DraftKings & FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 9, 2017

*Chris Durell*

DraftKings & FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 9, 2017

Welcome back to another full-Friday slate in daily fantasy baseball. Put your favorite stacks from the article below in our lineup optimizer and hit calculate. You can let it fill in the rest of the spots for you or choose your personal favorites from the MLB Player Lab.

**STARTING PITCHERS**

Corey Kluber
Opponent – vs. CWS
Park – Progressive Field (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (CLE -250)
Vegas Total (8.0)

There is some weather risk tonight in Cleveland but it is actually more optimistic this morning than it was late last night. From a cash game perspective, it may not be wise to roll him out if it looks risky closer to lineup lock but for GPP’s I am hoping the herd avoids him for the most part as the upside is through the roof. Kluber has given up some runs this year (4.36 ERA) but has been getting a bit unlucky with a .311 BABIP and even the xFIP is running just over a full run lower through seven starts. He comes into this matchup with an elite strikeout profile with a 13.9% swinging strike rate that is producing a 10.6 K/9 rate. These numbers will also get a boost tonight as the White Sox come to town ranked second to last in hitting vs. right-handed pitching and striking out just over 23% of the time. Even Jake Odorizzi of the Rays beat the White Sox last night, striking out eight batters in the process. Be sure to check the weather throughout the day because Kluber is the highest projected pitcher on Friday and it’s not that close.

Randall Delgado
Opponent – vs. MIL
Park – Chase Field (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (ARI -140)
Vegas Total (9.5)

This slate is really beginning to have that GPP feel so I am going to continue down that road and give you a low-end option to pair with Kluber on DraftKings to get some of the top bats in your lineup. Enter Randall Delgado who is coming off a bad luck loss in his last start where the opposing pitcher Edinson Volquez no-hit the Diamondbacks. Delgado came out of the bullpen to start the season and will now be making his fourth start of the season for a short-handed pitching staff. Through three starts, he has held opponents to one earned run in each start and has recorded 15 strikeouts to just two walks. That strikeout upside gets an even bigger boost tonight as the Brew crew comes to town striking out over 30% of the time over the past seven days. While the Brewers have, at times, crushed righties(9th in wOBA) they have also struck out just 25% of the time over the course of the season. At his current price, we would gladly take another 5-6 inning outing with 5-6 strikeouts.

**OFFENSIVE STACKS**

Boston Red Sox vs. Jordan Zimmerman (DET)
Park – Comerica Park (Hitters Park)
Vegas – (BOS -146)
Vegas Total (10.5)

I lead with a team in the Red Sox who have been ice cold lately and I am doing it for a reason. First of all, I feel people are really starting to fade them as they aren’t your father’s Red Sox of the past. They are struggling to find their identity with Big Papi out of the picture but don’t be fooled as they are still loaded with talent in their lineup. These early struggles are definitely opening up some buy low(price and ownership) opportunities and tonight is another prime spot. The second part of the equation is the matchup vs. Jordan Zimmerman who has been nothing short of terrible this season. Don’t be fooled by his bounce back last start as it was the White Sox who we just talked about above as being atrocious vs. right-handed pitching. Zimmerman comes into tonight with 5.98 ERA and 5.49 xFIP and the best part about stacking against him is the fact he is giving up nearly 40% hard contact and a 17.4% HR/FB rate. If there was ever a time for a big time offense to snap out of a slump, it would be tonight. From a salary standpoint, I would avoid Andrew Benintendi on DraftKings as somehow is priced up higher than Betts.

Top Stack – Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi (FD Only), Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Sam Gaviglio(SEA)
Park – Safeco Field (Pitchers Park)
Vegas – (TOR -115)
Vegas Total (8.5)

It has been a season full of injury and inconsistency from the team North of the border but there are signs of life now that everyone is seemingly healthy. Over the past 14 days, they have ranked inside the Top 5 when looking at wOBA and wRC+ and have 25 home runs, second to only the Reds and Astros in that time frame. Although the matchup in Safeco is a downgrade from a park factor standpoint, the matchup vs. Gaviglio is exactly what we are looking for when stacking against a pitcher. He comes in with a four-pitch arsenal but the fastball that he throws over 60% of the time only averages around 88 mph on the radar gun and that isn’t scaring anyone off. He is having a very tough time missing bats at the major-league level(6% swinging strike rate) which combined with an xFIP over a run higher than his ERA, tells us that the regression fairy is coming to visit real soon. That is not good news for a pitcher who is already giving up a 21% HR/FB rate. Look for the Jays to take advantage tonight.

Top Stack – Kevin Pillar, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales