On this final Monday of June, Major League Baseball is ready to start the work week with nine fresh new series set to get underway on the main fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings. Three of the nine matchups are divisional contests as the Red Sox visit the Blue Jays in the AL East, the Twins and Guardians go head to head in The Land, and the Rockies welcome the Dodgers to Coors Field. After Sunday’s brawl, the Angels and Mariners are back in action in the two late games as they host the White Sox and Orioles, respectively.
With 18 teams in action, there are several great options at each spot in the player pool. You can keep tabs on all the latest availability news and player updates by installing the DK Live app and following DK Live on Twitter (@dklive). I’m also available on Twitter (@ZT_Sports).
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For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.
PITCHER
Stud
Martín Pérez, Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals ($8,900) – Based on the scheduled SP, this should be an offense-heavy slate. There are major red flags with just about every option due to recent form, matchup or specific splits. Rather than spend all the way up, it makes sense to target Pérez since he comes at a bit of a discount, has good recent results and has a favorable matchup. Pérez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his past 12 starts, averaging 21.25 DKFP with a 1.47 ERA and 2.52 FIP. He was hammered on the road by the White Sox in his one outlier during that stretch but bounced back with strong showings against the Tigers (19 DKFP) and Phillies (24.1 DKFP) in his two most recent starts. He doesn’t have a great strikeout rate (7.32 K/9), but he has been effective enough to overlook that deficiency on this slate. The Royals rank in the bottom five of runs, home runs and ISO in the Majors, so it should be a favorable spot for the veteran lefty.
Other Options – Kevin Gausman ($9,800), Pablo López ($9,100)
Value
Jordan Montgomery, New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics ($8,000) – There are a lot of similarities between Pérez and Montgomery, and I think the pair of lefties are clearly the best two SP on the slate. Montgomery has pitched at least six innings in six straight starts, compiling a 2.58 ERA and 4.01 FIP while averaging 17.7 DKFP per outing. He struggled against the Rays in his most recent outing but should be in a great bounce-back spot against the Athletics who have scored an MLB-low 60 runs in June, averaging 2.7 runs per game while hitting just .206 as a team. Montgomery has been very good at Yankee Stadium this season, where he has held opponents to a .200 average with a 2.61 home ERA. Weather could be a factor, but if the game goes as scheduled, he’ll be a strong play at $8K.
Other Options – George Kirby ($7,100), Noah Syndergaard ($6,900)
INFIELD
Stud
José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins ($5,600) – There are three elite plays at 3B who are all playing well, but I’m going with Ramírez over Rafael Devers ($5,900) and Nolan Arenado ($5,800) even though all three have been playing great recently. Ramírez had three hits Sunday and is 23-for-62 (.371) with a .436 wOBA, two home runs and four stolen bases over his past 15 games. He and the Guardians host the Twins in an important AL Central series and will face Sonny Gray ($8,500), who they touched up for eight hits and four runs in four innings in an 11-10 loss last week.
Stud
Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays ($5,400) – Bogaerts went hitless in six at-bats on Sunday but worked two walks and scored a run. He is still hitting .351 with a .395 wOBA in his 21 June contests, and he’s a key contributor to the Red Sox offense, which has been one of the hottest in baseball lately. Bogaerts has gone 9-for-19 (.474) in the past against Blue Jays SP Kevin Gausman ($9,800) including a home run.
Other Options – Trea Turner ($6,000), C.J. Cron ($5,200), DJ LeMahieu ($4,500)
Value
Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox ($4,100) – Kirk has homered in four of his past five games and is hitting .377 with seven home runs, a .348 ISO and a .508 wOBA over his past 20 games. Kirk has double-digit DKFP in seven of his past nine games, and his value gets a boost since Catcher can be a tricky spot to find a good bat. The 23-year-old is in the top 10 in the majors in batting average and has a .403 wOBA on the season coming into his Monday matchup with Connor Seabold ($4,000) and the Sox.
Value
Luis Rengifo, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox ($2,100) – Rengifo is barely more than the minimum salary but has shown some solid upside in the Angels’ middle infield. He has gone 11-for-33 (.333) over his past nine games with four doubles and hit his third home run of the season on Sunday. He has a .395 wOBA over those nine games and has four multi-hit performances and four doubles over that span. At such a low salary, he can be the key to unlocking some higher-priced options, including his teammates listed below.
Other Options – Josh Naylor ($3,600), Lenyn Sosa ($2,200)
OUTFIELD
Stud
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox ($6,300) – If you have the salary, Trout is a play to consider since he has been so locked in. He has nine homers over his past 15 games while going 18-for-53 (.340) with a .553 wOBA. The Mariners intentionally walked him four times in their three-game series, and he has reached base safely via hit or walk in 17 straight games. He has a good matchup highlighted below in stacks and should continue to offer elite production.
Stud
Connor Joe, Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,500) – Joe burst onto the scene as a key piece of the Rockies’ lineup before fading a little bit, but he has locked back in and been excellent lately, going 15-for-35 (.429) over his nine most recent games, highlighted by six multi-hit performances. He hasn’t homered during that stretch but does have a .450 wOBA, two doubles and a stolen base. Joe has excelled all season against lefties, hitting .325 with a .383 wOBA and not surprisingly has good numbers at Coors Field with a .370 home wOBA. He has all those splits working in his favor as he faces his former team, the Dodgers, and former Rockie Tyler Anderson ($9,500).
Other Options – Aaron Judge ($6,000), Adolis García ($5,200)
Value
Alex Verdugo, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays ($3,200) – Verdugo has been a big part of Boston’s recent success, going 26-for-82 (.317) with six doubles, two home runs and a .376 wOBA in June. All five of his homers this year have come against righties, and he’ll look to extend his current seven-game hitting streak against Gausman and the Blue Jays. He has at least 12 DKFP in four of those seven games including each of his past three.
Value
Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins ($3,000) – A little like Joe, Kwan sizzled earlier in the season and was on everyone’s fantasy radar before a little bit of a fade. He has also started to surge lately, though, and has emerged as the Guardians’ go-to leadoff option against righties. Kwan has hit safely in five straight starts, going 10-for-21 with at least 7.0 DKFP in each of those contests. He’s 2-for-5 with a walk in his career against Gray and is a relatively low-risk play at only $3K since he makes such good contact and usually finds ways to produce.
Other Options – Edward Olivares ($3,300), Franchy Cordero ($2,800)
TEAMS TO STACK
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies – It’s not a cheap or sneaky stack, but the Dodgers rolling into Coors Field is a play that makes a ton of sense. Chad Kuhl ($6,700) has been pretty decent in his first year with the Rockies, going 4-5 with a 3.95 ERA and 4.21 FIP. He has a low 6.85 K/9 rate but has only allowed seven homers in 13 starts. Most of the damage against him has been done by lefties, who have a .344 wOBA against him and four of those home runs. Freddie Freeman ($5,800), Max Muncy ($4,900) and Cody Bellinger ($4,400) all bring plenty of power from the left-hand side while Trea Turner ($6,000) and Will Smith ($5,500) have been swinging hot sticks. Turner’s salary didn’t even get a Coors Field bump since it was already at $6K. The Dodgers also offer some cheap options lower in their lineup with Trayce Thompson ($2,000) or Zach McKinstry ($2,000) making sense at the minimum if they’re in the lineup.
Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox – The “other” Los Angeles team also makes sense to consider as a stack as they host the White Sox and Lucas Giolito ($8,300). Giolito was an option to avoid at one point, but the big righty has struggled over his past few outings, allowing 40 hits and nine home runs over his past five starts while going 1-3 with a 9.47 ERA and 7.14 FIP. Almost all the production against him has come from righties, who have a .465 wOBA and account for 13 of the 15 home runs he has allowed. Righty Shohei Ohtani ($6,100) has two home runs against Giolito in the past while going 5-for-17, and Mike Trout (highlighted above), Taylor Ward ($4,900), Max Stassi ($3,700), Jared Walsh ($3,500) and even Luis Rengifo ($2,100) all have homered off Giolito in their careers as well. Maybe yesterday’s brawl with the Mariners can be a turning point for the Angels, who won that game 2-1 but are still five games below .500 and 6.5 games out of the wild card race.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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