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Welcome to another year of the DFS Army MLB Full Count! You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article out on Twitter as well as inside our coaching forums. With that said, let’s get it started!
Full Slate Breakdown Picks for MLB DFS 6/21:
Jun 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (40) waits for a throw as Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz slides home to score a run during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:
Washington Nationals (-) @ Baltimore Orioles (-)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll open up the slate as Erick Fedde and the Nationals head into Baltimore to face Jordan Lyles and the Orioles. I don’t think we need to look at either of these pitchers as pitching options on this slate even though neither of these offenses is all that scary. Fedde has given up 10 earned runs in his last three games and Lyles has given up 14 in that timespan. Lyles has always struggled with home runs as well, I think both of these stacks could be interesting even in what has turned into more of a pitcher’s ballpark this season.
WAS 5-star plays: Juan Soto
4-star plays: Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Luis Garcia
GPP Note: You can make a case for this Nationals stack against Lyles.
BAL 5-star plays: Cedric Mullins
4-star plays: Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman
GPP Note: I think I prefer the Nationals side of this one, but a mini-stack isn’t out of question here for Baltimore.
Chicago Cubs (+130) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (-155)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Cubs will send Matt Swarmer to the mound in a nice matchup with the Pirates here. That said, he’s really cooled off over his last two starts after looking solid in his first two starts. The price tag on him isn’t great on either DraftKings or FanDuel, so probably not a guy that I’ll get all that much of here. Roansy Contreras will start for the Pirates and has been pretty volatile as of late but the upside is there with a 25.2% strikeout rate on the season and gets a nice matchup with this Cubs lineup.
CHC 5-star plays: Willson Contreras
4-star plays: Patrick Wisdom, Christopher Morel
GPP Note: I don’t love stacking in Pittsburgh, but the Cubs could make some sense against Contreras who has been no stranger to giving up a big game.
PIT 5-star plays: Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz
4-star plays: Ke’Bryan Hayes
GPP Note: This is a REALLY cheap stack especially given neither FanDuel nor DraftKings moved the price tag on Oneil Cruz who will likely be one of the chalkier plays on the slate.
New York Yankees (-) @ Tampa Bay Rays (-)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Nestor Cortes will get the start for the Yankees after Gerrit Cole flirted with a no-hitter in this matchup last night. Cortes bounced back nicely last time out with 18.4 DraftKings points and has been one of the better pitchers in the league this season. As long as Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco are out of this Rays lineup I’m going to continue to stream pitchers against them. Josh Fleming will start for the Rays in a tough matchup with the Yankees. He’s had negative fantasy points on DraftKings in back-to-back games, I don’t see a reason to get to him on this slate.
NYY 5-star plays: Aaron Judge
4-star plays: Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu
GPP Note: I’ll never have an issue with a Yankees stack in this matchup with Fleming.
TBR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Randy Arozarena
GPP Note: I’ll have more interest in Cortes than anything from the Rays.
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Detroit Tigers (+172) @ Boston Red Sox (-210)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Tigers will send Beau Brieske to the mound in a really tough matchup with Boston and their 5.7 implied run total. That being said, he’s dropped at least 16.6 DraftKings points in three straight games, I just don’t see myself getting to him in this matchup. Rich Hill will start for the Red Sox in a nice matchup with the Tigers and the price tag looks good as well. He’ll look like a nice SP2 option, but probably not a guy I would want as my lone pitcher on FanDuel.
DET 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Javier Baez, Robbie Grossman, Riley Greene
GPP Note: I don’t love much from this Detroit team, but I’ll never have an issue with one-offs.
BOS 5-star plays: Rafael Devers, JD Martinez
4-star plays: Jarren Duran, Xander Bogaerts, Trevor Story
GPP Note: The Red Sox look like a top stack on the slate against Brieske.
San Francisco Giants (+142) @ Atlanta Braves (-170)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Giants will send Anthony DeSclafani to the mound but he hasn’t pitched in about two months as he comes back from a lengthy IL stint… I would expect a pretty strict pitch count/innings limit on him in this one which takes him out of my pitching pool. Spencer Strider will start for the Braves and is a guy I like quite a bit as a pitcher in general. He has at least eight strikeouts in back-to-back games and will be a guy I go right back to here against this Giants team.
SFG 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Wilmer Flores, Joc Pederson, Luis Gonzalez
GPP Note: I’ll like Strider as a pitching option more than anything from this Giants lineup.
ATL 5-star plays: Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson
4-star plays: Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson, Marcell Ozuna
GPP Note: DeSclafani won’t go deep into this game, the Braves will look like a nice stack yet again here.
Cleveland Guardians (+146) @ Minnesota Twins (-175)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Aaron Civale will take the mound for Cleveland and is another guy that is coming off of an IL stint. The last time he pitched was 5/20, so about a month ago… I would assume he’s under a pitch count and innings limit as well here, so no interest for me as a pitching option on this slate. The Twins will start with Joe Ryan and he’ll be a guy I have some interest in here. He has a 23.3% strikeout rate on the season and has some nice win equity in this one, he’s a nice SP2 option in all formats.
CLE 5-star plays: Jose Ramirez
4-star plays: Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez
GPP Note: I’ll have more interest in Ryan than anything from the Guardians outside of Jose Ramirez who is always a one-off I’ll like.
MIN 5-star plays: Byron Buxton
4-star plays: Luis Arraez, Carlos Correa, Max Kepler, Alex Kiriloff
GPP Note: I think you can make a case for a Twins stack here, with Kiriloff of the team now it makes this lineup pretty deep and gives you a bunch of ways to stack them up.
