MLB DFS: Wednesday, June 26 has a plethora of DFS action with game sets at 1pm, 3pm, 7pm and 8pm on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before you lock in your fantasy baseball lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s MLB rankings and projections. Not a member? Sign up HERE and use Promo Code: MLBSTACKS for 50% off any one month subscription.
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Greetings Gamers! This should be a fun one with games seemingly all day along with several aces and some gas cans who are just waiting for a match.
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Early Slate
Boston Red Sox vs. RHP Reynaldo Lopez – 6.1 implied runs
We live in a new world where the run totals keep climbing and it does not even have to be Coors Field or a 100 day in Arlington. The Yankees got a price break across the board on DraftKings and they will likely continue to be popular, which makes looking to the BoSox who are more expensive, at least a bit of game theory move… on Yahoo and FanDuel the key batters are similarly priced and both in great matchups.
RHP Reynaldo Lopez has had a few moments of fantasy goodness with a couple 25+ fantasy point performances (DraftKings scoring). But more often than not he has been making opposing batters look good with a 6.23 ERA, 1.57 WHIP with 21 home runs allowed which is the third most this season and his 46 since the beginning of last year is the sixth highest total.
Over his last 613 lefties and 574 righties faced, Lopez is allowing a .338/.334 wOBA, .194/.195 ISO and the home runs have been split 23/23. My order of preference considering price, position eligibility and projected production will be J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Nunez.
Afternoon Slate
Los Angeles Dodgers at RHP Taylor Clarke – 5.6 implied runs
Even with the Chase Field roof slated to be closed and the humidor in effect, we have a lofty implied run total for the Dodgers. That is both a testament to their outstanding left-handed hitters and the marginal performances that RHP Taylor Clarke has displayed in his seven starts this season. He’s lasted a grand total of 30.1 innings (he had a 3.0 inning save at the end of April in his first appearance this season) which gives him 33.1 innings with a 6.48 ERA, 1.560 WHIP, 28 strike outs and eight, YES EIGHT home runs allowed which would put him on pace for about FIFTY if he was a full-time starter making 32-35 starts.
Clarke has not displayed much swing and miss stuff since being promoted to AAA with just 148 strikeouts in 185.5 innings for Reno over the last two seasons. Heading into this season he barely cracked the top twenty prospect list in the Diamondbacks organization.
With a .434 wOBA / .319 ISO to 87 lefties that is where I want to start, though do not fret about using some of the Dodgers swinging the stick from the right-side of the plate as in his 66 R/R matchups this season, Clarke has allowed a .387 wOBA and a .286 ISO. Cody Bellinger is spendy, but in an amazing situation. Alex Verdugo and Joc Pederson may not have to worry about being lifted for a pinch hitter with the Arizona bullpen pretty well used over the weekend. Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and whomever draws the start as the backstop are all fine options on the all-day or afternoon only slates.
Main Slate
Philadelphia Phillies vs. LHP Jason Vargas – 5.6 implied runs
This is a nice right-handed heavy team that we can use to target against 36-year old journeyman Jason Vargas. He has been living on borrowed time with a 3.75 ERA and 1.33 WHIP compared to his 5.03 xFIP. Scott Kingery has been on an absolute tear and if he is batting at the top of the order, and don’t let that lofty price tag keep home out of your lineups. J.T. Realmuto is a great way to fill the catcher requirement. We know that Rhys Hoskins is outstanding against southpaws and Bryce Harper and Jay Bruce can more than hold their own from a power perspective against a fellow lefty who allows more than his share of fly balls. Lastly, Mikael Franco is having a fine season now that there is no pressure on him at the bottom of the order and he makes for an interesting differentiation option.
With the way pricing is on Wednesday, we could see gamers talking themselves into taking a chance on Jason Vargas in tournaments as an SP2 so there is a less than zero chance this could be a minor leverage stack.
Late Slate
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs RHP Tanner Roark – 4.9 implied runs
Props to RHP Tanner Roark who has been on a much better performance track than I was giving him credit for this season (full disclosure, I am a Nationals fan and did enjoy having him pitch for the team for several seasons). Amazingly, he has his strikeout rate at one per inning and he has allowed just six home runs in 80.1 innings with three at home in the batters haven that is the Great American Ballpark and three on the road.
With five games on the 8 o’clock slate there are enough options that we could see the Halos melt into the mix which is just fine by me, particularly with Roark being very effective against right-handed hitters, gamers may not be overly enthralled to roll with the Angels outside of Shohei Ohtani and of course Mike Trout. Do not be afraid to augment with Kole Calhoun, even though that will fill the final outfield slot, he has been in the midst of an excellent run since his brief demotion to AAA last year to “clear his head” and there is a decent chance that Justin Bour and Tommy La Stella may receive prominent spots in the batting order as lefties.
Of course, please do stop by our Awesemo YouTube channel for loads of FREE MLB DFS content, including fantasy MLB lineup advice on The Strategy Show with Josh Engleman and Loughy, as well as MLB picks on Four Corners with Chris Spags, and the MLB Deep Dive with Awesemo, Loughy and ShipMyMoney, where they’ll discuss Awesemo’s MLB rankings.