FanDuel MLB DFS Breakdown – 6/24: Load Up on Yankees and Indians

Welcome to my FanDuel MLB DFS breakdown for the 6/24 main slate! This article will help you condense your player pool and build your optimal cash and GPP lineups on FanDuel.

Happy Monday DFSers! After a nice Sunday full of baseball, we hope to start the week off on the right side of the cash line in our MLB DFS contests on FanDuel.

On yesterday’s main slate, we saw Peter Alonso of the Mets crank yet another home run (27) to strengthen his case for NL Rookie of the Year and a heap of other great offense. Looking towards today, we hav a rather manageable 7-game main slate on tap with only one slight weather concern (KC @ CLE). Below are the implied totals of all 14 teams on on slate:

New York Mets (4.6) @ Philadelphia Phillies (5.0)

Toronto Blue Jays (4.1) @ New York Yankees (6.5)

Chicago White Sox (4.2) @ Boston Red Sox (5.4)

Kansas City Royals (4.5) @ Cleveland Indians (5.6)

Atlanta Braves (N/A) @ Chicago Cubs (N/A)

Los Angeles Dodgers (4.4) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (3.7)

Colorado Rockies (4.3) @ San Francisco Giants (3.8)

As you can see above, there’s not going to be any shortage of offense tonight, as 4 of the 14 teams have IRTs of 5 runs or more and there are only 2 teams with an IRT below 4.

Similar to my last article, I will run through each position on FanDuel and provide one cash, and one GPP option to help you condense your player pool and build lineups for both cash and GPP contests.

FanDuel MLB – Top Pitchers

Cash: Clayton Kershaw | LAD | $11,000

Kershaw seems to be rounding into form, racking up 11 quality starts over his last 12 games and posting a 3.45 xFIP with a 50.7% ground-ball rate. While his strikeout rates are down compared to what we’re accustomed to, his ground-ball rate is the highest it’s been since 2015. While this Diamondbacks team has hit lefties well this season (0.372 wOBA, 0.212 ISO, 19.9% K-rate), they do have a 43.6% ground-ball rate and are only implied to score 3.8 runs on the night. On a slate with no sure-fire bet, Kershaw has the highest floor of the probable starters.

GPP: Jon Gray | COL | $8,500

I’ve had a Jon Gray problem over the last few seasons and can’t seem to write him off no matter how hard I try. His peripherals have long outperformed his surface stats and this season is no different, as his 3.76 xFIP shows effectiveness beyond his 4.118 ERA. On top of that, his 25.4% strikeout rate is his best mark since 2016 and he’s also posted his highest ground-ball rate (48.3%) since 2017.

The Giants lineup only strikes out 20.8% of the time against righties, but holds an underwhelming 0.311 wOBA and 0.162 ISO. This is also just about the best park shift Gray could ask for, cementing him as my top GPP option and honestly, a piece that I may even look to in cash games due to the fact that the Giants are only implied to score 3.8 runs, tied for the lowest on the slate at the time of writing (night before).

FanDuel MLB – Top Catcher / First Basemen

Cash: Carlos Santana | CLE | $3,700

Buckle up for a lot of Indians today, as they check into arguably the top spot on the slate against Brad Keller, who has finally been getting hit with some regression. His 4.45 ERA, while ballooned from a recent 7 ER outing, is still 0.95 above his SIERA and his 16.1% strikeout rate is not going to help his case.

Santana has posted a 0.402 wOBA and 0.298 ISO against righties this season and is criminally under-priced for what he brings to the table.

GPP: Rhys Hoskins | PHI | $4,100

The Phillies have one of the highest IRTs on the slate and I expect them to go overlooked because of the Indians and Yankees, so this is a prime GPP spot. While Steve Matz has allowed a 0.401 wOBA to lefties this season, 12 of his 15 HR allowed have been to RHBs and this is where Hoskins thrives. His 0.422 wOBA and 0.262 ISO against lefties give him GPP-winning upside with Matz’s HR tendency against righties.

