FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 6/19/21
The beauty of daily fantasy baseball is that the top targets are different each and every day. Whether it's the right-handed catcher who destroys left-handed pitching or the mid-range hurler facing a depleted lineup, you're not going to find yourself using the same assets time after time.
While this breaks up the monotony, it can make it hard to decide which players are primed to succeed on a given day. We can help bridge that gap.
In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy-looking team to put up some big point totals.
If you need help getting started on that trek, here are some of the top options on the board today. We'll be focusing exclusively on the main slate.
Pitching Breakdown
I have my sights locked in on Walker Buehler ($11,000 on FanDuel) as the slate's top hurler.
Buehler gets a friendly matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team sporting 3.78 implied total. Buehler hasn't offered massive upside this year, with just one game of more than 46 FanDuel points, which was a 52-point outing. But he's been remarkably consistent and produced a steady floor, going for at least 33 FanDuel points in nine of his last 10 games. On a night without any slam-dunk options, Buehler offers the best floor/ceiling combination.
After Buehler, things fall off significantly in my eyes. While Framber Valdez ($10,200) and Lance Lynn ($10,500) need to be on our radar, both have difficult matchups. Patrick Sandoval ($7,800) checks some boxes and is my number-two pitcher on this slate.
The matchup is definitely there as Sandoval gets the Detroit Tigers, a team that ranks 24th in wOBA (.297) with the highest strikeout rate (27.6%). Detroit boasts a lowly 3.78 implied total. Sandoval has thrown just 33 1/3 MLB frames in 2021, but he's done fairly well, recording a 4.13 SIERA and 22.1% strikeout rate. His eye-popping 17.1% swinging-strike rate means he should be in line for a few more punchouts, and he's gotten up to 94 and 101 pitches in his last two outings.
It's scary to say this, but I think I have Austin Gomber ($8,000) as the slate's number-three arm despite him pitching in Coors. Gomber has low-key been pretty dang good this season, pitching to a 3.91 SIERA and 24.4% strikeout rate. He's permitting just a .204 wOBA at Coors, and his matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers is a good one. The Brew Crew sit 28th in wOBA (.293) with the third-highest strikeout rate (26.6%).
Stacks to Target
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are at home against Adrian Houser. Houser isn't a bad pitcher, but he's generating a meager 19.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% swinging-strike rate this year. Giving up a lot of balls in play at Coors rarely ends well for pitchers.
Anyone in the Rockies' lineup is worth a look, and their 5.33 implied total is a slate-high clip
Raimel Tapia ($3,600) will likely leadoff, and Yonathan Daza ($3,200) has been hitting second. Daza posted a .352 wOBA in May and has a .365 wOBA this month. Brendan Rodgers ($3,300), Ryan McMahon ($4,000) and Charlie Blackmon ($3,900) should be in the heart of the lineup. Rodgers had a pair of doubles on Friday and has racked up a .405 wOBA with three dingers in June. C.J. Cron ($3,700) is enjoying hitting at Coors in his first year with Colorado, sporting a .400 wOBA with seven jacks in 117 plate apperances at home,
Los Angeles Dodgers
Rookie Matt Peacock owns a 15.6% strikeout rate and 7.0% swinging-strike rate over 39 1/3 innings. He's got a tall task in front of him tonight as he goes up against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's a small sample, but lefties have mauled Peacock to the tune of a .428 wOBA and 6.0% strikeout rate in his brief career. While injuries have depleted a lot of LA's lefty pop, Gavin Lux ($2,900) and Matt Beaty ($2,200) hit second and fourth, respectively, the last time the Dodgers saw a righty while Zach McKinstry ($2,400) was slotted sixth.
We don't have to limit ourselves to left-handed sticks, though, so Justin Turner ($3,900), Chris Taylor ($3,400) and Mookie Betts ($4,200) are firmly in play. Betts has a 40.0% hard-hit rate and 51.1% fly-ball rate in June. In righty-righty matchups this year, Taylor carries a .352 wOBA.
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels will see Wily Peralta tonight. Peralta is listed as the expected starter but probably won't be out there for an extended outing as he hasn't pitched more than five innings in any of his six minor league starts this season. His last start in the bigs came back in 2019, when he finished the campaign with 5.58 SIERA and 13.6% strikeout rate. After Peralta, it'll be a Detroit 'pen that holds the fifth-worst reliever SIERA (4.20).
Shohei Ohtani ($4,400) and Jared Walsh ($3,800) are the standout plays for the Halos. Ohtani went double-dong last night and has a .417 wOBA and 43.0% hard-hit rate this year with the platoon advantage. He's also got a .463 wOBA at home. Walsh has tagged righties for .439 wOBA and 42.7% hard-hit rate.
Justin Upton ($3,400) has been leading off and is on fire right now, notching three hits on Friday and amassing a .478 wOBA and 47.6% hard-hit rate in June. Max Stassi ($3,600) is another guy on a heater, registering a .496 wOBA and 48.3% hard-hit rate this month, while Anthony Rendon ($3,700) could make his return from injury on Saturday.
