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Mike Schwarzenbach highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 6/23/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
It's Wednesday so we've got a split-slate in DFS as it's travel day in MLB which means plenty of afternoon baseball. In this space, we'll be focusing on the main slate that starts at 7 ET. You can check out Jorge's afternoon picks here, but for now, let's dig into the players and teams we should be looking to for another profitable night on FanDuel.
Read below to find out what player I will be suggesting for your lineups, as I provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/23/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. With that out of the way, here are my picks for tonight.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:
Joe Musgrove - SDP vs LAD ($7,900)
This space is usually reserved for a high-priced ace, but since FanDuel won't put any respect on Joe Musgrove, it'll instead be used to recommend a low-priced ace. Musgrove has been nothing short of excellent in his first season with the Padres pitching to a 2.28 ERA supported by solid peripheral numbers like a 2.99 FIP and 3.11 xFIP. He's been stingy with baserunners this season pitching to a 0.85 WHIP thanks to a 5.5 percent walk rate and an excellent .175 batting average against. Throw in a 31.5 percent strikeout rate and you've got a matchup-proof ace.
The matchup against Trevor Bauer and Los Angeles isn't ideal, but I've picked on the Dodgers a few times this season with ace-caliber pitchers and it's worked out more often than not. Musgrove certainly qualifies as an ace and will likely bring his A-game in what looks like a pitcher's duel on paper. Vegas has the over/under for this game set at seven, one of the lowest game-totals you'll see come out of Sin City. Buildings in Las Vegas remain tall and shiny for a reason so I'll trust the experts and roll with Musgrove to at least fire six good innings with 7-8 strikeouts.
GPP Play
Jose Urquidy - HOU @ BAL ($8,500)
This is the "GPP play" but I like Jose Urquidy a lot in cash games as well and the Musgrove/Urquidy combo will be my primary source of pitching tonight. The Astros' righty has been as steady as they come this year and now he gets to face an Orioles offense that, while dangerous at home, is still batting just .219 against RHP this year which ranks 28th in baseball.
Urquidy has been on a nice run of late having completed seven innings in back-to-back starts while posting a quality start in three of his last four outings. He's not a strikeout artist as he's got just a 22 percent strikeout rate, but he's posted at least five K's in four straight outings with a nine strikeout game mixed in. Houston is a big road favorite at -190 making Urquidy one of the safest bets on the slate to post a quality start and qualify for a win bonus, two stats that are handsomely rewarded on FanDuel.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Gary Sanchez - C, NYY vs KC ($2,900)
Homers are the name of the game in DFS and Sanchez seems to have found his power stroke in the last few games. He's got five homers since June 8 with three doubles in that span for good measure. He's making great contact with a 13.4 percent barrel rate and a 45 percent hard-hit rate and now gets to fave lefty Danny Duffy in his first start off of the IL. Sanchez has a .600 slugging percentage versus southpaws this season and is playing in his hitter-friendly home venue. He's homering tonight, book it.
Ozzie Albies - 2B, ATL @ NYM ($3,200)
Ozhaino has been a staple in this column to the point we're now using his real first name just to change it up. I'm not sure how many times Albies has been here in the last month but if you've simply played Albies every day in June you're probably making money. He's batting .317 this month with a .900 OPS yet still can't escape the $3K range on FanDuel. At $3,200 he's easily the best 2B value.
Wander Franco - SS, TBR vs BOS ($2,500)
This is your DFS "Free Square" until his price comes up to the $3K range. Franco made his presence in the Big Leagues known last night by belting a three-run bomb for his first career hit. The 20-year old also doubled and walked in the contest as the baseball world rejoiced at the arrival of another elite prospect. His price in DFS, however, hasn't raised by a cent. He'll be a popular play, but this is what's referred to as "good chalk" so just lean into it and play Wander against Garrett Richards and his sky-high 1.61 WHIP.
Matt Chapman - 3B, OAK @ TEX ($3,100)
The Athletics exploded for 13 runs last night versus a bullpen game for Texas. Now the Rangers will turn to veteran Mike Foltynewicz to try and give them length tonight. Good luck with that. Folty has a 5.59 ERA and is striking no one out with just 6.2 K/9. Chapman is heating up after a miserable start to the season with an extra-base hit in three straight games. He's been moved back up in the batting order after being buried in the seven-hole for a while and the FanDuel pricing algorithm hasn't caught up with Chapman escaping his early-season funk. Take advantage of this matchup.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Austin Meadows - OF, TBR vs BOS ($3,700)
We talked about Richards in the Franco section, so it should be no surprise to see Austin Meadows down here. Richards has allowed a ton of baserunners this season so the logical play is to attack him with the lefty-swinging three-hole hitter in the opposing lineup. Meadows is crushing RHP to the tune of a .579 slugging percentage this year and he's the centerpiece of a Rays stack that should put up runs in this game.
Ronald Acuna Jr. - OF, ATL at NYM ($4,400)
This is where we gain our edge over the players that paid up for Bauer or Robbie Ray. It's tough to squeeze Acuna into lineups with high-priced aces and, on this slate, I'd rather have an elite bat than an elite arm. Acuna went 0-for-5 last night which is not something you see too often. However, four of his five outs were fly balls with three being well-hit balls. I like a bounce-back for Acuna tonight versus a bullpen game for the Mets. He should get five PA minimum and I'm not betting on another 0-for-5.
Mark Canha OF, OAK @ TEX ($3,300)
Oakland is the top stack of the night and cover boy Mark Canha should be a big part of it batting leadoff for a loaded A's offense. Texas is in an unenviable situation with a bad starter pitching to a good offense one night after they needed 8 1/3 innings from their bullpen, which isn't very good when well-rested. We could see a few Ranger hurlers labor tonight and Canha should get at least five PA versus mediocre-at-best pitching.
Good luck with your entries!
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