Also Consider: Gary Sanchez, Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu

FanDuel MLB – Top Second Basemen

Cash: Jason Kipnis | CLE | $3,000

Like I said, Cleveland is going to be everywhere tonight. While Kipnis is no longer the player of old, his $3,000 salary makes him plenty serviceable and he’s still posting a 0.321 wOBA against lefties. He’s also recorded 4 multi-hit efforts in his last 6 games and 10 RBIs in that span. His ownership will likely be through the roof and with Keller due for even more regression, this just makes sense as a staple cash play.

GPP: Gleyber Torres | NYY | $3,700

His lineup spot makes him a tough pill to swallow, but the upside for GPPs is undeniable. He’s homered in 3 of his last 4 games and has posted a 0.383 wOBA and 0.284 ISO against righties, holding reverse splits throughout the season. His matchup, Aaron Sanchez, has also been a reverse-splits pitcher, allowing a 0.371 wOBA and 5.91 xFIP against righties. The Yankees are right there with the Indians as the top stacks on the slate, and Torres is a phenomenal way to differentiate that stack due to his batting order.

Also Consider: Ozzie Albies, Ryan McMahon

FanDuel MLB – Top Third Basemen

Cash: Jose Ramirez | CLE | $3,400

Surprise surprise, another Indian! Ramirez has struggled mightily against righties this season, but has shown signs of life since the calendar flipped to June. This play is also more about Keller’s struggles and building out an Indians stack than anything else. He also posted a 0.410 wOBA and 0.315 ISO against righties last season, giving us reason for hope on top of his 5 hits over his last 3 games, in which he’s topped 12.4 FDP in each.

GPP: Nolan Arenado | COL | $4,500

Arenado against a lefty is always a play, but tends to be a GPP play when he’s away from Coors. His park shift is just about as bad as you can get, but his 0.452 wOBA and 0.342 ISO against lefties should mitigate that. His matchup, Drew Pomeranz, has allowed a 0.412 wOBA and 12 of his 14 HRs to righties this season.

Also Consider: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Josh Donaldson (both elite value plays)

FanDuel MLB – Top Shortstop

Cash: Didi Gregorious | NYY | $2,900

While both of these guys listed are extremely cash viable, the salary savings of Didi have given me reason to list him as the cash option. He should be batting towards the bottom of the order, but since returning from the DL, he’s posted a 0.334 wOBA against righties while only striking out 12.1% of the time. Aaron Sanchez has allowed a 0.340 wOBA and still allows a 4.81 xFIP to lefties even while being a reverse-splits pitcher, showing just how poor of a season he’s had.

GPP: Franciso Lindor | CLE | $3,700

Lindor comes in as a viable play in both cash and GPP formats as he’s pretty darn cheap for leading off with such a high IRT. Lindor has posted a 0.365 wOBA and 0.239 ISO against righties with a 46.5% hard-contact rate. He’s topped 15.2 FDP in 4 of his last 7 outings and brings a power/speed combination that provide a high ceiling for both cash and GPP games.

Also Consider: Jean Segura, Tim Anderson

FanDuel MLB – Top Outfielders

Cash: Aaron Judge | NYY |$4,300 / Giancarlo Stanton | NYY | $4,200

I’ve listed both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton here, as the $100 difference here make them both extremely viable. Judge is a more reverse-splits hitter, posting a 0.391 wOBA and 0.252 ISO against righties over the 2018-19 span, while Stanton posted a 0.341 wOBA and 0.208 ISO against righties in that same span.

I’ve listed Aaron Sanchez’s splits above, but to reiterate, his 0.371 wOBA allowed against righties will not get it done. Load up on the Yankees and use one of these two as your top bat tonight.

GPP: Austin Riley | ATL | $3,800

This is the first I’ve hit on the Braves against Jon Lester, but I would strongly recommend targeting them in your GPPs. Lester has allowed a 0.336 wOBA to righties and has given up 14 total HRs, with 12 being to right-handed bats.

Austin Riley has been a machine since getting called up and holds a 0.549 wOBA and 0.586 ISO against lefties this season with a 52.6% hard-contact rate. His 30+% strikeout rate makes him carry some risk, but the upside is immense here.

Also Consider: Charlie Blackmon, Ronald Acuna, Ian Desmond, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Drury

Thank you for reading my FanDuel MLB DFS Breakdown for the 6/24 Main Slate. For more, following me on Twitter @JMetz34 and make sure to read the rest of the content at @FantasyCPR!