Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best MLB DFS DraftKings Lineup for June 17
Wednesday presents some significant dilemmas for DraftKings players. There's a ton of top-notch pitchers set to go. You'll have to decide if you're going to lean on hitting, one or two of the aces on the mound or a balance.
Let's go for the latter.
Instead of tabbing someone like the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw ($12,900) or the Detroit Tigers' David Price ($11,300), let's look at two moderately priced pitchers who are in position to score big.
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The Pitchers
Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,200) at Philadelphia Phillies
Just about any pitcher facing the woeful Philadelphia Phillies lineup is worth a look. The Baltimore Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez isn't having a season like the one he enjoyed in 2010 with the Colorado Rockies, but his 1.286 WHIP is the lowest it has been since that year.
Jimenez is also striking out nearly a batter per inning with 66 K's in 67.2 innings pitched. Spencer Bingol of Beyond the Box Score talks about how Jimenez's season thus far has exceeded expectations following a few subpar campaigns.
"Expectations were minimal for the 2015 season," Bingol wrote. "However, Jimenez has likely surprised anyone checking in on his stat line to this point of the season with a 3.19 ERA, 3.50 FIP and a 3.55 SIERA, the best of his career, culminating in 1.3 WAR."
Jimenez has had some dreadful outings this year, but he's pitched at least five innings in his last four starts. Plus, his opposition is not impressive.
The Phils are simply bad at this hitting thing. As a team, Philadelphia ranks 30th in runs, 28th in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging percentage.
You have to love Jimenez's chances to come up big in this matchup.
Carlos Martinez ($8,400) at Minnesota Twins
Aside from two poor outings on May 4 and May 9, Carlos Martinez has looked like a Cy Young Award candidate. The 23-year-old right-hander hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his other 11 starts. That includes his two starts in June that lasted a combined 13.1 innings with just three earned runs and 15 strikeouts.
Martinez and the Cardinals are facing the Minnesota Twins on the road on Wednesday, and offense has been hard to come by for the home team.
The Twins haven't scored more than two runs in eight out of their last 10 games. With Martinez on the mound, it seems as though that trend might continue. Here's a look at my complete lineup for Wednesday evening.
| P | Carlos Martinez | StL@Min | $8,400 |
| P | Ubaldo Jimenez | Bal@Phi | $7,200 |
| C | Jason Castro | Hou@Col | $4,000 |
| 1B | Ryan Howard | Bal@Phi | $3,500 |
| 2B | Jace Peterson | Bos@Atl | $3,700 |
| 3B | Manny Machado | Bal@Phi | $4,800 |
| SS | J.J. Hardy | Bal@Phi | $3,300 |
| OF | George Springer | Hou@Col | $5,400 |
| OF | Giancarlo Stanton | Mia@NYY | $5,500 |
| OF | Nelson Cruz | SF@Sea | $4,200 |
Three Offensive Anchors
J.J. Hardy ($3,300) at Philadelphia Phillies
On Tuesday night, J.J. Hardy and his Orioles teammates exploded on the Phillies for 19 runs. Hardy was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. The performance was good for 13 fantasy points.
Hardy has a great chance to build on Tuesday's solid day at the plate. On Wednesday, the Phillies are sending veteran Kevin Correia to the mound, and that should make Hardy smile. In 14 career at-bats against Correia, Hardy is hitting .357 with four RBI.
While Hardy is having a tough go of it so far this season—he's hitting just .234—he found his stroke on Tuesday and has a favorable matchup the following day. Get a piece of Hardy's action and plop him into the shortstop position in your lineup.
George Springer ($5,400) at Colorado Rockies
Coming into Wednesday's game, the Houston Astros' George Springer is on a nine-game hitting streak. During the streak, Springer is hitting .414. Wednesday's game is on the road against the Colorado Rockies.
That means Springer and his teammates will be taking their hacks at Coors Field. The Rockies' home field has the second-highest runs rating, per ESPN.com's Park Factor scale. If the ballpark weren't enough to get you to see Springer as a viable option for one of your outfield spots, perhaps the Rockies' starting pitcher will sway you.
Colorado sends out Kyle Kendrick. He's 2-8 with an ERA of 5.87. This high ERA isn't the product of a couple of bad games. Kendrick has allowed four or more earned runs in eight of his 13 starts. Springer is a must-have for your lineup.
Nelson Cruz ($4,200) vs. San Francisco Giants
Some guys are just due, and the Seattle Mariners' Nelson Cruz is one of those dudes. Cruz got off to a torrid home run pace, as he cranked out 18 home runs by late May and looked to be on his way to a huge power performance this season.
Unfortunately for Cruz and the Mariners, he has been experiencing a power outage since May 27. That's the last time Cruz went yard.
I have a strong feeling the drought will end on Wednesday. The Mariners are facing tough lefty and reigning World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. That's actually part of the reason Cruz is in position to swing it well. He's hitting .429 against southpaws this season, and Cruz is too good to allow this slump to linger too long.
Expect this to be the game Cruz cranks out another long ball.
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