This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Sunday is the final day of June. We're in the thick of the baseball season. At this point, we can feel confident who is having a good season and who is having a down year. We've got real sample sizes, but sometimes players go on hot - or cold - streaks, which is why you have to keep an eye on how people are performing for daily fantasy purposes. Normally, Sunday means 15 games, all of them in the afternoon save for one. This week is slightly different though. The Red Sox and Yankees are in London, which means their game is starting at 10:00 AM ET. Nobody expects you to get your daily fantasy lineup in before then, so the Yanks and Sox aren't included in these recommendations.
PITCHING
If you just want spend a big chunk of change on a pitcher you can trust, you can feel safe today just plunking your money down on Max Scherzer ($63). You don't need the bona fides of the Cy Young winner. However, he's enjoying arguably his best season, as his 2.11 FIP and 12.28 K/9 rate both represent career highs. Oh, and his former team the Tigers rank last in runs scored.
Robbie Ray's ($45) 3.86 FIP looks pretty good, especially given his home games are in Arizona. Indeed, Ray has a 2.80 ERA on the road since 2017, as compared to a 4.25 home ERA. On top of that, the Diamondbacks are playing in San Francisco, and the Giants's park represents a pitcher-friendly stadium. They also have a truly terrible lineup, ranking last in both team batting average and team slugging percentage.
Brad Keller ($32) is a bit of a gamble due to a 4.22 FIP and a 3-9 record. However, there are only four teams in the majors with a team OBP under .300. One of them is the Toronto Blue Jays, who the Royals are facing Sunday. If you are willing to roll the dice on a favorable matchup to save some cash, then Keller could be your man.
It's not unusual for pitchers for the Padres to have big home/road splits, but Joey Lucchesi ($45) is taking that to the extreme. His 6.10 ERA on the road is alarming, but that number shrinks to 2.70 at Petco Park. The Cardinals have actually been a little disappointing offensively, as they rank in the bottom-10 in runs scored.
KEY VALUES/CHALK
Blake Snell won the Cy Young last season, but that form has left him. Over his last five starts, he has posted an awful 11.94 ERA. There are a lot of lefties in the Rangers' lineup, and I still have a dash of skepticism about them. I am not concerned about Elvis Andrus ($15), as he's managed a .307 batting average to go with 16 stolen bases.
Much like Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmermann is facing his old team. The difference? Scherzer is a Cy Young favorite, while Zimmermann has a 5.95 ERA. Juan Soto ($26) enjoyed a stunning rookie season where he posted a .923 OPS as a 19-year-old. There has been no sophomore slump, as he's slashing .298/.397/.536 this season.
Keston Hiura ($16) was considered the top prospect in the Brewers system heading into the year, and they've just recently called him back up - perhaps for good this time. He recorded a 1.088 OPS in Triple-A this season, and already has slugged five homers in 19 MLB games. Steven Brault mows down his fellow lefties, but righties have been roughing him up this year with a .301 BAA against.
Alex Gordon ($13) is having a bit of a rebound season as a 35-year-old. He's slashed .267/.347/.451 with 10 homers in 78 games. His BABIP is only .303, so it's not like he's getting super lucky. Hitters don't need much luck against Aaron Sanchez either, as the Blue Jays starter has struggled with a 5.89 ERA.
STACKS
Dodgers vs. Chi Chi Gonzalez (Rockies)
Cody Bellinger (OF - $27), Max Muncy (2B - $26), Joc Pederson (OF - $15)
Gonzalez has made one start this season, where he allowed three runs, six hits, and four walks in five innings. That was against the Giants in San Francisco; now he's pitching against the Dodgers in Coors Field. I don't expect this game to go quite as well.
Do you need anybody to convince you to get excited about Bellinger? He's been the best hitter in baseball. The dude has a slugging percentage over .700 and has already hit 27 homers. Don't worry about the price when Bellinger is at the plate in Denver.
Muncy came out of nowhere to hit 35 homers last season. This year, he's proven to be no fluke by going yard 20 times through 82 games. Muncy is also a lefty, with a .971 OPS versus righties over the last two years.
You can't play Peterson against lefties. He simply can't hit them. However, he can absolutely mash a righty. All 20 of his homers have come against right-handed pitchers this year, managing a .931 OPS in those matchups. Give him a couple at-bats against a righty and he can pay off big time.
Indians vs. Gabriel Ynoa (Orioles)
Francisco Lindor (SS - $23), Carlos Santana (1B - $27), Jason Kipnis (2B - $19)
Any other team might have found somebody else to stick in their rotation, but the Orioles are not most teams. So Ynoa has gotten plenty of opportunities to take the mound, despite posting a 6.75 ERA and allowing a whopping 2.38 homers per nine innings.
Lindor missed the beginning of the season and got off to a slow start, but he's hitting like his normal self now. His numbers are in line with his career slash line of .289/.350/.489, and he's hit 12 homers to go with 12 stolen bases.
Santana is usually a guy with a low batting average who walks a lot and hits for power. But this year, he's registered a .291 batting average to go with his usual high OBP. He's also got 18 homers on the season, including four over his last nine games.
Kipnis is not the hitter he used to be. However, he's still got enough pop in his bat for a matchup like this. The lefty can't hit fellow southpaws, but he's recorded a .795 OPS versus righties. With a guy like Ynoa on the mound, Kipnis is worth sticking in a stack.
