MLB DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Saturday (6/25)

This has been a weird week. All of my pitching in my season-long leagues has been a disaster, but the hitting has been incredible. That’s where we’re at right now in the landscape of the whole league, with the offenses doing some severe damage right now. That’s natural at this time of the season, and it should continue through the summer months. With that said, we like the pitchers on this slate, so let’s start there!

Starting Pitcher Rankings

Starting Pitcher Strategy

There aren’t any true aces toeing the rubber on this slate, but we have a ton of mid-tier arms. That always makes lineup construction easier because we don’t have to pay $10K for two different pitchers. All of that has us in a good spot for this slate, so let’s kick things off with my favorite pitcher in the pool!

Cash Game Recommendations:

Logan Gilbert (SEA) at LAA

Gilbert isn’t quite an ace yet, but he’s not far away. The Seattle right-hander has a 2.28 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in what’s been a breakout season, striking out 82 batters across 83 innings. His consistency is equally as outstanding, allowing four runs or fewer in all 14 starts, scoring at least 11 DraftKings points in each of those. The Angels are far from scary, too, owning the worst K rate in baseball.

Logan Webb (SF) vs. CIN

Webb got off to a slow start this season, but he’s starting to find it. The San Fran slinger has a 2.86 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 8.6 K/9 rate over his last eight starts. That’s the stud we saw last season, and he should keep it going at home. He’s got a 2.77 ERA and 1.16 WHIP at home since the start of last season and gets to face a Reds team that ranks 20th in OBP and 21st in wOBA. Not to mention, he enters this matchup as a -240 favorite.

GPP Recommendations:

Chris Bassitt (NYM) at MIA

Pitching in Miami is one of the best spots out there. Not only is Marlins Park one of the most pitcher-friendly venues around, but Miami also has one of the worst offenses in baseball. We’re talking about a guy with at least 19 DK points in 10 of his 14 starts, posting a 1.87 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 10.2 K/9 rate in those outings. One of those was against the Marlins, in which Chris collected a season-high nine Ks.

Brad Keller (KC) vs. OAK

This is the riskiest option of the bunch, but it’s tough to fade any solid pitcher against Oakland. Let’s start there, with the A’s ranked bottom-three in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA. We love that with Keller’s recent form, scoring a season-high 29.4 DK points in his most recent outing. That was actually against this atrocious A’s lineup, and he could be in for another gem with how bad Oakland is playing.

Top Lineup Stacks

San Francisco Giants (vs. Mike Minor)

• Home (AT&T Park)
• Value: High
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 8 Runs/SF -240

Using the Giants has been the most profitable stack in DFS since the start of last season. This is one of the highest-scoring lineups in baseball, but many of their hitters are undervalued because they don’t have any big-name players. That shouldn’t sway you away, though, with Mike Minor maintaining a 6.97 ERA and 1.50 WHIP this season.

Minnesota Twins (vs. Antonio Senzatela)

• Home (Target Field)
• Value: Medium
• Risk: Medium
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/MIN -180

As someone who watches the Rockies far too often, I can tell you that Senzatela is a sensational matchup for any offense. The Rockies righty has a 4.42 ERA and 1.75 WHIP this season. That WHIP is one of the worst in baseball, and it’s really rough news with the Twins ranked sixth in OBP.

Kansas City Royals (vs. Jared Koenig)

• Home (Kauffman Stadium)
• Value: High
• Risk: High
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/KC -180

You could stack against Oakland’s pitching staff every day. This team is in full-on rebuild mode, and they send out Double-A arms every time out. Koenig is certainly one of them, compiling a 6.59 ERA and 1.76 WHIP. Kansas City is one of the worst offenses around, but they have a ton of value and can go off in a matchup like this.

Core Studs

• Soto is actually in a disastrous slump right now, but it’s lowered his price way too much. This is still a .450 OBP and 1.000 OPS All-Star, and it’s just a matter of time before he gets back to that player. Getting to face a Texas team that’s going with a bullpen game could be the way to get him back on track.
• Hoskins is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. He’s got a .345 AVG, .441 OBP, .70 SLG, and 1.148 OPS over his last 16 games. We love that paired with his sensational splits, posting a .401 OBP, .620 SLG, and 1.021 OPS against left-handers since 2020.
• Renfroe is always a favorite of mine when he faces lefties. The slugging outfielder has a .342 OBP, .542 SLG, and .869 OPS against lefties since 2020. This is not a scary southpaw either, facing Yusei Kikuchi‘s 4.94 ERA and 1.52 WHIP.
• Witt got off to a slow start this season, but he’s crushing it now. The Rookie of the Year candidate has a .333 AVG, .593 SLG, and .959 OPS over his last 14 games. He’s also swiped two bags in that span and is expected to be a 30-steal player if he gets on base at this rate. Getting the platoon advantage against Koenig is the icing on the cake.
• Arraez is leading baseball with a .349 AVG, and he continues to do damage atop this lineup. He’s actually got his OBP just shy of .450, and that’s terrible news for Senzatela’s sky-high WHIP.

Value Plays/Punts

• Ruf is always a stud when he faces a lefty. This dude bats cleanup in these spots, and it’s easy to understand why. Ruf has registered a .384 OBP, .557 SLG, and .942 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor since 2020. It’s not like we’re concerned about Minor’s menacing averages mentioned above.
• Kepler has been clobbering righties throughout his career, and it’s hard to understand why he remains so affordable. The lefty masher has a .806 OPS against them since 2020. That makes him an easy pairing in this Twins stack.
• Whit is having one of his worst fantasy seasons, but if we love the Royals, we have to use Merrifield. This guy bats leadoff for this lineup and is usually a .300 AVG and 40-steal player. That seems more likely in this matchup, especially with Whit tallying a .288 AVG since the beginning of the month.
• McCutchen and Renfroe is my favorite two-man stack of the day. These two are way too cheap, and both guys have been slaughtering southpaws throughout their careers. In fact, Cutch has a .381 OBP, .551 SLG, and .939 OPS against them since 2020.
• Baez has been horrible for most of the season, but he’s starting to find it now. Over the last six games played, Baez has two doubles, four homers, and nine RBI. That scorching form makes him tough to fade against Zach Davies, who’s got a 5.17 ERA and 1.47 WHIP since the start of last season.

Hitter Strategy

This is going to be a fun slate for lineup construction. We have so much value from a hitting perspective that you can build your lineups however you please. Teams like the Royals, Twins, Tigers, Giants, and Brewers all have a ton of value, and you should be able to stack these teams however you please. I prefer to create multiple lineups and mix-and-match these teams because they pair beautifully with the pitchers mentioned above.

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.