MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, June 18

MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, June 18

This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.

All teams are in action Tuesday, though only 10 games make it to the main slate due to several matchups having a first pitch before 7:05 pm ET. The pitcher pricing is oddly inefficient, which creates some value opportunity, but also likely some very condensed roster rates. There are a few positive hitting environments to target. Coors Field is the most obvious, but also Truist Park (Atlanta), Globe Life Field (Texas) and Angel Stadium.

Pitching

There are four pitchers priced between $9,000 and $10,300. There's an argument to roster any of them. My two favorites are Tanner Houck ($10,300) and Pablo Lopez ($9,000). Houck is the only pitcher with a sub-3.00 SIERA (2.96) of available pitchers and is one of two with a K-BB rate above 20 percent. He draws a matchup against the Blue Jays, who haven't been particularly strong this season but also strike out at a bottom-five rate against righties. Houck sets up as a safe cash game play but perhaps missing some ceiling for a tournament-winning option. Lopez has been boom or bust from a results perspective, but he's the other pitcher with a K-BB rate above 20 percent. He draws a matchup against Tampa Bay, which is more favorable than Toronto.

Justin Steele ($8,200) is a free square. San Francisco is a strong matchup against lefties, but Steele has found his form of late. Across his last four starts, he's allowed four earned runs with a 25:7 K:BB ratio in 25 frames.

Alec Marsh ($7,600) is another strong value option. He has a solid 22.5 percent strikeout rate and the matchup against Oakland in Oakland Coliseum bodes well for Marsh in this outing.

Tobias Myers ($6,500) and Hogan Harris ($6,800) are a pair of good punt options. The duo have comparable skills, but I'd side slightly with Myers for his win potential in a matchup against the Angels.

Top Hitters

Things haven't come easy for Walker Buehler since his return from his second Tommy John surgery, notably giving up at least one home run in all but one of his seven starts. I wouldn't go so far as to stack against him, but there should be some production available. It's a bit tricky to figure out what the Rockies are doing with their lineup daily, but Ezequiel Tovar ($5,200) and Ryan McMahon ($5,100) should hit in the top third of the order and have displayed power this season.

Teoscar Hernandez ($6,000) is priced way up, but he's worth trying to fit into lineups. He's maintained a ridiculous .360 ISO against lefties this season. On Tuesday, he benefits from a matchup against Austin Gomber at Coors Field.

Value Bats

For those who opt not to use Tobias Myers as a punt option, it's worth taking a few looks at the Angels' lineup. Nolan Schanuel ($3,300) is a bargain as the team's leadoff hitter. He's also picked his performance up of late, maintaining a .340 wOBA in June.  

Nathaniel Lowe ($3,700) has been in a significant slump lately and has had a season to forget overall. However, he still primarily hits cleanup for the Rangers. Luis Severino has pitched effectively in terms of limiting runs this season, but his skills have been shaky. When things have gone wrong for him, they've gone very wrong, so Lowe is a decent option as a cheap way to get exposure to what could be a big offensive performance.

Stacks to Consider

New York Mets vs. Texas Rangers (Michael Lorenzen): Francisco Lindor ($4,700), Brandon Nimmo ($4,500), J.D. Martinez ($4,200)

The Mets are hot, but this recommendation isn't quite that simple. Lorenzen has the lowest K-BB rate of any pitcher on the mound Tuesday night and his xERA is nearly two runs higher than his current 2.86 ERA. Even better is the relatively depressed price of the top of the lineup paired with the positive hitting environment at Globe Life Field. This one lines up for the Mets to keep hitting well.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Angels (Griffin Canning): Brice Turang ($4,700), Christian Yelich ($5,700), Willy Adames ($4,500)

Canning is another pitcher with a low strikeout rate and high walk rate to take advantage of. Unlike Lorenzen, he's also been unable to limit hard contact effectively. That makes him a pretty straightforward target to stack against. Keep an eye on William Contreras' (head) ($5,400) availability, as he'd likely hit second if he's able to return from a two-game absence.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dan Marcus plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: marcusd91 DraftKings: dmarcus87.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Marcus
Dan started covering fantasy sports in 2015, joining Rotowire in 2018. In addition to Rotowire, Dan has written for Baseball HQ and Rotoballer.
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