While writing today’s fantasy baseball daily round up, there is an old adage that struck me right in the face. Baseball is such a humbling sport. In a game that saw Trea Turner, Kris Bryant, Freddie Freeman, and Tyler Anderson, it was Chad Kuhl of the Colorado Rockies who stole the show by firing a complete game shutout against the Dodgers. We continue to see prospects shine, as Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz hit his first home run of the 2022 season, and Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquantino finally got the call after the Royals finally traded Carlos Santana away. In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright dominated the Marlins at home, and we take a quick look at whether or not Juan Yepez should be a priority fantasy baseball waiver wire pick up if he’s available in your league. While Manny Machado continues to work his way back onto the field for the San Diego Padres, the Cleveland Guardians are wondering what has happened to Triston McKenzie in the month of June. Keep reading to see what simple adjustment could be made to help McKenzie return to the best version of himself. As we put a bow on the Monday news and action from Major League Baseball, we will look ahead to Tuesday’s slate, and I’ll give you my favorite player prop to attack, as well as one major league baseball betting line that stands out above the rest. Be sure to use the MLB weather report and the confirmed MLB lineups pages to help build your MLB daily fantasy baseball lineups for Tuesday, June 28th.

 

 

 


Fantasy Baseball MLB News

Oneil Cruz Hits First Home Run in 2022

 


It may have taken a bit longer than we might have anticipated, but it surely ended up being everything we wanted it to be. You know, just your casual 23-year-old year old hitting a home run with a 109.8 miles per hour exit velocity, 19 degree launch angle, traveling 408 feet and leaving the stadium in what felt like 3.2 seconds.
 

 

Cruz’s raw power and game power is exceptional and now that he got the first home run of the year under his belt, he very well could go on an absolute power binge. The power will come, but fantasy baseball managers would likely be stoked if his strikeout rate didn’t exceed its current mark of 25 percent. Don’t worry, that .188 BABIP will come around.

 

Mariners Acquire Carlos Santana from Royals

 


In a move that has needed to happen for a while now, the Royals finally traded Carlos Santana so that they now longer feel compelled to force his name onto the lineup card. Santana will serve as a bench bat for the Mariners moving forward, so there’s no fantasy value to be gained or lost with Santana. The Royals received two prospect arms in Wyatt Mills and William Fleming in this deal. Mills has a career 7.59 ERA and 17:10 K/BB ratio in 21.1 innings at the major league level, while Fleming has yet to play above A-Ball, but has a 4.52 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 89.2 innings of work in the minors. In terms of fantasy value from this trade, the biggest winners were those not in the deal, but mainly..
 

Vinnie Pasquantino Gets the Call!

 


In the latest edition of a prospect getting a call to the show, Kansas City will bring up professional hitter Vinny Pasquantino to help add some thump to the Kansas City lineup. He’s an excellent hitter who hit .310 with 11 home runs in 55 games at Double-A last year, and prior to the promotion this year, Pasquantino was hitting .280 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI in 69 games. He has excellent command of the plate, and over the past two years in the minors, he has 101 walks to 100 strikeouts. There could be some growing pains upon his call up as he gets adjusted, but he’s a guy that figures to hit for a good average, show some solid pop, and not strike out a ton, which is arguably the perfect fit for this Kansas City lineup. While his price tag will be low in DFS to start, as a lefty, will the Royals start him against southpaws, as he was hitting just .250 against them in the minors prior to the call up this season. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but more so something to monitor in the first couple of days and games.
 

Kevin Gausman Pitches Well… At Home?

 


Hey, whatever it takes, Kevin! Gausman has some pretty wicked home/road splits this year, and yesterday’s outing was quite encouraging, considering he had allowed five or more runs in each of his last two home starts. In arguably what may have been the best start of his 2022 season, Gausman fired seven shutout innings, striking out 10 Red Sox in the process. While Gausman may not be having a Cy Young caliber season, he’s dominated Boston this season, allowing just one run (zero earned) in 21 innings of work with a 27:2 K/BB ratio. There was some concern of late that he was tipping pitches, so of course, what does Gausman do? You got it. Find a big glove.

 

I’m all for doing whatever it takes for success, and if it means looking funny with a cartoon-sized glove, so be it! 

 

Adam Wainwright Continues Dominance at Home

 


If you want to talk about home/road splits, Adam Wainwright is your guy, as his 3.83 ERA pales in comparison to his 2.25 ERA at home. Beyond that, he’s allowed an OBP of just .290 at home compared to .328 on the road, as well as a wOBA that is nearly 60 points lower at home. When opponents don’t put the bat on the ball, Wainwright walks fewer batters at home, and his strikeout rate is nearly eight percentage points higher. For comparison’s sake, in terms of strikeout percentage, he’s Tony Gonolin or Justin Verlander at home, and Chris Flexen or Kyle Hendricks on the road. DFS players know this very well. Wainwright’s nine strikeouts were the second most he’s accrued in a start all season and yesterday’s outing marks the third time this month that he was able to complete seven innings of work.

