lopez gives us DFS players the best of everything. He is an elite pitcher at home, posting a 1.78 ERA in seven home starts. He has been equally dreadful on the road, posting a 6.82 ERA in seven road starts. That brings his price down to a manageable level before he pitches at home again. If Lopez only pitched at home, he would be over $9,000. Lopez is a superb value against Pittsburgh, especially since he still gets about a strikeout per inning. Lopez is one of my favorite plays of the day.

Bargain Pitchers:

Dario Agrazal ($5,400): Using a pitcher against the Marlins has been a risky endeavor of late, but you can certainly make a case for Agrazal in his major league debut. Yes, part of it is the price. Another part is the 3.27 ERA in 12 starts between AA and AAA this year with a 20% strikeout rate. There are plenty of worse places for Agrazal to make his major league debut. I think he comes out of this with solid numbers, and maybe even a quality start. That makes him worth the price.

Clayton Richard ($5,000): Richard was blasted by Arizona in his last start, but he gave up just five runs in his first three starts of the season prior to that. The bottom line is that most of Houston’s right handed bats are still hurt. The entire outfield bats left handed. Richard will have to navigate around Chirinos and Bregman, but there is a good chance that he turns in an outing in the low teens. That’s well worth the price and you can stack Boston with the saved money.

My picks: Sale, Lopez; Sale, Valdez

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 09: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox at bat during the sixth inning of the Red Sox home opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on April 09, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Taylor Clarke is going to be a popular point of attack today thanks to his 5.66 road ERA. Washington with the wind blowing out isn’t going to do him any favors. Juan Soto is the elite play here with Rendon and Adam Eaton not far behind. I do like Howie Kendrick, but he’s got to slow down soon, right? For the price, I’m more likely to play Turner and drop down to Robles or Dozier for the final piece of the stack if going that direction.

Dylan Bundy has been solid lately, but the Red Sox have just destroyed him in his career. Boston is hitting .301 with 12 homers and 33 runs in only 206 at bats. Mookie alone has four homers and eight RBI. Xander is the only other Red Sox player with multiple homers against Bundy. Brock Holt (who is still way too cheap), Sandy Leon, J.D. Martinez, Benintendi, Devers, and Jackie Bradley have all homered against Bundy before as well. Every Boston bat is in play here.

For whatever reason, the Giants have creamed Jimmy Nelson. They are hitting .382 in 55 at bats with four homers and 14 runs. Brandon Crawford is dirt cheap and has two of the homers. Panda and Buster Posey have the other ones. Joe Panik is 7-10 with four runs against Nelson. The best part is that the Giants are very affordable today.

I’m fading the arms in Detroit, but if the game plays, a Cleveland stack may be in order. They erupted last night, and could again with Buck Farmer opening. Jose Ramirez, Lindor, and Carlos Santana are my favorite targets. I also like Kipnis on the cheap.

Clayton Richard was hammered in his last start, but he gave up two runs or less in his first three starts before that. $5,000 is a reasonable price to chase, but I don’t trust him against the Astros. Bregman looks like an elite play. Alvarez and Josh Reddick are solid against lefties. I like Robinson Chirinos here too, but the price is turning me away. I would much rather play Yuli Gurriel.

ST. LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 25: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on September 25, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB one-off plays:

Strasburg is not invincible at home this year. His ERA is nearly a run higher in Nationals Park, and five of the seven home runs he has surrendered have been there. David Peralta has the only homer against him so far, so that’s where I’m going for an Arizona one-off today.

More from FanSided

I wouldn’t say I’m going after MadBum, but Ryan Braun has both homers and seven of the 11 RBI for the Brewers against him. Braun is the definition of a one-off play.

I can understand going after Framber Valdez with Grichuk or Vladdy Jr. However, Valdez has a 2.73 ERA on the season, and has given up just one run in his first two starts of the season. I don’t see the Blue Jays as being the team that finally gets to him.

We don’t know a lot about Dario Agrazal except that he cleared waivers in the offseason and has put up solid minor league numbers this year. Harold Ramirez and Garrett Cooper are on my radar, but I expect a solid outing from Agrazal. I think I would rather use cheap Giants, honestly.

You just don’t take a run at Pablo Lopez at home. There’s no reason to. Elite Red Sox bats paired with cheap Giants pretty much leave all of the Pirates obsolete for their price range. But if you must, Adam Frazier and Colin Moran are reasonably priced.

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