MLB DFS Playbook June 13: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel

Happy Tuesday! No day baseball today, but that means you have plenty of time to get your lineups set for today’s main slate. We have almost every team in today’s slate of games that is set to kick off at 7:05 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The only teams not featured on today’s slate are the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers, who are playing at 6:40 PM; so sorry no Spencer Strider in your DFS lineups today. Some other big names are taking the mound today though, including Zack Wheeler, Max Scherzer, and Corbin Burnes. There are a lot of lower-end pitchers taking the mound today as well, so there should be no shortage of offenses to choose from today. With so many games on the slate, it can be overwhelming figuring out how to put your DFS lineups together, so let’s dive into the playbook to help you create some winning lineups whether you are playing cash games or gpp tournaments. Be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS rostership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

MLB DFS Playbook June 13

MLB Weather Updates

Two games with a chance of rain to keep an eye on; make sure to monitor as we approach game time:

Colorado Rockies vs Boston Red Sox

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs (This rain is a bit worse than the other game, would consider avoiding it with plenty of other options today)

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There are a lot of different directions you could go with lineup construction today. While all of the 4 top priced pitchers are fantastic with Hunter Brown, Zack Wheeler, Corbin Burnes, and Max Scherzer (Slightly different on FanDuel where George Kirby gets the top spot and Scherzer is much cheaper), I think there are some slightly cheaper options today that I love who still provide great upside but help you save some money for the hitting side. If you really want to go cheap on the pitching side, I like the low-cost plays of Luis Ortiz, Brandon Williamson, and Jameson Taillon, but those come with a lot more risk and not quite as much upside. As far as offense goes, you have endless possibilities there as well. My favorite offenses to target today though are the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Astros, with plenty of others worth looking at for single plays or larger stacks.  

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Pablo Lopez vs Milwaukee Brewers

Hunter Brown vs Washington Nationals

Max Scherzer vs New York Yankees

Zack Wheeler vs Arizona Diamondbacks

Best Odds for a Win

Hunter Brown vs Washington Nationals

Kutter Crawford vs Colorado Rockies

Tony Gonsolin vs Chicago White Sox

Joe Musgrove vs Cleveland Guardians

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners

If you are playing on FanDuel, George Kirby is your top-priced pitcher, so I would probably go with a different play instead of having to pay up for him, but with his price on DraftKings, he is my favorite pitching play. The strikeouts have been up and down this season, but he still has great strikeout upside on any given day. He has also had a tough stretch of matchups lately, with his last 6 opponents being the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres. Despite that tough stretch, he has a 3.89 ERA in those 6 games, along with an 8.51 K/9. Getting to take on the Miami Marlins in Seattle should be a walk in the park for him after that stretch of games. 

Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres

Joe Musgrove got a late start to the season that had a bit of a rough start, with his second start being the rough game he had to pitch in Mexico City. He has gotten going since then and has looked more like typical Joe Musgrove. In his last 3 starts, he has put up 17 strikeouts in 17.1 innings while only giving up 2 earned runs and holding a 0.98 WHIP. He racked up a season-high of 8 strikeouts in his last outing against the Seattle Mariners as well. He is priced way too low today for the upside he provides facing the Cleveland Guardians. 

Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins

Pablo Lopez has been excellent for the Minnesota Twins this season. The 4.25 ERA doesn’t do justice to how good of a pitcher he has been. A lot of the runs he has given up have been in just a few games and he has given up 2 or fewer runs in 8 of his 13 starts. Even in his games where he has given up more runs, he has still been striking guys out as he has a career-high 28.6 K% on the season, which is 7^th in the league amongst qualified pitchers. The Milwaukee Brewers also hold the 4^th highest K% in the league, so there is plenty of upside in this matchup today.  

Luis Severino, New York Yankees

This is a risky one, but the price is low enough for me to want to take that risk with the upside he provides. The velocity has been down the last two starts, which have been terrible, but he doesn’t seem to be injured, so I am hoping this is just a bad stretch that he bounces back from today against the New York Mets. He still got 6 strikeouts in his last outing against the Chicago White Sox but the 3 home runs hurt him once again. This is only his 5^th start of the season, so I am willing to give some extra leeway and hope that this is just him getting ramped up still. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Boston Red Sox vs Chase Anderson

Kansas City Royals vs Brandon Williamson

Texas Rangers vs Jaime Barria

Houston Astros vs Patrick Corbin

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Ty France, 1B Seattle Mariners

Ty France has been crushing the ball so far in June. He is currently on an 8-game hitting streak during which he has 5 multi-hit games and has amassed 15 hits, including 5 doubles and a home run. Edward Cabrera has been pitching well but has gotten to face the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals in his last two starts, so the Seattle Mariners and Ty France should provide a much bigger challenge for him today. 

Nolan Arenado, 3B St. Louis Cardinals

Remember when people were worried about how Nolan Arenado was hitting? Just the millionth lesson on being patient when it comes to baseball, especially with established stars like Arenado. He has the 4^th highest OPS in June and the 7^th highest since May 1^st in the entire league. He has 11 hits in his last 7 games, including 3 home runs, a triple, and two doubles. Alex Cobb has been pitching well but not anywhere close to the level that Arenado has been hitting. If you can find a way to afford Nolan Arenado in your lineup, he is worth paying up for (also, on FanDuel, he is criminally cheap). 

Corey Seager, SS Texas Rangers

Corey Seager has been the best-hitting shortstop in the league while healthy this year and it isn’t particularly close. Corey Seager leads all shortstops with at least 150 plate appearances in AVG, OBP, and SLG. Not only shortstops but of all batters, he is 2^nd in AVG, 4^th in OBP, and 3^rd in SLG. He has been incredible for the Texas Rangers, and he should be the most expensive shortstop almost every day. On DraftKings, there are 5 shortstops more expensive than him, and while he is still expensive, this is still enough of a discount for me to want to get him in every lineup I can with how good he has been hitting this season. 

Joc Pederson, OF San Francisco Giants

Joc Pederson has two 4 hit games in his last 3 starts. On Sunday, he had two home runs as a part of his 4-hit game. I shouldn’t need to tell you how good Joc Pederson is against right-handed pitching. Jack Flaherty has been pitching quite well lately after a few rough outings earlier in the season, but he is still a candidate for a blowup and the Giants are quite good against right-handers as a team. While I am not going to bet on him having another 4 hits or 2 home runs this game, I am willing to bet that he does enough to provide great value at his price in this matchup. 

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	SP	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Corbin Burnes $10,200	Freddie Freeman $4,500	Mookie Betts $4,200	Max Muncy $3,700	Corey Seager $4,400	Corbin Carroll $4,300
	Zack Wheeler $10,600					Randy Arozarena $3,900
	George Kirby $10,800					Fernando Tatis $4,500
	Hunter Brown $10,000
Medium	Pablo López $9,800	Paul Goldschmidt $3,600	Thairo Estrada $3,500	Nolan Arenado $3,200	Wander Franco $3,900	Joc Pederson $3,200
	Max Scherzer $9,400					Luis Robert $3,400
	Joe Musgrove $8,500					Jack Suwinski $3,300
Low	Luis Severino $7,100	Ty France $2,900	Luis Arraez $2,900	Ke'Bryan Hayes $3,000	Gunnar Henderson $3,000	Daulton Varsho $2,900
	Luis L. Ortiz $6,700					Ji Hwan Bae $2,800
	Brandon Williamson $7,000					Jordan Walker $2,900
	Jameson Taillon $6,300

Stacks

Cardinals	Paul Goldschmidt	Nolan Gorman	Brendan Donovan	Nolan Arenado
DraftKings	5400	4700	2900	5100
Fanduel	3600	3600	2700	3200

Giants	Thairo Estrada	Joc Pederson	Michael Conforto
DraftKings	5300	4400	4500
Fanduel	3500	3200	3200

Pirates	Jack Suwinski	Ji Hwan Bae	Ke'Bryan Hayes
DraftKings	3700	3000	4100
Fanduel	3300	2800	3000

Rangers	Nathaniel Lowe	Marcus Semien	Corey Seager
DraftKings	4000	5400	5300
Fanduel	3300	4100	4400

Rays	Wander Franco	Jose Siri	Randy Arozarena	Harold Ramírez	Isaac Paredes
DraftKings	5900	4100	5700	4200	4200
Fanduel	3900	3500	3900	3100	3200