 

Is Juan Yepez Worth a Roster Spot?

 


Yepez homered twice yesterday and has back-to-back games with home runs, not to mention five total for the month of June with a .288/.310/.576 slash line. Even during this hotter streak, his OBP is rather low, so that dings him a bit in leagues that value OBP compared to batting average. Yepez has boasted top-end exit velocity, with a max exit velocity coming in at the 95th percentile, but his average exit velocity clocks in at just the 23rd percentile. I have my concerns with Yepez, particularly that he’s outperforming all of his expected statistics and his plate discipline might get him in some trouble as there is more tape on him. Yepez has good pull-side power and batted ball metrics, but there are going to be some growing pains, especially if some of his numbers start to regress to the mean, and he doesn’t cut down on that hefty 38.2 percent O-Swing rate. While he’s swinging a hot bat, sure, he can be rostered, but I wouldn’t hesitate to trade him for someone of value if the opportunity presents itself.

 

Triston McKenzie’s Rough June Continues

 


It’s been a rough June for McKenzie to say the least, as he’s gone 1-2 through five starts with a 6.44 ERA (6.57 FIP, 4.69 xFIP) with a horrible 3.07 HR/9. As a guy that doesn’t induce a ton of ground balls, home runs are a nature of his arsenal, as seen by his career 1.66 HR/9 mark, but that mark skyrocketed up to 3.07 HR/9 in June. He made five starts in the month of June, and he allowed multiple home runs in all but one of those starts, and the one he didn’t allow any long balls was his start at Coors Field, because go figure. Interestingly enough, it looks like he threw his curveball less this month in favor of using his slider more, but his curve has been his best pitch from a statistical perspective.
 


 


 

Chad Kuhl Blanks Dodgers at Coors Field

 


I know the first game at Coors Field can sometimes be a bit lower scoring or less of a fireworks display than many expect, but come on now! What the hell was this? A game featuring Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, and the return of Kris Bryant, and Chad Kuhl is the star of the show? Only in baseball, I tell ya. After allowing 11 earned runs over his last 14.1 innings of work against the Marlins, Guardians, and Padres, Kuhl of course threw a three-hit shutout with five strikeouts against the powerhouse Dodgers. Kuhl has a 3.38 ERA (3.85 FIP, 4.86 xFIP) here in the month of June and of course, his ERA at Coors Field of 2.48 is better than his 4.39 mark on the road. Why? Well, because of course it is! I’m not sure what exactly it is, but his ground ball rate is over eight percentage points higher at home than on the road, and no matter how deadly that Colorado air is, if the ball is getting beat into the ground, the chances of significant damage are lessened. Based on the splits, you should only start Kuhl at Coors Field, which goes against pretty much every instinct in the mind of any fantasy baseball manager.

 

Tuesday’s Best Bets

Zack Wheeler OVER 6.5 Strikeouts (-150 DraftKings Sportsbook)

 


The Braves have the eighth-highest strikeout rate over the last two weeks, coming in at a 24.2 percent mark. Overall against right-handers in 2022, only the Angels have a higher strikeout rate than the Braves, and this Atlanta team is a favorite of mine to target strikeout props against, usually to the over. Wheeler has a 28.3 percent strikeout rate on the year, and a 30.1 percent strikeout rate over his last four starts, which includes a contest with just three strikeouts in seven innings of work against Washington. Wheeler has at least seven strikeouts in nine of his last 10 starts, and earlier this year against the Braves, he racked up 10 strikeouts in just 6.2 innings.


 

Pittsburgh Pirates OVER 3.5 Runs Scored (-135 Bet MGM)

 


A lot of the Pirates’ offensive numbers against lefties aren’t all that enticing, so this is more so a knock against Patrick Corbin and his horrendous numbers on the season. He’s 3-10 on the year with a 6.60 ERA and he has allowed 19 runs (12 earned) on 31 hits over his last 19.1 innings. Of those 31 hits, six of them have sailed over the fence. There is some pop in the Pittsburgh lineup that can prevail, and while Corbin did pitch well against the Pirates in April, I’m not afraid to bet on the Pirates scoring four or more runs, considering that Corbin has allowed more than four runs total himself in five of his last nine starts.

 

 

 


Fantasy Alarm is the home of expert MLB Fantasy content. We also bring you all of the best online sportsbook free bets & promo codes and fantasy sports bonuses. 

 

Related MLB Links: