MLB DraftKings Picks
Wednesday, June 8st provides us with a larger than usual 10-game main slate of baseball with the first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m. ET. It is a good thing there are more games on this slate than usual as three games are in jeopardy due to weather. We have concerns in Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cleveland.
Those weather concerns are robbing us of some potentially solid spots for pitchers and hitters. We are still left with 14 pitchers to choose from tonight, although we may still have the option to roster Anderson as a value based on matchup alone. There also was (is?) some stacking potential with the Cubs but at this point, it is hard to tell if they will play tonight.
The MLB DraftKings picks today will highlight some hitters in great spots along with some pitchers that have beatable matchups or low totals. Our favorite bats and arms values will be in the $4k and $6k range respectively. At the end of the article, we will provide our lineup for the night at the time of writing the dose. Let’s get started.
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Fantasy Data Favorite Bats
Joc Pederson COL @ SF ($5,600) — The wind is blowing out hard tonight in Oracle Park and Joc Pederson has been a crusher of baseballs this season, hitting 13 dingers in just 133 at-bats. The Giants will be facing Antonio Senzatela and his 5.40 ERA to go with just 14 Ks.
The Rockies right-hander is equally giving to players from both sides of the plate, allowing righties to bat .440 against him while lefties sport a solid .364 average as well. The veteran does not allow a ton of home runs but that could change tonight with some wind-aided fly balls. Pederson is also batting .278 on the season so he is doing more than just smacking balls out of the yard. Ownership was down on the Giants across the board with similar conditions and we expect the same tonight with better results.
Anthony Rizzo NYY @ MIN ($5,500) — The Yankees put up a 10 spot on the Minnesota Twins last night and Anthony Rizzo chipped in with a home run and three RBIs. On the mound tonight is Chris Archer who has been solid thus far this season. The veteran has been fortunate enough to pitch in some, shall we say, easy matchups. The right-hander has pitched against Detroit (twice), Oakland, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay. Not exactly murderers row.
Vegas has New York sitting at 4.84 runs tonight, the second-highest on the slate. There is a strong wind blowing from left to right that should help the left-handers if they get the ball in the air. The former Cubs first baseman has been on fire of late, putting up double figures in four straight and has 14 honers on the year.
Value Bat
Luis Gonzalez COL @ SF ($3,200) — We mentioned the wind and the matchup earlier when discussing Joc Pederson. Luis Gonzalez is a nice salary saver tonight on a team with the highest projected run total on the slate (5.11). The youngster is batting .322 on the season and has two home runs and 22 RBIs in 115 at-bats. The 26-year-old hits righties well, going 32 for 90 (.356) and has both of his home runs and 18 of his 20 RBIs against them.
The former White Sox outfielder has also stolen three bases in 2022, giving us more upside tonight. Gonzalez is projected to bat seventh tonight and we like him and the rest of the Giants in a stack versus a pitcher that allows a lot of contact. Other salary savers you can target in this game are Donnie Walton and Joey Bart.
Fantasy Data Favorite Arms
Nestor Cortes NYY @ MIN ($10,300)— Here we are again. Another Wednesday and another Nestor Cortes start. We are going to keep recommending him until the feel-good story proves us wrong. Cortes has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball in 2022, sporting a 1.50 ERA, .87 WHIP, and striking out 68 batters across 60 innings pitched. The lefty has had 14.5 DK points in every game save one bad outing versus the Toronto Blue Jays back on May 4th.
The matchup is good, but not great. Minnesota strikes out 8.44 times per game on average which is middle of the pack across MLB. The Twins do rank in the top 7% in barrels and exit velocity, so Cortes will need to keep the fly balls to a minimum tonight, especially with the strong winds blowing from left to right. There is nothing here to scare us off and not think we will get our usual 20-plus points with the potential for 30 or more as well. The ownership will be high, of course, but you risk missing out on a big game if you fade.
Aaron Nola PHI @ MIL ($9,400)— We don’t necessarily love the matchup here but we cannot ignore the high strikeout potential, which is what we look for in our DraftKings starting pitchers. The Brewers are projected to score just 3.79 runs tonight, which is on the lower side of things tonight. That tells us they like Nola to keep the Milwaukee bats at bay.
We have a dream matchup in terms of a high strikeout pitcher facing a free-swinging team. Nola has 79 Ks in 66.2 innings and the Brew Crew strikeouts out at an 8.93 per game clip, fourth-most in the majors. The Phillies right-hander struggled against San Francisco last time out but that was coming off of three straight solid performances against the Braves and Dodgers. Look for at least seven or eight strikeouts tonight and at least 20 DK points from the veteran.
Value Arm
Ian Anderson OAK @ ATL ($6,400) — We mentioned in the open that there are weather concerns here. Tonight there are very few options in the budget range outside of Ian Anderson. If the weather forecast improves, we get a salary relief option. Anderson does not have great numbers. Do you know who else doesn’t? The entire offense of the Oakland A’s.
This play is more about the futility of the bats from Oakland. They rank in the bottom 1% in WOBA, barrel percentage, XSLG, and XWOBA. They also strike out 8.65 times per contest. The Braves right-hander has posted 10.6 or more DK points his last time out. At just $6,400 in a fantastic matchup, we should easily see a return in value, weather permitting of course.
Wrapping it Up
Watch the weather a question mark in several places, we are paying up for pitching tonight and looking for our value bats out in San Francisco. There are also some potentially good cheap bats in play for the Yankees as Aaron Hicks has been playing well of late and sits at just $2,900 still. Good luck out there tonight fellow DFSers.
