*Chris Durell*
DraftKings / FanDuel MLB Lineup Picks for June 29, 2017
Welcome back for another split Thursday in daily fantasy baseball. In the article below, I will be looking at some of the top pitchers and stacks for the eight games main slate tonight. Let’s jump right in.
Put your favorite Draftkings / Fanduel MLB Lineup Picks 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
Clayton Kershaw
Opponent – @LAA
Park – Angel Stadium of Anaheim (Neutral)
Vegas Favorite (LAD -210)
Vegas Total (8.0)
Starting right at the top, we get the best pitcher on the planet tonight. The concern all season has been the price vs. the production and while it was close to sub-optimal early on, Kershaw appears back on an elite pace. He had a hiccup vs. the Mets two starts ago but has limited opponents to a .175 average in June while striking out 12.2 batters per nine with an elite 5.6 strikeout to walk ratio. The Angels have been a scrappy team since losing Mike Trout but still rank in the bottom third of the league in hitting vs. left-handed pitching and strike out right around league average. The Dodgers are huge -210 favorites boosting Kershaw’s win potential which makes him playable in all formats tonight.
J.A. Happ
Opponent – vs. BAL
Park – Rogers Center (Hitters Park)
Vegas Favorite (TOR -190)
Vegas Total (10.0)
If you are looking for a viable SP2 on DraftKings or a low-owned GPP pivot on FanDuel, target J.A. Happ who appears to be back on track after spending over a month on the disabled list. He was rusty in his first start giving up five earned runs to the A’s in early June but has limited opponents to just four earned runs in 19.1 innings pitched since. The best part about Happ is that he comes with added upside this season as he is carrying a 9.9 K/9 rate into this matchup with Orioles who are striking out over 25% of the time vs. left-handed pitching and rank in the bottom half of the league in wOBA and wRC+. There is definitely risk tied to this game with a high Vegas total but Happ should be easily low owned with two elite options above him making him a great GPP pivot with upside.
Stacks of the Night
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Homer Bailey (CIN)
Start your stacks tonight by targeting Homer Bailey who is still making his way back to full health after he had surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow in the offseason. He wasn’t able to get in any spring training and missed the first two and half months of the season. He made his return to the Reds last Saturday and was greeted by the top offense in the league who scored eight earned runs off him in just 1.2 innings pitched. The Brewers aren’t quite at the level of the Nats this season but still rank Top 10 in overall runs scored and they also rank Top 10 in wOBA, wRC+ and ISO vs. right-handed pitching. The left-handed bats are the top target for the Brew Crew as Bailey has struggled much more vs. southpaws dating back to the 2013 season.
Top Players to Stack – Eric Sogard, Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, Ryan Braun
Value Options – Domingo Santana, Manuel Pina
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL)
The Blue Jays are likely to be the chalkier stack tonight but also come with a bit more upside considering their implied run total is almost a full run higher than the Brewers. The Jays offense has struggled in 2017 ranking 26th in overall runs scored but the run line has much more to do with the matchup vs. Ubaldo Jimenez. When stacking offenses we want home run potential and Ubaldo gives us just that. Since returning to the rotation in mid-June, he has given up 11 earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched with back to back games with multiple home runs giving him a 22.2% HR/FB rate for the season. Look for the Jays to tee off tonight.
Top Players to Stack – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales
Value Options – Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin