It’s Tuesday June 4th and there is another great 10 game slate on deck for daily fantasy players. Looking over the slate as a whole, a few things stand out. There is a game in Coors with a CIN team that has suddenly broken out of their month-long slump. There are numerous pitchers to take advantage of including a rookie making their debut and a couple pitchers who are making their 3rd or 4th starts. Teams have been able to study these newer pitchers more and may have revealed ways to take advantage. I count 5 aces and one budding ace on the slate as well. Let’s break it down a bit more.
The Reds exploded for 13 runs in Coors last night and they should be very popular again. You can roster guys up and down their lineup. Don’t think you have to stack 1-5. BAL is in a good spot vs. TOR’s bullpen possibly led by Bowden Francis who has struggled with HRs. They have another lineup that you can roster players 1-9 and have a chance at scoring some HRs. NYY is in a good spot for HRs vs. Bailey Ober. ATL has a decent matchup in a very friendly hitters park. Kutter Crawford should still expect his 5.6% HR/FB to regress upward eventually.
The Cubs have a few hot hitters in Ian Happ and Michael Busch who shouldn’t have to worry much about Ks vs Chris Flexen. They could erupt tonight in the crosstown rivalry. ARI hits lefties well so some of their players should be explored for their matchup vs. Kyle Harrison. Finally, MIN has some hot hitters and they face Luis Gil. Gil is no slouch, but Yankee Stadium is a great place for HRs and Gil’s stellar ERA is supported by an unbelievably low babip and HR/FB rate. Gil also has some control issues. This is a spot I want to target because it will be low owned. It takes a fearless mindset to roster guys against the Yankees pitching right now.
Whatever spot you pick to target, be fearless and play for first place. Don’t be afraid to include cheaper players in your stack whose stats might not jump off the page. Look at guys hitting down in the order. One game of baseball can produce very random results, but you often need those to take down a tournament.
As for pitching, I would mix and match any of the following guys: Shota Imanaga, Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, George Kirby, Dane Dunning or Mitch Spence. See the write-ups below for some additional thoughts at each position and check my Twitter for a detailed look at the SPs and their Opponents for today.
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Max Fried, SP: $9,000 – A pitcher with a 63% ground ball rate is always a solid play, especially if they can avoid walks. Max Fried gets a positive K boost by facing a BOS team which has been striking out at a 28% clip vs. LHPs. This is not the most comfortable spot, but I expect Fried to put together a solid outing with a possible ceiling game tonight.
Mitch Spence, SP: $6,500 – DFS players have been picking on SEA all season because they have such a high K%. This play is based on the possible Ks at a low price tag. If Spence can get some swings and misses out of the zone (36% O-Swing%) and swK (12.3%) he should be able to put up a good DFS score at that price and playing in Oakland.
Tyler Stephenson, C: $4,500 – He hits in the middle of the lineup and has the platoon advantage tonight in Coors. Stephenson is cheap enough to play as a one off or as part of a stack tonight.
Ryan O’Hearn, 1B: $4,200 – He is only good vs RHPs, but he usually gets the full 4-5 at bats and his good plate discipline and power will play in this spot vs. the Jays bullpen. My only worry with rostering O’Hearn as a one-off are the two lefty RPs for TOR that could force O’Hearn out of the lineup earlier than expected.
Nolan Gorman, 2B: $3,700 – He is one of the hottest hitters right now, but the K rate is still high. Arrighetti is no match for Gorman as long as Gorman can get his bat on the ball.
Jose Miranda, 3B: $3,300 – Miranda is swinging the bat well right now as are a number of Twins batters. Miranda manages to keep the Ks low which he will need to do when facing Gil. Miranda will definitely be a part of my MIN stacks tonight and I will even play him as a one off piece.
Corey Seager, SS: $5,700 – Although the Rangers face one of the best strikeout pitchers of the season, Seager has been making extremely good contact lately. He has been too good to ignore and the stats are piling up in this recent hot streak. At some point soon Flaherty will not have as good of command of his pitches and he will start allowing contact rather than striking people out. He has been pitching great lately, but if there is any fall off, Seager will make him pay.
Ian Happ, OF: $3,900 – Happ is a streaky hitter and he is currently streaking. His price does not reflect his recent success and the crosstown rivalry is a great place for him to get his bat going in the middle of that Cubs lineup that is quickly getting healthy.
Alex Verdugo, OF: $4,300 – You will pay 2k more for the better players on the Yankees, but Verdugo is also an extremely hot hitter. If a pitcher like Bailey Ober gets smart and avoids Judge by walking him, Verdugo can make him pay.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
If the rain holds off at Wrigley for the game there should be some light wind out to left field helping those Cubs stacks. There are no other weather concerns on the slate.
Doing Lines In Vegas
I am excited that the Cubs have such a high expected total on this slate, but I am worried they will attract a lot of attention. I am confident they can win that first rivalry game, but 6 runs as a median outcome is pretty high. The total in Arizona is almost as high as the Coors Field total. This should make fading Coors a bit easier to do especially after the Reds erupted last night and will likely attract ownership. I like the over in that Arizona game as I am skeptical of the ARI starting pitcher and supportive of the ARI offense vs. lefty starters.
