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Happy Friday, RotoBallers! Because of an early St. Louis-Chicago game at Wrigley Field and a bizarrely-timed two-game interleague set between New York and Philadelphia, we are "down" to 13 games on the featured Friday slate. It all starts at 7:05 pm ET with San Francisco visiting Washington and goes all the way until Texas and Oakland throw out the first pitch at 10:10 pm ET. With summer finally coming into view, we don't have nearly as many weather casualties as we did earlier in the year. As of this writing, the only game on red alert is the San Francisco-Washington contest. That would cost us another chance to play Max Scherzer and push back Kevin Gausman to Sunday or the beginning of next week. Fortunately, the slate is not lacking in pivot options at starting pitcher.
The top of the pitching slate is jam-packed with talent. Four of the six most-expensive arms have Cy Young awards on their resume, and the other two (Lucas Giolito, Brandon Woodruff) are *Larry David voice* prettaaay, prettaaay good. I do not envy the fellow Rotoballer narrowing the slate down for our pitching primer tonight, but I'm looking forward to seeing where other people are leaning with some many aces taking the ball to start the weekend. There are plenty of SP2 arms in play with Sandy Alcantara, Shohei Ohtani, Jose Urquidy, and Cole Irvin. It should be a wild night on the pitching side of things.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/11/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Jacob deGrom - P, NYM vs. SD ($11,300)
I'm hoping deGrom comes in as the lowest-rostered ace because of his matchup against San Diego. Max Scherzer sees San Francisco, Brandon Woodruff faces Pittsburgh, Clayton Kershaw welcomes Texas, and Lucas Giolito travels to Detroit. I think the casual DFS player will see the Padres opposite deGrom, look at the other aces with better matchups, and decide to get away from the two-time Cy Young award winner. Well, that won't be happening in my lineups. I don't need to sit here and write how spectacular deGrom's 0.62 ERA and 0.57 WHIP are or how outrageous his 45.4 percent strikeout rate is compared to the rest of the league. No, play Jacob deGrom even against a tough matchup. Anyways, he just sliced and diced through this same Padres lineup on Saturday over seven innings allowing three hits, one walk, zero earned runs, and striking out 11 for 39.4 fantasy points.
Tyler Mahle - P, CIN vs. COL ($7,900)
After a terrible performance on May 20 versus San Francisco (-10.9 DraftKings points), Mahle has righted the ship and is in a fantastic spot against the Rockies. In the three starts since that blowup, the left-handed hurler has a 1.04 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and a 28.1 percent strikeout rate. It's safe to assume the bad start was just a blip in an otherwise great season for Mahle. He's racked up eight strikeouts in each of his last two outings and averaged 29.1 fantasy points per game as a result. Tonight, he will see a Rockies lineup that is classically awful outside of Coors Field. On the road, Colorado is slashing .200/.274/.291 for a league-worst .565 OPS and also sports the fourth-highest strikeout rate at 27.1 percent. Opposing pitchers average 22.7 FPPG when they see the Rockies on the road, and an outing like that for Mahle will be a terrific result for our SP2.
Other options: All the aces, Sandy Alcantara vs. ATL ($9,000), Jose Urquidy at MIN ($8,600), Shohei Ohtani at ARI ($8,100)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Tyler Stephenson - 1B/C, CIN vs. Kyle Freeland ($3,900)
Stephenson's run as an everyday play has likely ended with Joey Votto returning from the Injury List. However, he's a productive player and will get the spot start here and there to relieve Votto or fellow catcher Tucker Barnhart. Hopefully, one of those starts comes tonight against southpaw Kyle Freeland. Stephenson is having an electric June with a .368/.520/.632 slash line and his .483 weighted On Base Average is second on the Reds, only trailing Jonathan India (.538 wOBA). Stephenson has had more success versus lefties in his career (.877 OPS) than righties (.763 OPS), and I'm counting on the Reds to use this to their advantage against Colorado.
Ty France - 1B, SEA at Aaron Civale ($3,100)
It'll be a theme with today's picks, but if you want to spend up at pitching, you'll need some value bats. Ty France offers enough production for his low salary and is a perfect cash-game option. The 26-year old has scored between three and seven DraftKings point in his eight of his last 10 games. Meanwhile, he's only registered a goose egg once and above 10 points once. Since returning from the IL, France is batting a solid .286 with a .366 on-base percentage. However, his .365 slugging percentage should keep him out of any tournament lineups. France's consistency is perfect for a value bat in cash games, but the lack of ceiling limits his appeal in tournaments.
