Today's MLB DFS Picks: Advice, strategy for Thursday's DraftKings, FanDuel daily fantasy baseball contests

James Grande

Today's MLB DFS Picks: Advice, strategy for Thursday's DraftKings, FanDuel daily fantasy baseball contests image

Editor's Note: This is a FREE preview of Thursday's Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook. For full analysis every day and more ways to dominate your daily fantasy baseball competition, check out DFS site-specific advice and the rest of Fantasy Alarm's great season-long and DFS tools available to subscribers.

MORE:  Fantasy Alarm PRO tools

Today's MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel advice for Thursday, June 20

SP: Nick Pivetta, Phillies @ Nationals. The Phillies young righty has been good since being recalled, punching out six or more in four straight games. The Nats also are far better against lefthanded pitching, ranking 18th in wOBA and 22nd in wRC+ against righties. Pivetta has been slightly unlucky this year, as he’s notched a 5.00 ERA and only a .295 xFIP. He has a fair price across the industry.

C: Jonathan Lucroy, Angels @ Blue Jays. Lucroy is 8-for-20 lifetime with a .450 wOBA against Clayton Richard. Richard has been awful since coming off the IL, notching a 7.53 ERA. Righties are batting .322 against Richard this year, as well.

MORE THURSDAY MLB: SP rankings

1B: Eric Thames, Brewers vs. Reds. I’m really digging this game, especially from the Brewers side. Tanner Roark has allowed a .305/.403/.484, a .381 wOBA and a 6.38 xFIP. Thames has hit nine of his 10 home runs against RHPs, and Miller Park ranks four in HRs on the year. He’s very expensive on DK -- for no reason -- but he works in a game stack and as a one-off on FD.

2B: Jeff McNeil, Mets @ Cubs. The Mets 2B is rollin’ with back-to-back multi-hit games and is now batting .333 over his past 10 games. He has six extra-base hits and two stolen bases over that span, as well, which is obviously ideal. Lefties have a .321 average and .850 OPS vs. Chatwood on the year.

SIGN UP for a FREE 30-day trial of DAZN and watch LIVE baseball games and programming on MLB Network

SS: J.P. Crawford, Mariners vs. Orioles. Crawford has had a 62 at-bat sample this year, but his numbers against vs. RHP are pretty solid (.310 average). He’s also notably cheap across the industry. I know most people are going to use Chris Taylor on FD, but Crawford is the pivot off of him.

3B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays vs. Angels. For whatever reason his price on DK continues to drop, and it’s all the way down to $3.5K, which is insane. This game has a 10.5-run implied total, and the Jays are up nearly five runs themselves. I could get behind Vlad in cash based on price and how many runs could be scored here.

OF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Blue Jays vs. Angels. He’s only $3.1K on FD, which is super appealing considering how well he’s been playing. He’s homered four times over his last 10 games. Jose Suarez has been extremely lucky this year. Despite having a 4.50 ERA, his xFIP sits at 5.57 and SIERA is over 5.00, as well.

For more player recommendations and analysis, become a Fantasy Alarm subscriber today!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Pos  Player Matchup Opp. SP DK FD Y! Analysis
SP C. Morton (R) TB@OAK
Thu 10:07
F. Montas (R) $11300 $10500 $51  
SP J. Odorizzi (R) MIN@KC
Thu 8:15
G. Sparkman (R) $10800 $10000 $50  
SP D. Bundy (R) BAL@SEA
Thu 10:10
W. LeBlanc (L) $7600 $7300 $38  
SP N. Pivetta (R) PHI@WSH
Thu 7:05
E. Fedde (R) $8200 $7700 $25  
SP Z. Gallen (R) MIA@STL
Thu 7:15
A. Wainwright (R) $7300 $7000 $28  
SP W. LeBlanc (L) BAL@SEA
Thu 10:10
D. Bundy (R) $5800 $6700 $28  
C W. Contreras (R) NYM@CHI
Thu 8:05
W. Lockett (R) $4500 $3000 $11  
C W. Astudillo (R) MIN@KC
Thu 8:15
G. Sparkman (R) $3400 $2300 $8  
C J. Lucroy (R) LAA@TOR
Thu 7:07
C. Richard (L) $3400 $2500 $8  
1B E. Thames (L) CIN@MIL
Thu 8:10
T. Roark (R) $4900 $2700 $15  
1B J. Votto (L) CIN@MIL
Thu 8:10
J. Nelson (R) $4000 $3100 $18  
1B A. Pujols (R) LAA@TOR
Thu 7:07
C. Richard (L) $4000 $3000 $20  
2B J. McNeil (L) NYM@CHI
Thu 8:05
T. Chatwood (R) $4500 $3200 $10  
2B K. Hernández (R) SF@LA
Thu 10:10
M. Bumgarner (L) $3400 $3000 $7  
2B J. Altuve (R) HOU@NYY
Thu 7:05
C. Green (R) $3800 $3700 $17  
3B A. Rendon (R) PHI@WSH
Thu 7:05
N. Pivetta (R) $5500 $4500 $25  
3B T. Shaw (L) CIN@MIL
Thu 8:10
T. Roark (R) $3200 $2500 $12  
3B V. Guerrero Jr. (R) LAA@TOR
Thu 7:07
J. Suarez (L) $3500 $2800 $16  
SS T. Turner (R) PHI@WSH
Thu 7:05
N. Pivetta (R) $5500 $4300 $20  
SS J. Polanco (B) MIN@KC
Thu 8:15
G. Sparkman (R) $4900 $4000 $18  
SS J. Crawford (L) BAL@SEA
Thu 10:10
D. Bundy (R) $3400 $2700 $12  
OF M. Smith (L) BAL@SEA
Thu 10:10
D. Bundy (R) $4300 $3400 $18  
OF M. Kepler (L) MIN@KC
Thu 8:15
G. Sparkman (R) $5300 $4100 $25  
OF C. Yelich (L) CIN@MIL
Thu 8:10
T. Roark (R) $5900 $4700 $27  
OF J. Winker (L) CIN@MIL
Thu 8:10
J. Nelson (R) $4100 $2700 $15  
OF M. Trout (R) LAA@TOR
Thu 7:07
C. Richard (L) $5800 $4800 $28  
OF L. Gurriel Jr. (R) LAA@TOR
Thu 7:07
J. Suarez (L) $4500 $3100 $21  

James Grande