Saturday, June 19th, starts off with the first of five slates at 1:05 p.m ET with an intriguing seven-game main slate. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Saturday, June 19
Yahoo Stack of the Day: San Diego Padres vs. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez — 4.9 implied runs
Last night, the Padres gave a good thrashing to the Reds chasing starter Tony Santillan after three innings and putting the hurt on the bullpen for the next five. Vladimir Gutierrez has back-to-back start of 100-plus pitches and he may be asked to take one for the team, regardless of his effectiveness. The only Cincinnati relievers who have not pitched in the last 48 hours are righties Brad Brach, Heath Hembree and Lucas Sims.
San Diego has 19 more stolen bases than Texas to lead the league by a wide margin. Keep that in mind if Tucker Barnhart is behind the plate, as he has been among the worst catchers in the league at throwing out would-be base-stealers, allowing 22 steals on 28 attempts this season. The projected lineup for the Padres boasts a .215-plus ISO over the last trailing 24 months. Fernando Tatis Jr. is $28, though, when combined with Eric Hosmer ($8) and Wil Myers ($9), the trio is easily affordable. Tommy Pham ($19) and Trent Grisham ($19) have a nice combination of speed and power at the top of the order. Manny Machado ($19) is the glue that keeps everything together, and Jake Cronenworth ($12) provides an opportunity to get contrarian.
Early Slate
Toronto Blue Jays at RHP Dean Kremer — 5.8 implied runs
Over his last 257 batters faced, Dean Kremer is allowing a .240-plus ISO, which is not a good combination for his 10.9% walk, 47.4% hard-hit and 47.7% fly-ball rates. It is hard to go wrong with Toronto as MLB DFS picks for our stacks, particularly when focusing on the top six hitters in the batting order. Teoscar Hernandez (paternity) is not expected to be with the team today, which should give Cavan Biggio a boost to the five-hole. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the league in home runs and he is a threat every time he steps up to the plate. Randal Grichuk, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien and Lourdes Gurriel can be worked in depending on positional and salary cap requirements. Temperatures will be in the 80s today aft first pitch for this afternoon game in Camden Yards, with a 7 to 9 mph breeze blowing out to right field.
Late Slate
Los Angeles Dodgers at RHP Matt Peacock — 5.4 implied runs
Tonight, the Chase Field roof is scheduled to be closed, which will enhance the effects of the humidor. Even with this somewhat pitching-friendly combination, Matt Peacock is still staring down a loaded Dodgers lineup. Walks have been a major issue for the 27-year-old righty with 10 issued in his last three starts across 11.1 innings. In this recent stretch, he has allowed 10 runs and two home runs with only half a dozen strikeouts.
Sadly, lefties Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Corey Seager are all on the injured list — however, this is also opening up opportunities in the lineup for Gavin Lux, Matt Beaty and Zach McKinstry, who all have above average pop from the left side of the plate as well as providing salary relief. Depending on your roster construction needs, Mookie Bets, Justin Turner, Will Smith, Chris Taylor, and of course, former Diamondback A.J. Pollock are all viable options. Lefty Ryan Buchter and righties Kevin Ginkel and Corbin Martin will likely be the first three arms out of the Arizona bullpen when Peacock gives way in the third or fourth inning.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top Target: RHP Walker Buehler at Arizona Diamondbacks — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $11,100
While it is incredibly hard to predict if a pitcher is going to be credited with a victory, the Dodgers are 2-to-1 favorites to win in Arizona tonight. In every start this season, Walker Buehler has completed the sixth inning, which is impressive. Currently, his 2.38 ERA ranks fifth among all pitchers who have logged at least 83 innings. Although he is not a strikeout artist, he still is posting a solid 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings. There are not many threatening lefties in the Diamondbacks’ lineup, and they have the third-worst offensive efficiency rating against righties with an 83 wRC+ this season. Plus, for you “sticky stuff” truthers, Buehler’s spin rates have remained relatively stable for the last couple of seasons, as well as during his recent starts.
Secondary Target: LHP Patrick Sandoval vs. Detroit Tigers — 3.70 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $7,800 | DraftKings $8,600
Tonight, lefty Patrick Sandoval is the lucky pitcher who will be facing the Detroit Tigers. The Yahoo salary is a steal, and he should be rostered on the majority of your lineups there. DraftKings is making us work just a little, though forgoing a couple hitters from the Coors Field game can still garner us a pairing of Buehler and Sandoval. On FanDuel, the salary is appealing, though, there are options with better strikeout upside.
The Detroit Tigers are second in the league with a 28.5% strikeout rate against left-handed pitchers with a bottom-five 87 wRC+, which has them 13% below league average. Sandoval does a decent job of limiting walks and power. In his last four outings, he has thrown at least 83 pitches, including 94 and 101 in his two most recent starts.
Wild Card: LHP Josh Fleming at Seattle Mariners — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $6,900 | DraftKings $6,800
Tonight there is a decent chance that the Atlanta game is going to be postponed because of weather issues. Naturally, it is never thrilling to look to pitchers in Coors Field, so we quickly run out of appealing options. Seattle has a 91 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, which is in the bottom-third of the league. Their 27.5% strikeout rate against southpaws is the fifth highest in the league. While Josh Fleming is not likely to rack up a lofty fantasy total, he should be able to survive five innings relatively unscathed, which does have utility.
Final Thoughts for the Saturday, June 19, MLB DFS Slate
Keep an eye on the weather in Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Washington heading towards first pitch, as each game has varying degrees of precipitation risk. As always, be mindful that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
