Wednesday, June 22, is the first of two travel days this week with loads of afternoon baseball, culminating in a nine-game featured slate with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (6/22)
Top Stack: Chicago Cubs at RHP Jerad Eickhoff — 4.8 implied runs
The Stokastic Top Stacks Tool is highlighting the Cubs against Jerad Eickhoff as one of the better matchups on the mains slate. It is going to be warm and humid in Pittsburgh with temperatures in the low- to mid-80s and heavy humidity. There are rainstorms in the area, but the game looks like it should be able to be played in full.
Eickhoff spent most of his career with Philadelphia before landing on the Mets last year. This season Eickhoff has made 13 starts for Triple-A Indianapolis with mediocre results. At this point, Eickhoff is about as effective as a batting practice arm, and over his last 78 innings in The Show with New York and Philadelphia, he has allowed 3.12 home runs per nine innings.
The top half of the Chicago order does have above-average power, and their collective salaries are far from budget busters. Considering salary, position eligibility and potential production, the preferred order of preference is Willson Contreras, Ian Happ, Patrick Wisdom, Christopher Morel and Rafael Ortega.
Latest MLB DFS Content
- How to Use Stokastic’s MLB DFS Sims Tool to Maximize Your ROI
- Stokastic’s NEW MLB Package: Use What Our Pros Are Using to Win Big
- Today’s Top MLB DFS Game Environments: Cardinals-Dodgers & More Opening Day Magic (March 28)
- PrizePicks, Sleeper & Underdog Cheat Sheet: Best More/Less Picks Today for NBA, MLB & NHL (March 28)
- MLB DFS Contrarian Stacks Today: Ride with the Motor City Kitties in Tournaments (March 28)
- Stokastic DFS on Youtube
Late Slate: Los Angeles Angels vs. LHP Daniel Lynch — 4.8 implied runs
In the least surprising move of the day, the Stokastic Top Batters Tool is flagging Mike Trout and Taylor Ward as premier options in their matchup with Daniel Lynch. Consistency has been an issue for the 25-year-old southpaw who has four or fewer strikeouts in half of his starts. To his credit, he has allowed only nine home runs in 59 innings, though he does have a pair of outings where he suffered a trio of round-trippers.
Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to take the bump tonight, which means he will not be available as a hitter since DraftKings and FanDuel somehow have not incorporated the technology into their platforms to handle this, despite Ohtani having a dual role since 2018. This, of course, does take some of the luster away from the Halos with regards to a full stack.
Last night, Kansas City came away with a victory when the Angels were unable to score in the bottom of the 11th inning in the back-and-forth, 12-11 game. The Royals have just two southpaws in their bullpen and both saw action last night, as every reliever but Matt Peacock took the mound. This bodes well for Jared Walsh, who is serviceable in lefty/lefty matchups but thrives against opposite-handed hurlers. He is locked in right now and just missed the cycle last night, only failing to get a single. Juan Lagares and Andrew Velazquez are potential options to round out a full stack, depending on where they land in the batting order.
Early Slate: Miami Marlins vs. RHP Chad Kuhl — 4.5 implied runs
Chad Kuhl has had uneven performances this season, with walks typically being his undoing, along with above-average power allowed to opposite-handed hitters. Miami tends to be dismissed as a potent offense, though it has been a top-10 offense against right-handed hurlers, with a 113 wRC+ and a top-seven .173 ISO.
Though the Marlins are likely to roll with only two lefties this afternoon, Jesus Sanchez and Jazz Chisholm are two of their better hitters. Jorge Soler and Garrett Cooper are likely to be in their customary spots at the top of the order right behind Chisholm and both boast a double-digit walk rate against fellow righties, which gives them added potential as baserunners — key for any stack. Jesus Aguilar can also be used for full stacks as the cleanup hitter with light-tower power against pitchers of either-handedness.
Josh Engleman walks you through his MLB DFS process every day and tells you which contests are best to enter on a day-to-day basis.
Best MLB DFS Pitchers Today
Top Target: RHP Shohei Ohtani vs. Kansas City Royals — 3.2 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,500 | FanDuel $10,000
Shohei Ohtani grades out as a top-three pitcher tonight for the featured slate. The projected Kansas City lineup has a 23.5% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers since the beginning of last season, but they still have three hitters who strike out at a 17% clip or lower. Ohtani should be able to coax half a dozen strikeouts from this lineup, and with the Angels currently 2.5-to-1 favorites to secure the victory, he is clearly the best option on DraftKings and in the mix for those honors as well on FanDuel.
Secondary Target: RHP George Kirby at Oakland Athletics — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $6,600 | FanDuel $8,800
Tonight it will be back to cooler temperatures in Oakland, which bodes well for rookie George Kirby. The Athletics have not found much success against righties, with their 80 wRC+ ahead of only a dismal Detroit squad. Oakland also has the third-lowest power numbers, so as long as Kirby maintains his current form, he should be in line for the fourth quality start in his last five appearances.
Early Slate Target: RHP Zack Wheeler at Texas Rangers — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,500 | FanDuel $10,700
Zack Wheeler has allowed more than three runs only twice through a dozen starts, and he has ceded just three home runs on the season across 70.1 innings. Texas has been league average with a 97 wRC+ against right-handed hurlers and the eighth-highest strikeout rate at 23.3%. The roof should be closed in Arlington, further improving the likelihood of another solid performance from Wheeler.
Other Pitching Options
- RHP Mike Clevinger vs. Arizona Cardinals (Early)
- LHP Tyler Anderson at Cincinnati Reds (Early)
- RHP Adam Wainwright at Milwaukee Brewers (Main)
One-Off Hitters
- Yordan Alvarez vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (Early)
- Max Muncy at RHP Luis Castillo (Early)
- Bobby Dalbec vs. LHP Tarik Skubal (Main)
- Dan Vogelbach vs. RHP Keegan Thompson (Main)
- Eugenio Suarez at RHP Paul Blackburn (Late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Baltimore looks like the biggest risk, and with this game being the Battle of the Beltway against Washington, they could elect to make this up during a later joint off day when both are at home. There are going to be scattered storms around Pittsburgh, but it looks like the game should not be dramatically impacted today.
Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!
[MLBPAGE]