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The top early-slate daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on June 21, 2023. Mike's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Today is the longest day of the year and the MLB is celebrating with a getaway day that has baseball from noon until midnight. That's the kind of celebration that we love here at RotoBaller! I'm up with the seven-game early slate and Kevin will be along soon with the evening slate. We have this whole day of baseball covered!
This article contains my picks for the seven-game early slate on June 21, 2023, for both DraftKings and FanDuel, which locks at 12:10 PM ET. We have no make-up games and no doubleheaders today. So long as the rain stays out of the Motor City, there shouldn't be any surprises.
The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Zac Gallen, ARI at MIL ($10,100 DK, $10,500 FD)
Gallen's 5.79 road ERA makes me a bit nervous, but the Brewers have not hit right-handed pitching well in June. They have just a .134 ISO and strike out nearly 30% of the time. Enter Gallen, who has done pretty well against the Brewers in his career.
The first thing that stands out is the limited walks. The next is the blistering stats of Raimel Tapia, who was just waived by Boston last week. He is the fourth outfielder for the Brewers right now and will likely start thanks to this BvP line, but recency bias is allowed in some spots. This is one of them. Gallen's ERA is under 3.00 on the season and Tapia was just plucked off of waivers.
Statcast shows that the Brewers are whiffing plenty against Gallen and not hitting the ball all that hard or in the air. The average is a bit disappointing, but the Brewers still only have one homer against Gallen in 71 at-bats. That's not just great, that's elite. Gallen should be able to stay out of trouble enough to be up there with the top scorers on the slate.
Andrew Abbott, CIN vs. COL ($8,200 DK, $10,400 FD)
The rookie has not allowed a run in his first 17.2 major league innings over three starts, hence the inflated price on FanDuel. However, on FD, I would be careful with Abbott since he only has 12 strikeouts so far. The Rockies strike out a lot, but Abbott has also walked nine batters in three starts.
He has done his part by only allowing 10 hits to sustain a strong 1.08 WHIP, but still. He's not as invincible as he has looked thus far. However, I'm all about optimism, and there is plenty of that to go around against a team like the Rockies.
For starters, the Rockies are hitting just .230 against lefties on the season with a bloated 32.7% K rate against southpaws over the last week. Abbott might not get out of this one unscathed since he likes to live dangerously, but this should still be an above-average start at worst.
Others to consider: Tyler Wells ($8,600 DK, $8,800 FD) vs. BAL; Kyle Hendricks ($7,100 DK, $7,400 FD) at PIT
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Ryan O'Hearn - 1B, BAL at TB ($3,100 DK, $2,600 FD)
O'Hearn extended his hitting streak to eight games last night. He is hitting a blistering .500 in those eight games with three homers, five RBI, and 10 runs scored while batting cleanup. He only plays against righties, but who cares? That means we know his schedule! O'Hearn's lack of walks and bloated strikeout percentage will catch up to him at some point, but I'll run a guy batting .500 in a hit streak that has gone over a week at this price.
Ke'Bryan Hayes - 3B, PIT vs. CHC ($3,800 DK, $2,800 FD)
There are a few things to like about Hayes today. First off, he is hitting .500 in 12 at-bats against Kyle Hendricks with a pair of homers off of him. On top of that, Hayes is hitting a staggering 141 points higher at home. Hayes likes putting on a show for the home crowd and he has feasted off of Hendricks in his career. That's enough for me!
Elly De La Cruz - 3B/SS, CIN vs. COL ($5,400 DK, $3,900 FD)
The highly-touted prospect still hasn't slowed down since his call-up on June 6. In his 13 major league games, De La Cruz is hitting .308 with two homers, six RBI, 13 runs scored, and six stolen bases. What more can we ask for? A great pitching matchup? Ask and you shall receive. Connor Seabold got Christmas-Treed by the Braves last week, allowing nine runs in just three innings. You won't find a better matchup this afternoon.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Corbin Carroll - OF, ARI at MIL ($5,500 DK, $4,200 FD)
Carroll has been on a major heater for about the last month now. He is hitting .343 with seven homers and 17 RBI already in June and is hitting .373 over the last month with nine homers and 23 RBI. Yes, Julio Teheran has learned how to pitch this season. Check out Elliott's piece there for more on Teheran's renaissance return to the majors in 2023. However, as hot as Carroll is, I think he's going to rain on Teheran's parade a bit today.
Jake Fraley - OF, CIN vs. COL ($4,400 DK, $3,200 FD)
Fraley spent 11 days on the IL with a wrist issue but has picked up where he left off when he departed the lineup back on June 7. Fraley is 3-for-9 with a homer, four RBI, three runs scored, two walks, and a steal in three games since his return. Expect a strong end to this series for Fraley, who is hitting .313 in five games against the Rockies this year.
Jake McCarthy - OF, ARI at MIL ($2,700 DK, $2,500 FD)
Hey, I'm just here for the steals. McCarthy has 12 of them since being recalled from Reno 23 games ago. It's just a bonus that McCarthy is starting to hit. He was hitting a miserable .143 when he got sent down at the end of April but is hitting .315 since his return to Phoenix. McCarthy has at least one hit in eight of his last nine games, so he's getting on base where we want him.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Cincinnati Reds vs. Connor Seabold
The Reds scored six runs on Seabold in Coors back on May 15, and that was without Elly De La Cruz in the lineup. I highlighted a couple of Reds above, but I'm also throwing in leadoff hitter TJ Friedl into this stack, and not just because he had a four-hit day yesterday.
Rookie Will Benson is also a fixture against righties since Wil Myers was designated for assignment. Benson has six hits and five walks to go with five runs scored, a homer, a steal, and three RBI in his last four starts alone...and he's still only $2,400. I will top this stack off with Jonathan India or Joey Votto if he makes the lineup.
Also consider: Detroit Tigers vs. Brady Singer
The Tigers beat up on Singer about a month ago and could do so again. Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, and Javier Baez are my main targets. I won't full stack this, but I will have Tigers scattered throughout my lineups.
Sneaky stack: Baltimore Orioles vs. Taj Bradley
Bradley's overall solid numbers mask his ghastly numbers at the Trop. The rookie has a horrid 7.13 ERA and .301 batting average against in four home starts this year.
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