RADIO
Mike Schwarzenbach highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 6/9/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
What a night we had on Tuesday with all 30 teams in action on the main slate. Wednesday isn't quite that fun, but we've still got 12 games and 24 teams to chose from on the main slate starting at 7 pm Eastern. FanDuel has priced up pitchers very aggressively this season and this slate is no exception with Austin Gomber ($9,500), Casey Mize ($8,800), and Alek Manoah ($8,500) all much more expensive on FanDual compared to their royal counterparts.
Will those mid-tier options be enough to draw attention away from Gerrit Cole and Lance Lynn? Probably not, at least in cash-games, but those playing GPPs have plenty of high-upside arms at prices that can help fit any bats we want to play. It's a big slate so let's dive right in!.Read below to find out what players I will be suggesting for your lineups, as I provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 6/9/2021.
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.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game:
Gerrit Cole- NYY at MIN ($11,500)
It has to be Gerrit Cole. Sticky substance controversy aside, Cole is the best pitcher on the slate and it's not particularly close. Lance Lynn is having an excellent season for the White Sox as he's sporting a 1.23 ERA, however, his 4.06 xFIP screams regression and a matchup with a good Toronto offense could be trouble. Cole, meanwhile, has been his usual, excellent self this season. Sure he'll have some bad starts like last time out when he let in five runs, but he was also let down by his defense and one blown call by the umps that would have ended the inning. Instead, three more runs scored.
I'm willing to give the Yankee ace a pass for that one and go right back to the well tonight. Cole offers everything you want in a high-priced ace. He's gone at least six innings in all but two starts this season and has hit the quality start threshold in nine of 11 outings. Of course, we want more than a QS from a $10K-plus starter, but it's a nice floor. His ceiling is just as high as he's striking out 36.5 percent of batters this season compared to a minuscule 3.6 percent walk rate. These aren't your father's Twins who led the AL in homers last season, Minnesota isn't a matchup to avoid and I'll stick with Cole in any lineup I can afford him.
GPP Play:
Griffin Canning - LAA vs KCR ($7,300)
My favorite pitcher with an ERA near six! Yes, Griffin Canning and his bloated 5.82 ERA is my top option in tournaments tonight and I honestly may not play a pitcher other than Cole or Canning. The Angels' righty is showing every sign of a pitcher on the verge of a breakout, i.e. he's earning a TON of swinging strikes. Since May 1, Canning is sporting a 15.4 percent swinging-strike rate and has double-digit swinging strikes in five of six starts in that span. On the season, he ranks 15th in swinging-strike rate, two spots behind Cole and just ahead of Dylan Cease and Shohei Ohtani. The SwStr% leaderboard is always littered with the elite arms in the game. Also Canning. It's not a mistake Canning's name is up there with some of the game's best and eventually, it'll materialize in a boatload of fantasy points.
Tonight is as good a time as any for that to happen against a bad Royals offense. Kansas City ranked 17th in wRC+ versus right-handed pitching and is six percent below league average. There's plenty of swing-and-miss in their game and Canning could be in line for his best start of the season.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Mike Zunino - C, TBR vs WSH ($2,700)
It's not often a catcher sneaks into the FanDuel column, but here we are. The Rays will face Patrick Corbin tonight and when Tampa is facing a lefty then Zunino is in play for DFS. The veteran backstop is slugging .783 against lefties this year, the second-best mark in the game. All of his numbers versus southpaws are off the chart but we can skip all that and just say play Zunino against the left-hander.
Mike Brosseau - 2B/3B, TBR vs. WSH ($2,700)
Speaking of Rays that hit lefties well we have Mike Brosseau who has been a known lefty-masher since his famous homer off of Aroldis Chapman in the playoffs. His numbers versus southpaws aren't quite as hefty as Zunino's this year, but he's still batting 100 points higher versus lefties than righties this season and should bat fifth tonight versus Corbin. Tampa is averaging 6.7 runs-per-game in their last 23 games and if the offense clicks again tonight then Brosseau should be right in the middle of it.
Trea Turner - SS, WSH at TBR ($4,100)
Turner is the free-square in DFS whenever there's salary left over. The floor for any hitter on any given night is zero, but Turner almost never puts up a goose-egg as he's one of the most consistent, high-floor batters in baseball. He's scored at least nine FanDuel points in six of his last seven games and hasn't put up a zero in the month of June. He gets on base (.356 OBP), steals bases (13 SB) and hits for power (.489 SLG). He'll have the platoon advantage against Shane McClanahan who's given up a 47.4 percent hard-hit rate this season. Fire up Trea.
Justin Turner - 3B, LAD @ PIT ($3,100)
And Justin. That's right, we're going double Turner's tonight as Justin also has a good matchup in Pittsburgh. Pirates starter Tyler Anderson has allowed a .489 slugging percentage to right-handed batters this season, 12th worst in MLB. Turner actually has better numbers versus righties this year, but this is still a slugger with a .825 career OPS versus lefties.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Randy Arozarena - OF, TBR vs WSH ($3,600)
The last part of our Rays stack. Arozarena has been batting cleanup for Tampa Bay and as a righty versus the lefty Corbin he should be included when stacking Rays. I also like Austin Meadows despite the L/L matchup as Meadows has been on fire and will likely see right-handed pitching later in the game. Meadows/Arozarena/Brosseau/Zunino all wound up in my first lineup build (thanks UTIL spot!) and I love that foursome to be among the top stacks of the night.
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD at PIT ($3,600)
This price is simply too low for a superstar hitter. His .256 batting average isn't what we're used to seeing from Betts as he's been ice cold at the plate. In DFS however, we can't worry about who's hot or cold as those types of things aren't necessarily predictive when it comes to a single game. Betts is a righty facing a lefty pitcher from the leadoff spot. He's also Mookie Betts and is usually priced over $4K. Take the discount in a plus-matchup.
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU at BOS ($3,200)
Kyle Tucker breakout season is upon us and I'll ride the wave in DFS as long as he's priced this low. Tucker is near the top of the Statcast leaderboard in most relevant categories including xBA (.321), xSLG (.587), and xwOBA (.404). He's hitting the ball to all fields with authority which should play-up in Fenway Park tonight as Tucker will take aim at the Green Monster.
Good luck with your entries!
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