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Philadelphia Phillies (-101) @ Texas Rangers (-120)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
The Phillies will send Kyle Gibson to the mound after a nice outing against the Marlins last time out. Gibson has had some pretty serious home/road splits on the season with a 5.70 ERA on the road while being at 3.21 at home. If that is any indicator here he may struggle and looks to be more of a tournament option for me. Martin Perez will start for Texas and bounced back last time out after a rough start against the White Sox. His 19.8% strikeout rate isn’t high enough for me to want to risk him against a great Phillies lineup and I just don’t think he can sustain the pace he’s been on as of late. That being said, if you want to get some exposure to him on this slate, I won’t talk you off of him.
PHI 5-star plays: Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper
4-star plays: Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos
GPP Note: I think the Phillies are an interesting leverage stack against Perez.
TEX 5-star plays: Corey Seager
4-star plays: Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, Nate Lowe
GPP Note: If you think the home/road splits on Gibson are real then you should like the Rangers here a good amount.
St. Louis Cardinals (-152) @ Milwaukee Brewers (+125)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Jack Flaherty will get the start for the Cardinals and threw 60 pitches in his first game last time out against the Pirates. I would think that pitch count gets up to the 80 range here and makes sense as a value option as an SP2. The Brewers will send Chi Chi Gonzalez to the mound in an emergency start with Aaron Ashby hitting the IL. He’s not a guy you should be targeting as a pitcher option in a rough matchup with this Cardinals team. Gonzalez has a career 13.4% strikeout rate as well as a 5.33 ERA… he’s just not very good.
STL 5-star plays: Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt
4-star plays: Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman
GPP Note: The Cardinals will look like a nice stack all around here in a great matchup.
MIL 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Christian Yelich, Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez
GPP Note: I don’t really want to stack against Flaherty, so more of a one-off team than anything for me.
New York Mets (+111) @ Houston Astros (-130)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Trevor Williams will get the start for the Mets in a tough matchup against the Astros. Williams hasn’t really done anything all that special this season and probably won’t make my pitcher pool on this slate. Meanwhile, the Astros will send Jose Urquidy to the mound. The price tag is really interesting on him on both DraftKings and FanDuel. He doesn’t have much of a strikeout ceiling with just a 17% strikeout rate on the season, but I think he can limit the damage enough here to make him viable in all formats.
NYM 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Franciso Lindor, Peter Alonso, Starling Marte
GPP Note: I think I’m going to have more interest in Urquidy here as gross as it may sound.
HOU 5-star plays: Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez
4-star plays: Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve
GPP Note: The Astros will look like a nice stack in all formats here against Trevor Williams.
Toronto Blue Jays (-130) @ Chicago White Sox (+110)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Jays and has been a guy that has struggled as of late. He gave up five earned runs last time out against the Orioles and is another guy with big home/road splits with a 1.85 ERA on the road this season. He still has a 26.1% strikeout rate on the season, I just wish his price tag reflected his recent form a bit more. Dylan Cease will start for the White Sox in a tough matchup with this Jays lineup. That being said, he has at least 21.1 DraftKings points in three of his last four games and makes sense for GPPs.
TOR 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Teoscar Hernandez
GPP Note: The Jays would be more of a tournament team for me tonight in a tougher matchup with Cease.
CHW 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Luis Robert, Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu
GPP Note: I think I’ll have more interest in Gausman due to the home/road splits, but if he continues to struggle the Sox will look good.
Kansas City Royals (+139) @ Los Angeles Angels (-164)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Jon Heasley will start for the Royals and came down to Earth last time out. He gets a tough matchup against the Angels here and probably won’t be a guy I get to all that much here. The Angels will send Reid Detmers to the mound here in a great matchup with the Royals. He’s been held under 20 FanDuel points in four of his last five games but the matchup does set up well if you want to take a shot at him as a value option in tournaments.
KCR 5-star plays: Whit Merrifield
4-star plays: Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez
GPP Note: More of a mini-stack team for me due to how weak the bottom half of this lineup can be.
LAA 5-star plays: Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani
4-star plays: Jared Walsh, Taylor Ward
GPP Note: The Angels will look like a great stack here.
Arizona Diamondbacks (+110) @ San Diego Padres (-130)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
Zac Gallen will get the start for the Dbacks as they continue their series with San Diego here. Gallen has been pretty good as of late outside of a bad start against the Phillies. He has a 2.91 ERA on the season and looks like a solid option in all formats on this slate. The Padres will send Sean Manaea to the mound in a great matchup with this Arizona lineup. I had a bunch of interest in Yu Darvish last night and he was able to salvage a good night after a rough first inning. Manaea has a 25.5% strikeout rate on the season and gives us a ton of upside here.
ARI 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Daulton Varsho, Christian Walker
GPP Note: I’ll have more interest in Manaea than anything here.
SDP 5-star plays: Jake Cronenworth
4-star plays: Trent Grisham, Luke Voit, CJ Abrams
GPP Note: This lineup can get kind of ugly with Manny Machado out of it.
Seattle Mariners (-143) @ Oakland Athletics (+123)
Implied Run Totals:
Rundown:
We’ll round out the slate with Marco Gonzales heading into a great matchup with the A’s on the road in a nice pitcher’s park. I’m never a big Gonzales guy due to his low strikeout upside with just a 13.7% k rate on the season… the matchup is hard to ignore, however. James Kaprielian will get the start on the other side of this one and is a guy that has regressed in a big way this season. He has a 6.32 ERA on the season and won’t be a guy I have interest in until he figures it out.
SEA 5-star plays: Julio Rodriguez, Jesse Winker
4-star plays: JP Crawford, Ty France
GPP Note: The Mariners could be sneaky here against Kaprielian.
OAK 5-star plays: None
4-star plays: Ramon Laureano
GPP Note: I just don’t like this lineup enough to stack it.