DFS Plays of the Day – June 23

 

We’ve got another light Thursday slate with six games (seven on FanDuel) beginning at 12:00 PM EST.

Today’s Pitching Options

 

 

Game by Game Breakdown

 

• CHC Justin Steele at PIT José Quintana: Hard to get excited about either pitcher as they both have K rates barely above 20%, but on DraftKings, we might be forced into making some unsettling decisions at SP 2. In this game, I would lean Steele because he is the slight favorite and the Pirates are a bit worse as a team offensively; third-highest K rate and a .288 team wOBA. After scoring two touchdowns last night, the Cubs are primed to do damage again as Quintana’s 3.66 ERA is backed by an xERA of 5.00. Patrick Wisdom is priced affordably on DraftKings, has the platoon advantage, and has now homered in back-to-back games so he should be fairly popular. Leadoff man Christopher Morel is affordable too. Yan Gomes is a potential punt at catcher. On the Pirates side, Steele isn’t particularly great so ONeil Cruz can week continues despite the L v L matchup. Ke’Bryan Hayes as a few hundred more than Wisdom on DK could be a contrarian approach.

 

• LAD Clayton Kershaw at CIN Hunter Greene (RHP): It’s an awful park for pitching, still Kershaw is, probably the best today even if he’s limited to around 90 pitches (81 his last time out) as he leads the slate in K-BB%. Against LHP, the Reds have been right around league-average with a .315 team wOBA. Greene is an interesting tournament option given the upside he’s shown. His jump in salary on DraftKings paired with a matchup against the Dodgers should mean he’s relatively unpopular. However, the Dodgers do have the highest implied total on the slate at 5.5 runs. An L.A. stack can certainly swing the slate, but it’ll be difficult to pull off with their salaries on DraftKings. He’s been bad, but Max Muncy is at least a little interesting on FanDuel at $2,600 if you want to just gamble on his track record coming through.

• CLE Zach Plesac at MIN Devin Smeltzer: We can easily cross off both of these pitchers as they each have K rates well below 20% while both teams have implied totals pushing five runs. The Guardians have a couple of value bats that stick out in the rookie Oscar Gonzalez and a struggling, but very cheap Franmil Reyes as they take on a very low strikeout pitcher in Smeltzer. The Twins and Byron Buxton are one of the top stacks of the slate given Plesac’s struggles (6.48 xERA, xwOBA of .403). The stack is a bit easier to pull off on FanDuel where Max Kepler is only $2,500. Recently called-up top prospect Alex Kirilloff is a punt with power upside on both sites.

 

• STL Dakota Hudson at MIL Jason Alexander: The Brewers are giving George Costanza Alexander another start. Through four starts, it’s not been good, to say the least, with more walks than strikeouts, so the Cardinals could do some damage. Nolan Gorman is still a value on both sites. Hudson is another pitcher we can cross off given his 13.4% K rate. He’s been a little bit weaker against LHB for his career so there could be some interest in Christian Yelich and Rowdy Tellez, more so on Fanduel where their salaries are easier to get to.

 

• COL Kyle Freeland at MIA Braxton Garrett: Freeland carries an xERA of 5.00 and an xwOBA allowed of .362 into today’s start so there could be some interest in Marlins’ righties like Garrett Cooper, Jesús Aguilar, Jorge Soler, and Avisaíl García, who has shown signs of life lately. On DraftKings, if you want to just punt SP 2 Braxton Garrett is a way to do it. Good chance it ends in disappointment, but he’s cheap, and, hey, he posted 22.6 DK points against the Astros in his second appearance. Now watch the Road Rockies wreck the slate. I’m kidding! Kind of.

 

• SF Alex Wood at ATL Kyle Wright: Carlos Rodón shut down Atlanta last night, but they’re installed with an implied total of over five runs. Wood has been pretty decent with a 16.4% K-BB, but Atlanta does have the second-most home runs in baseball behind the Yankees so we know what they can do. They’re a great stack for tournaments. Kyle Wright is probably a little overpriced on DraftKings at $9,900 but given the lack of options in the bottom tier, there could be some merit in simply pairing him with Kershaw and filling out your lineup with a couple of cheap value bats. If you’re fading Wright, don’t forget Joc Pederson in tournaments.

 

• SEA Robbie Ray at OAK Frankie Montas: Robbie Ray is an excellent option available on FanDuel. He’s coming off a great start against the Angels (30.4% CSW%) and gets the Oakland A’s who have the worst team wOBA in baseball at .267. Yikes. Frankie Montas is the home underdog and at a near-even salary, he’s a pivot for tournaments.

 

 

 

Value Bats

 

 

Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)