Last Sunday, Major League Baseball had a modified schedule for Father’s Day, and this Sunday, things are a little different since the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are finishing up their two-game set in London with a Sunday morning start here in the States. After that early game, there were 10 games on the main DraftKings afternoon slate, but that number was reduced to nine games since the matchup between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers was moved to an earlier start time. That divisional game moving up leaves just one divisional contest, but there are still many series wrapping up with intriguing storylines. There are also some great matchups to target and a few to avoid. Check out my top picks from the 18 teams in action listed and analyzed below.
As usual for DFS fantasy baseball, be sure to keep up with the latest player news and lineups leading up to game time. You can do that by installing the DK Live app and following DK Live on Twitter (@dklive). I’m also on Twitter (@ZT_Sports), where you can keep up with all my picks as the season continues.
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For up-to-the-minute news, analysis, and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
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PITCHER
Stud
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers at New York Yankees ($9,100) – Eovaldi has been excellent in his first season for Texas, going 9-3 with a 2.80 ERA and 3.11 FIP over 99 2⁄3 innings with 96 strikeouts. He has stumbled a bit in his three most recent starts, allowing a total of 11 runs in 19 1⁄3 innings, but he should be set to bounce back with a strong outing Sunday.
Eovaldi will be facing his former team for the second time this season when he goes head-to-head with Gerrit Cole ($10,700) in a matchup of the two most expensive starting pitchers on this slate. Eovaldi threw a complete-game shutout in his last start against the Yankees, allowing just three hits and striking out eight on his way to a season-high 45.1 DKFP. Eovaldi has typically pitched well against the Yankees, with 3.41 ERA and a 3-2 record against them over the last three seasons. The Yankees current offense is also extremely thin due to injury, so they’re not quite as tough a matchup as they typically are. In fact, they have the worst wOBA in the majors in June at just .270 and are hitting only .193 as a team this month. The favorable spot should allow Eovaldi to get back on track and help the Rangers secure the series win.
Other Options – Corbin Burnes ($9,100), Tyler Glasnow ($8,900)
Value
Eury Pérez, Miami Marlins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates ($8,500) – With all the hype surrounding the recent call-ups in Cincinnati, Pérez has gotten a little lost in the shuffle. The 20-year-old righty entered the season as the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and he has lived up to the hype so far this season. In his eight starts, he has gone 4-1 with a 1.54 ERA and 3.37 FIP, to go with a total of 45 strikeouts in 41 innings. Pérez has allowed just one or zero runs in five straight outings and finished with at least 17 DKFP in each of those starts. During that span, he has pitched to an impressively minuscule 0.33 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 27 innings.
The only downside with Pérez is that the hasn’t been pitching late into games. He has gradually ramped up, though, and is typically throwing 80-95 pitchers per game. In each of his two most recent outings, he pitched six full innings, producing 27.7 and 29.7 DKFP. He gets a good matchup against the Pirates on Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh has the third-worst wOBA and third-worst ISO of any team this month, so Pérez should be able to keep rolling.
Other Option – Yusei Kikuchi ($7,100), Kyle Bradish ($6,100)
INFIELD
Stud
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds ($6,300) – Olson has been mashing with six home runs in his past eight games since moving down in the order out of the second spot. He has 10-for-33 (.303) over that span and raised his wOBA to .374 on the season to go with his 24 home runs. Olson and the Braves get a great matchup against Levi Stoudt ($4,000), who is expected to be called up from Triple-A where he has made 10 starts and gone 2-3 with a 5.00 ERA and 6.41 FIP. Stacking against Stoudt is a solid strategy, and Olson is a prime place to start.
Stud
Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves ($5,800) – De La Cruz has continued his extremely impressive start to his career. In 16 games, he has three home runs, eight stolen bases and a .449 wOBA to average an impressive 13.75 DKFP per contest. He had 45 DKFP on Friday while hitting for the cycle, and then had 12 DKFP with a stolen base on Saturday. De La Cruz has hit safely in 13 of his 16 games and always has a very high ceiling with multiple ways to put up big points. Even in a tougher matchup against Charlie Morton ($9,300), De La Cruz brings a high enough ceiling to be worth considering.
Other Options – Ozzie Albies ($5,200), Matt McLain ($4,900), Gunnar Henderson ($4,800)
Value
Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays ($3,300) – Another rookie that can give your lineup a boost is Garcia, who has been getting the green light on the basepaths more over the past few games. Last year, he was an impressive 39-for-47 on attempts in the minors and so far is a perfect 10-for-10 this year. Five of those steals have come in his last eight games and he is hitting .351 (20-for-57) in his past 15 games with a .372 wOBA. He doesn’t provide the same power potential that comes from De La Cruz, but he’s a very affordable option at 3B with a good ceiling.
Value
Brandon Belt, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Oakland Athletics ($2,800) – Belt has hit safely in each of his three games in the lineup since returning from a stint on the IL due to a hamstring strain. He only needed the minimum timeframe of 10 days off before returning, and it looks like he’ll jump back into the third spot in the Blue Jays batting order, putting him in a prime run-producing situation, especially against Luis Medina ($5,200) on Sunday. Medina has a 7.01 ERA and 5.75 FIP, while allowing 10 homers in nine games this season. Belt has four homers in his 50 games this season while hitting .264 with a .351 wOBA. Those numbers are still impacted by a slow start, but since May 1st, he’s hitting .317 with a .411 wOBA, which are outstanding numbers for a player priced under $3K in such a favorable matchup.
Other Options – Andrew Vaughn ($3,000), J.P. Crawford ($2,900), David Hamilton ($2,300)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds ($6,500) – Acuña keeps on raking and is still averaging over 12.0 DKFP per game on the season. He has hit double-digit DKFP in each of his past four games and stole his 34th base of the season in the Braves’ win Saturday. He leads the NL in steals while hitting .329 with 16 homers and a .411 wOBA on the season. In June, he’s been even hotter, hitting .341 with five of those home runs and a .416 wOBA. He is a high-priced option, but in such a good matchup, he brings an elite ceiling and can definitely be part of a strong Braves stack.
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles ($5,200) – Rodriguez has had a little bit of a sophomore slump this season but has started to turn things back around lately. He had three hits and his 13th home run of the year on Saturday and boosted his average to .243 with a .318 wOBA. He has both power and speed upside and has reached base safely in seven of his past eight games, going 10-for-34 (.294) with two doubles a home run and four stolen bases, to average 11.6 DKFP per contest. When he catches fire, he can be a top producer, and it looks like he may be starting to heat up.
Other Options – George Springer ($5,300), Masataka Yoshida ($5,200), Anthony Santander ($4,400)
Value
Harold Ramírez, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kansas City Royals ($3,700) – Whenever the Rays face a lefty, Ramírez should be on your radar. He usually hits in the middle of the potent Tampa lineup when facing a lefty starter and is hitting .389 with four homers and a .454 wOBA against southpaws this season. Daniel Lynch ($6,500) should be a great matchup for Ramírez, who feasted on lefties last year as well. He is a relatively low-risk play due to his great batting average in the split and should find a way to contribute on Sunday afternoon in Tampa.
Value
Andrew Benintendi, Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox ($2,800) – Benintendi has collected multiple hits in each of the first two games of this series against his former team, and has gone 14-for-35 (.400) over his past eight games. Benintendi is averaging 8.0 DKFP per game over that span with a home run and a stolen base. He has typically been hitting leadoff for Chicago against righties like Kutter Crawford ($5,700), and he’ll be a great value if he’s back in that spot Sunday afternoon. He seems to be heating up and taking pleasure in crushing the team that traded him.
Other Options – Jesús Sánchez ($3,200), Tommy Pham ($3,100), Henry Davis ($2,300)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
