This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
It's the final Sunday of June. We're almost halfway through the season, and it's another exciting day of MLB action. The main slate of DraftKings contests features nine games, with the first starting at 1:35 p.m. ET. Looking for some insight? Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Shane McClanahan, TAM vs. PIT ($10,300): With two teams in the bottom-five in runs scored, this could be an affair light on offense. McClanahan will play a big part in that considering his sterling 1.81 ERA. Pittsburgh also has the inferior run support, ranking 28th in that department.
Dylan Cease, CWS vs. BAL ($9,600): This is a matchup between clubs who are neck-and-neck in the bottom-10 when it comes to scoring. Cease has been a weird mix of impressive and lucky as he's allowed zero earned runs and 10 unearned over his last five starts. However, his 2.58 FIP shows that it hasn't all been good fortune for the strikeout-happy pitcher.
Joe Ryan, MIN vs. COL ($9,100): Through 10 starts, Ryan has posted a 3.00 ERA. The Rockies are in the top half of the league in runs scored, but of course Coors Field key to that. Colorado's home/road splits are always uneven, and this game is in Minnesota.
Top Targets
Sweet home, Yankee Stadium. That's how Anthony Rizzo ($5,900) must be feeling with a .921 OPS at home this year. And of course, the lefty is also hitting righties well to the tune of an .870 OPS. The righty Jose Urquidy has also been home happy as he's allowed 1.74 homers per nine innings.
When he was drafted, the calling card for Andrew Vaughn ($4,500) was his bat. In his sophomore season, that hitting tool has helped him slash .320/.373/.483. In his first season as an Oriole, Jordan Lyles has produced a 4.92 ERA - including a 6.70 on the road. And since 2020 he's allowed righties to hit .290 against.
Bargain Bats
Rookie Oscar Gonzalez ($3,400) has slashed .314/.348/.467 in his limited MLB action thus far. I could see him continuing that against Rich Hill. The 42-year-old lefty can still tamp down southpaws, but righties are hitting him well enough where he still maintains a 4.35 ERA.
While the power hasn't really been there for Andrew Benintendi ($3,300), he's gone .299 with a .366 OBP. And when a righty is on the mound, he's slugged .435. James Kaprielian enters with a 6.27 FIP while giving up 1.70 homers per nine innings during his career.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays at Brewers (Chi Chi Gonzalez): Teoscar Hernandez ($5,500), Bo Bichette ($5,400), Raimel Tapia ($2,800)
The Twins kicked Gonzalez to the curb, and the Brewers have apparently turned to him out of desperation. After all, he's registered a career 5.71 ERA. Given that this start is coming against the Blue Jays, I don't expect things to go much better in what may be Gonzalez's last turn in the rotation. Take advantage while you can.
Over the last three weeks, Hernandez has a .919 OPS. That's more of what I expected from someone who recorded an .870 OPS with 32 homers and 12 stolen bases in 2021. Bichette has 12 home runs and five stolen bases, and there's still room for improvement. Dante's son is batting .256 this year even though he's gone .291 for his career. Tapia is a career .277 hitter with speed. He also produced 20 stolen bases last year and four this season along with three homers.
Cardinals vs. Cubs (Matt Swarmer): Nolan Arenado ($5,500), Tommy Edman ($5,200), Nolan Gorman ($5,000)
Through the first five starts of Swarmer's MLB career, he's posted a woeful 8.18 FIP. Somehow, he's allowed 4.01 home runs per nine innings. The Yankees went deep on him six times in only five innings. St. Louis doesn't quite have the power of the New York lineup, but it does offer plenty of pop.
Arenado crushed 34 home runs in his first season with the Cardinals, but this year he's looked more like his typical self slashing .284/.350/.515 with 14 long balls to boot. Edman has 17 stolen bases, which isn't surprising given his track record. And this year, he's also added seven home runs for good measure. Starting his MLB career, Gorman has registered an .849 OPS against righties and all six of the southpaw's homers have come in those matchups.
Rangers vs. Nationals (Jackson Tetreault): Corey Seager ($5,700), Marcus Semien ($5,300), Jonah Heim ($4,400)
Tetreault has made his first two MLB starts this season. One went terribly while the other went well. He's a 26-year-old pitcher who posted a 4.19 ERA in Triple-A this season. I'm not putting much trust in Tetreault, which leads me to select this Texas trio.
Seager has produced 15 home runs, and he's enjoyed his new home ballpark with an .894 OPS this year. A lot of Semien's numbers are down compared to last season, but he's still got the counting stats with seven homers and 12 stolen bases. He's also excelled with a .975 OPS over the last 21 days. You can plug Heim in as your catcher, which is great given his nine home runs and a .458 slugging percentage.