Tony Kemp - 2B, OAK vs. Brady Singer ($3,100)
Kemp isn't a household name by any means, but the utility man has his moments every season. In June, the lefty bat is slashing.318/.385/.682 with three doubles, a triple, a home run, and five RBI. His performances have earned him an opportunity to bat higher in the Athletics lineup. In two of his last four games against right-handed pitchers, Kemp has been the second man on the lineup card. Fortunately, Kansas City is throwing Brady Singer out there tonight and offers Kemp the platoon advantage. Oakland has the fourth-highest OBP in the league this month (.351), and it should give Kemp several chances to have a productive evening in the Bay.
Maikel Franco - 3B, BAL at Ryan Yarbrough ($2,700)
Get it while it's hot: Maikel Franco is crushing the baseball. He's got an extra-base hit in four of his last seven games and has multi-hit efforts in three consecutive outings. Unfortunately, he's stuck in the bottom half of the Orioles lineup, but hopefully, he can move up a couple of spots while he's smashing the ball around the field. For June, Franco owns a .422 wOBA and 173 weighted Runs Created Plus. Those are both top-6 among third basemen with at least 10 plate appearances this month. The third baseman is averaging 15 fantasy points per game over his last three games, and I'm getting him in my lineups against left-hander Ryan Yarbrough in Tampa.
Willy Adames - SS, MIL vs. Chase De Jong ($4,100)
Adames is off to a phenomenal start with his new team and seems to be the catalyst to Milwaukee's recent surge in the NL Central. Since the former-Rays shortstop joined the Brewers, they are 14-4 as a team and 8-2 in their last 10 contests. As for Big Will (petitioning for that to be his nickname), he's slashing .308/.384/.508 with his new club, and he's added eight runs, four doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBI in 18 games. Adames has hit fourth in each of his last five games, and with his current production, I don't think that will stop anytime soon.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Nick Castellanos - OF, CIN vs. Kyle Freeland ($4,800)
I touted Castellanos on Wednesday against the Brewers, and he came through for me. Therefore, I'm going right back to the well even if he is $300 more expensive. The outfielder is doing everything you could want from a player, but the RBI and home runs are still not there. Over the last 10 games, Castellanos has a .900 OPS with five runs and SIX doubles, but only two RBI and zero round-trippers. The fact he's hit a double in three straight games makes me think it's only a matter of time until the full-on explosive evening comes around. Facing Kyle Freeland could be precisely what Castellanos needs. Freeland allowed five earned runs and two home runs in his last start versus Oakland. If he pitches like that in Cincinnati, it could be a short-outing for Freeland and a fantastic night for the Reds offense.
Alex Verdugo - OF, BOS vs. Ross Stripling ($4,300)
Verdugo (back) returned to the Red Sox lineup after a couple of days off and posted a 0-5 against Houston. Zero hits have been a rare occurrence for Verdugo as he is settled in as the No. 2 hitter in Boston's lineup this year. Overall, the former-Dodger is slashing .285/.343/.458 on the year with 36 runs, 20 extra-base hits (eight homers), 26 RBI, and four steals. Tonight's matchup against Stripling could be precisely what Verdugo needs after a rough first game back. The outfielder is slugging .500 with a .354 wOBA against breaking balls in 2021, and Stripling throws his slider or curveball 38.2 percent of the time. In the friendly confines of Fenway Park, it wouldn't be surprising to see Verdugo add his ninth home run of the year.
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU at Matt Shoemaker ($4,200)
I hope you grab Air Yordan before he floats back to the $5,000 mark. The Cuban slugger was in the midst of a slump before visiting Boston this week as his OPS fell to a season-low .829. Well, he responded prolifically by going 5-for-10 (.500) with three runs, two doubles, a home run, and five RBI. He can hit a home run any time he steps into the batter's box. That kind of upside doesn't grow on trees, and it usually doesn't come at a $4,200 price tag. He'll meet Matt Shoemaker and his 7.28 ERA in Minnesota. Shoemaker has given up 11 home runs in 11 starts this season, and Alvarez is probably the best bet in the Astros lineup to make it 12 in 12 on Friday.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays (Ross Stripling, RHP)
- Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins (Matt Shoemaker, RHP)
- Cincinnati Reds vs. Colorado Rockies (Kyle Freeland, LHP)
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