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Greetings RotoBallers! We have two early games and then eight games on top for the nightly slate. If you are playing the afternoon games, I'd load up on Orioles. They have been a sneaky offense all year. I'm also tempted to go back to the Giants as they helped me win nearly 10x my investment last night, but might be best to "take the money and run".
But more importantly, who do I like tonight? Read below to find, as I provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/17/2021. And if you want more detailed thoughts on some of the earlier games, please hit me on Twitter (@MarkStrausberg).
We do have a Coors game on tap, so no surprise that the vising Brewers have the highest projected run total tonight. A quick look at German Marquez's ERA of 4.60 and knowing that he's pitching in Coors might make him an easy target to stack against. However, I will not be stacking Brewers. German Marquez has been pretty good at home this year. Given that he has a 5.74 ERA on the road, his 3.99 home ERA is very impressive. I won't be starting him, but I'm not stacking against him either.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Shohei Ohtani, LAA vs DET ($11,000)
I'll be honest, I hate this recommendation. I really don't want to pay $11K for the services of Ohtani tonight as I don't see the no-run dozen strikeout coming from Ohtani tonight that I want when I invest 11 grand in a pitcher. However, looking at the options tonight, his floor is quite a few flights higher than the next closest option.
Ohtani has given up three runs or less and struck out five or more batters in his last six straight games. That's a pretty good floor to work with, don't you think? And his ceiling is higher given that he is taking on the Tigers. The Tigers have struck out 690 times, the second-highest in the league. They are seventh from the bottom or worse in Runs, OPS, and Batting average. If you ever going to start Ohtani, tonight is probably the night to do so.
GPP Potential Alternate Play
Jose Urquidy, HOU vs CWS ($7,500)
I wouldn't fault you for selecting some of the higher-end options, but I love the value that Jose Urquidy gives us. He had a rough night against Toronto almost a couple weeks ago, but lots of pitchers struggle against the Jays, who lead the league in HRs. If we put aside the Toronto game, Urquidy has given up just eight runs combined in his last six outings. He's also had three outings in his last seven total outings where he didn't walk a single batter.
Urquidy's issue for the most part has been the long ball. Given that the average HR/FB% is usually around 10%, Urquidy's rate of over 13% is a little worrisome. And most folks think of the White Sox as having a powerful lineup. However, the truth is they have the ninth fewest HRs in the league. If he can limit the long-balls, I think he should be just fine tonight.
If you want more detail, just out my compadre Eric Samulski's breakdown here:
I was high on Jose Urquidy coming into the year, but was a bit concerned by some of his starts this season, so I dug in deeper on some of his issues with reverse splits and why he may not have the ceiling I had been hoping for @RotoBallerMLB https://t.co/VvlFl4ZadB
— Eric Samulski (@SamskiNYC) June 10, 2021
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Ji-Man Choi - 1B TBR @ SEA ($3100)
Choi was out of the lineup for two weeks due to injury and returned earlier this week. That injury has depleted his cost, meaning we can get him at a relative value tonight. I like the left-handed Choi against the right-handed Justin Dunn, who has been "meh" at best. Currently sporting a .288 average and a .920 OPS, I like Choi's chances of helping the Rays put some runs on the board tonight.
Cavan Biggio - 2B/3B TOR vs NYY ($3400)
Not loving the options at 2B on tonight's slate, but Biggiois coming in hot after going yard last night against these very same Yankees. That was also his third HR in his last five games and is obviously coming out of his early-season struggle.
Matt Carpenter - 3B/1B STL at ATL ($2100)
I was so high on Charlie Morton to start the year, but he has been such a disappointment. Morton's ERA is still at 4.50 and has not shown me any reason to jump back on the bandwagon after I jumped off in May. Morton has shown me so little, that I'm willing to grab a $2100 player against him who is likely hitting seventh. We need to save some salary somewhere, especially if you are spending up for someone like Ohtani at P. Given that Carpenter is a career .264 hitter, some positive regression is coming since he's only hitting .173. Plus, it allows us to spend up to grab a player like.....
Fernando Tatis Jr. - SS, SDP vs CIN ($4600)
Wade Miley has been good; Tatis has been better, especially lately. He has four homers in five days and now has an NL-leading 21 HRs.
FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEVEN FEET FOR Fernando Tatis Jr. THE FACE OF BASEBALL pic.twitter.com/coTbOkNXKG
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 16, 2021
Need I say more?
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Austin Meadows - OF, TBR at SEA ($3600)
You can sense I'm not enamored with Justin Dunn, right? But Meadows is on a little three-game hit streak and with 15 homers, we know he can bring the power. Nothing more than a hunch, but I think Meadows goes long tonight.
Mitch Haniger - OF, SEA vs TBR ($3100)
But I think there will be quite a few runs on the other side as well. I am definitely liking the over in this game as Rich Hill is not one he was once. Haniger meanwhile is getting better and better. He has 16 round-trippers on the season and has hit safely in eight of his last ten games.
Brett Gardner - OF, NYY @ TOR ($2400)
Should you play Ohtani tonight or you want to choose your own high-prciced bat, I'll give you one more bargain play, Brett Gardner. Actually, I'd love to play the whole Yankees lineup today against right-hander T.J. Zeuch. The problem is that the Yankees have a ton of right-handed bats. Gardner is one of the few lefties in their lineup and at $2400, he won't cost us too much. He too went long yesterday.
Might we be seeing a return to the 28-HRs he had in 2019? That might be a little too optimistic. However, he's been a bit unlucky this season. He has a BABIP of .282, which is also more than 20 points below his career BABIP. If you have the salary, spend up a little. But you could do far worse at $2400.
Good luck with your entries!
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