MLB DFS Playbook June 13: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Jun 13, 2023
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
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 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 7th in the league amongst qualified pitchers. The Milwaukee Brewers also hold the 4th 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 5th 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
Houston Astros vs Patrick Corbin
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 4th highest OPS in June and the 7th highest since May 1st 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 2nd in AVG, 4th in OBP, and 3rd 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
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Stacks
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