Lefty killer Nelson Cruz leads daily fantasy baseball picks for June 23

By foxsports
Published

Welcome to today's daily fantasy post! Remember that you can find our posts on the new DFS home page, as well as the fantasy page. Bookmark those sites now!

Also, please scroll to the bottom of this article to see the latest tweets from Ryan Fowler (@FOXSportsFowler), D.J. Foster (@FOXSportsFoster), Adam Meyer (@FOXSportsMeyer) and me (@jhalpin37). That way, if information surfaces for any last minute changes, you can see our thoughts instantly.

Let's get to today's interesting facts, using DraftKings prices. We'll cover all players, but remember that four of today's nine games are in the afternoon, starting with with Giants-Pirates at 12:35 p.m. ET. Please note that much of the information in this post is being published several hours prior to game times, so check MLB lineups later to confirm that any recommended players are included.

5 Things to Watch:

1. Rick Porcello ($9,900) is the day's biggest favorite at -212, but his game has a projected run total of 10. Maybe that's because opposing starter James Shields has allowed 31 earned runs over his last four starts. ... The highest projected run total is 10.5 for Diamondbacks-Rockies at Coors (Greinke vs. Butler); the lowest is 7.5 for Mets-Braves (Harvey vs. Wisler).

2. Weather.com warns of a 30-40 percent chance of thunderstorms during Giants-Pirates, with the possibilities a bit stronger for Padres-Reds.

3. Day-to-day players include Yoenis Cespedes (wrist), Anthony Rizzo (back) and Joey Votto (illness).

4. Worried about one of your favorite DFS starters, who left his Wednesday start with elbow discomfort? Concerns about Noah Syndergaard have waned, as an MRI showed no structural damage in his elbow. Thor might miss a start, but hopes to avoid the DL.

5. Yo, BvPers: Carlos Gonzalez ($5,000) is 12-for-31 with four homers vs. Zack Greinke. ... Ryan Howard ($2,300) has four homers in 38 at-bats vs. Ricky Nolasco, and has been DHing against the Twins this week. ... Melky Cabrera ($2,700) is 14-for-25 vs. Porcello. ... Ben Zobrist ($4,700) is 15-for-40 vs. Wei-Yin Chen.

Our recommendations for the day are below!

Yesterday's recap:

D.J. Foster's must-start call of Paul Goldschmidt was fine, as he tallied 12 DraftKings points on two hits and two walks. A Blue Jays' stack helped you if it included Martin/Encarnacion/Tulowitzki, who all homered.

Must-Start of the day: Nelson Cruz, SEA

This notorious lefty killer has eight homers with a .994 OPS in 99 plate appearances versus southpaws this season, and faces Detroit's Daniel Norris, who is up for his first start of the year after posting a 4.68 ERA at Triple-A. At $4,500, Cruz is cheaper than most elite hitters.

Deal of the day: Yangervis Solarte, SD

Solarte has a 1.096 OPS in 34 plate appearances vs. LHP this season, and bats cleanup for the Padres. At $3,400, he fits at 2B or 3B.

Avoid of the day: Jon Lester, CHC

With southpaw mashers Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna in the Marlins' lineup, I'll avoid Lester's pricetag ($11,700).

Stack of the day: Detroit Tigers

The Red Sox are obvious against the terrible Shields, and insanely expensive. Some D-backs against Eddie Butler at Coors also make sense. Let's zag just a bit with the strong Tigers' lineup against Seattle rookie Adrian Sampson, who throws strikes but doesn't miss many bats. They're also not cheap, with Ian Kinsler at $5,500, Miggy at $5,200, Cameron Maybin at $4,800, Justin Upton at $4,700, Nick Castellanos at $4,600 and Victor Martinez at $4,300.

Starting pitchers:

Jerad Eickhoff, PHI: Has had a solid season, and is $9,400 vs. the so-so Twins.

Matt Harvey, NYM: Harvey has been inconsistent but better recently, and carries upside against the Braves for a reasonable $8,100. He's a strong favorite at -159.

Matt Wisler, ATL: Draws the Cespedes-less Mets, who rank 27th in wOBA (.294) over the last 30 days.

Catchers:

Derek Norris, SD: Always hits LHP, $3,900 vs. John Lamb.

Stephen Vogt, OAK: Do you trust Tim Lincecum yet? Me, neither.

First basemen:

David Ortiz, BOS: Shields is really terrible, but you'll have to pay $5,600 for Big Papi.

Miguel Cabrera, DET: "Stack of the day."

Ryan Howard, PHI: See BvP note above. Howard is the economical, all-or-nothing play at this position.

Second basemen:

Ian Kinsler, DET: "Stack of the day."

Ben Zobrist, CHC: Might lead off vs. Chen.

Yangervis Solarte, SD: "Deal of the day."

Third basemen:

Jake Lamb, ARI: If you want to spend on one D-back at Coors, it should be Lamb for $5,300.

Nick Castellanos, DET: "Stack of the day."

Todd Frazier, CHW: Too much power to be only $3,300.

Shortstops:

Eduardo Nunez, MIN: Bats leadoff, has nine homers with 17 steals. Only $4,000.

Marcus Semien, OAK: Only because he's $3K and faces the very suspect Lincecum.

Outfielders:

Cameron Maybin, DET: "Stack of the day."

Nelson Cruz, SEA "Must start of the day."

Melky Cabrera, CHW: See BvP note above.

Max Kepler, MIN: $2,700, has 12-11-33 DK points over his last three games.