RADIO
Mark Strausberg highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 6/8/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Welcome RotoBallers for another set of Tuesday FanDuel lineup picks! I hope you followed my picks last week as "cover player" Austin Meadows went off and Luis Garcia looked great to name just a few of my picks that helped my lineup cash. Last week we had 14 games on the slate but we have even more tonight. We got a full 15-game slate tonight. If you have questions, please feel free to hit me up on Twitter with questions (@MarkStrausberg).
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 6/8/2021.
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:
Despite this being a large slate, you can immediately cut out the bottom fifth of the pitching options right away without a second thought. Yes, there is some good value in the middle, but no one outside the top ten options is going to be the ace of the night. And if you're really looking at both floor and ceiling for your cash games, you really need to only consider the top three or four options tonight.
St. Louis is not exactly a launching pad, but they also are one of the more patient-hitting teams and in the top third for fewest whiffs. I love the floor that Shane Bieber gives us on Tuesday night, but at $500 more than the next closest option, he doesn't give us the ceiling I want. Carlos Rodon has shown us some very nice ceiling games, but his floor plus the dangerous Toronto lineup gives us a very shaky floor for a salary that is above $10.5K. That leaves us with Glasnow and Buehler.
Tyler Glasnow - TBR vs. WSH ($11,000)
Buehler has the slightly better match-up, but at only $200 more I'm willing to pay for what Glasnow has shown so far this year. He has more wins, better ratios, and a whole lot more strikeouts. Not only does he have a sparkling 12.39 k/9, but he also has a minuscule 2.92 BB/9. He also has a strong GB% (44.9%) and even the flyballs he is giving up are staying in the park with a 15.2 HR/FB ratio.
Furthermore, the Nationals don't bring a lot of punch to the table. There are a few exceptions of course in the lineup, but I'm not worried about Juan Soto today. We should not be surprised that Glasnow is mowing down lefties. They are hitting a ridiculously low .122 against him. And if you're worried about Trea Turner today, don't be as righties aren't fairing much better. They are hitting a near-Mendoza-like .207 against him.
Start Glasnow.
GPP Play
Michael Pineda - MIN @ NYY ($7,000)
Lots of reasons why Pineda will be low-owned on the slate tonight. For one, phrases like "forearm tightness" often send DFS players scurrying in the opposite direction. Furthermore, the memory of Pineda pitching just three innings and giving up five runs in his last start is not going to help the cause. Even some of the sharper folk will leave him alone as he's been playing with fire with both a .244 BABIP and a LOB% of over 80%. Finally, people are still scared to pitch players against the Yankees. All that will make him a high-leverage play.
Because Pineda brings a lot to the table. Other than that most recent outing, Pineda has struck out at least five batters in every other one of his games this year. That's a pretty nice floor. He also brings a reasonable ceiling, like the eight-strikeout one-run game two starts ago.
That brings us back to today's game versus the Yankees. These are not the Mantle and Marris lineups; they're not even the Mattingly Yankees. They have the sixth-fewest runs in the league and the fifth-lowest batting average. They've also struck out more than all but nine teams, and five of those nine teams have played fewer games. This is not to say that I'm counting them out of the postseason. But right now I have absolutely no qualms about rostering pitchers facing them. Or perhaps put a little more bluntly:
The Yankees get to face Michael Pineda tomorrow night...
I'm sure a lineup with 7 right handed bats and 2 lefties hitting below .200 should be effective.. pic.twitter.com/caW9Snmn2i— Marvin Dorfler (@Jim56442955) June 8, 2021
Throw in the "revenge narrative" against the Yankees, which is not one of my factors but I am willing to point it out, and this is my favorite leverage play on the slate. And the price is nice too!
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Salvador Perez - C, KCR at LAA ($3,200)
Matt Olson is the easy pick here. He was one of many who came through for me last week and I recommend him again. However, if you're looking for a sneaky GPP pivot, how about Salvador Perez? FanDuel players often avoid playing a C in the C/1B spot and playing a solid C in that slot like Perez is a great leverage play. Perez is having a spectacular season with a .275 average and 14 homers already. That is better than a whole lot of first basemen! And given the match-up against the unimpressive Andrew Heaney, I'll be playing an equal number shares of Perez as Olson.
Mike Brosseau - 2B/3B, TBR vs. WSH ($2,500)
Brosseau has been a bit unlucky so far this season, as evidenced in his .242 BABIP this year. Despite some pedestrian numbers, Brosseau is always in play when the Rays are facing a left-hander. He's hitting over 100 points higher vs lefties. And the fact that said left-hander is Jon Lester and his 4.37 ERA makes Brosseau an even juicier play. Interestingly Lester has reverse splits. But his home/away splits are good news if you are a Rays fan. He is giving up a whopping .605 SLG% on the road and that number jumps to .667 to left-handers on the road.
Too many numbers for you? Bottom line--Brosseau is a great salary saver and I suggest having quite a few shares of him tonight.
Brandon Crawford - SS, SFG at TEX ($3,000)
I really like Brandon Crawford, but I shouldn't. I cannot seem to get him right in DFS at all. I play him and he puts up an 0-fer. I don't play him, and he hits one of the dozen round-trippers he has this season. But Crawford carries sneaky good potential, especially with Jordan Lyles on the opposing mound tonight. Crawford is averaging over 11 FPPG per game. That's solid, especially at just $3K.
Matt Chapman - 3B, OAK vs ARZ ($3,200)
Since I recommended him a week ago, Chapman's salary has risen $600. Even at $3200, I still like him tonight. Remember, it was a recently as 2019 that Chapman had 36 HRs. Will he reach that number this year? Highly doubtful. But I do expect him to hit at least half that number, which means the power surge is coming. And it could start tonight. I'm looking to stack Athletics against Jon Duplantier, who has a 9.35 ERA. Chapman will rebound and don't be surprised if he goes yard tonight.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Alex Dickerson - OF, SFG at TEX ($2,200)
If you think I like Brandon Crawford tonight, you think I might like Dickerson at $800 less? There are some higher price options I like tonight a lot more like Jessie Winker and Cody Bellinger, but if you need a low-cost play at OF, Dickerson is the recommendation. He's coming in on a four-game hit streak and they're not exactly dinky hits.
Alex Dickerson with his second home run in as many days. pic.twitter.com/sOGlt7wwMW
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) June 6, 2021
Trey Mancini - OF/1B, BAL vs NYM ($3,200) and Cedric Mullins - OF, BAL vs NYM ($3,200)
Right now I have Cedric Mullins is every one of my FanDuel lineups. And he's joined by Mancini in every one of them. Mancini is having the year we expected of him but Mullins has been a very pleasant surprise. Both are having strong years, and I like both of them tonight against left-hander David Petersen and his 5.89 ERA. They have a combined 20 homers and I would be shocked if neither goes yard tonight let alone both. But if you only play one, Mullins is the safer play.
Mullins is hitting .322 and is one of the hottest hitters in the game right now. His last donut on FD was back on May 23rd! He is not only hot at the plate, but he continues to burn up the base paths. He has nine stolen bases already and is just a touch off-pace for a 30/30 season!
But don't overlook Mancini. Peterson has been really bad lately. He most recently gave up five runs to the mediocre Diamondbacks. That is now 16 runs in his last 20 outings. And we know this Orioles offense can score; see the 18-spot they put up the other day. I can't see fading Mullins right now and if you're playing Mullins I suggest you pair him with Mancini.
Good luck with your entries!
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