Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Tuesday, June 17th! 

Let’s start the week on the right foot with some winning lineups today. We have a 12-game main slate in store for us this evening on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:05 PM ET. Today, we have plenty of talent on the diamond and many different ways to build your lineup. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Check out the MLB DFS Show to get an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate to give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting.

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB Weather: Tuesday, 6/17

Minnesota Twins @ Cincinnati Reds 

Storms in the area that could cause an in-game delay. 

New York Mets @ Atlanta Braves

Rain is expected mid-game that will likely be heavy enough to cause a delay. 

Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Bay Rays

Rain in the area, but there should be a window to play the game without getting wet. 

St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago White Sox

Storms arriving in the late innings or after the game. 

Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs

Temperatures in the 80s with winds blowing out to center field around 10mph. Chance for rain late in tje game. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants

Ray is enjoying his first fully healthy season since 2023 Tommy John surgery. He owns a sparkling 2.55 ERA and a healthy 28.1% strikeout rate. He pitches in one of the best pitcher's parks in baseball and today gets a matchup against a Guardians offense that has been significantly below average against left-handed pitching. Against southpaws, Cleveland ranks 3rd-worst in ISO, posting a wRC+ of just 77, and they strike out at the 9th highest rate in the league. Ray is deserving of his slate-leading price tag and can be rostered without hesitation in this plus matchup. 

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners

Woo is having an excellent season for the Mariners, with a 3.39 ERA that is fully supported by the underlying peripherals. He has worked at least six innings in every one of his 13 starts this season and gets a plus matchup at home today. Boston has been an average offense against righties this season, but they just traded away Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman remains on the IL. The Sox have struck out at the 3rd-highest rate in the league against righties this season, which gives Woo some upside beyond working deep into the game. Lefty power has been the biggest issue for Woo this season, and the loss of Devers certainly helps in that regard.  

Will Warren, New York Yankees

A high-strikeout pitcher in the best possible strikeout matchup? Yes, that is what we have with Will Warren today. The Yankees righty is simply way too cheap on both sites for this tremendous upside spot. The Angels strike out at the highest rate in the league versus right-handed pitching, and Warren owns a 28.6% strikeout rate this season. Even better, the Angels project to roll out seven righties in their lineup and Warren owns a 32.1% strikeout rate to RH batters. Don't be scared off by the 4.86 ERA, as Warren has pitched far better than that this season according to every ERA estimator out there. He could compete for the top score on the slate at price several thousand dollars cheaper than the top end of the salary range.  

Expensive Pitchers with Upside (if they stay dry) 

I am lumping Spencer Schwellenbach and Andrew Abbot together since they have similar context today. Both pitchers are priced right around $10,000 on both sites, and each is at risk of in-game delay shortening their outing (and thus limiting their ceiling) if the weather does not cooperate. Neither matchup is perfect, but both pitchers have been in excellent form recently and have the ability to spike a big strikeout game. Schwellenbach has posted at least nine strikeouts in three of his last four starts, while Abbott is coming off a complete game shutout against the Guardians. We will need to keep an eye on the weather, as any form of delay would make it difficult for these guys to pay off their lofty price tags. 

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs

Ben Brown has an ugly 5.71 ERA this season, but there is a lot to like under the hood. First, he has allowed a .368 BABIP that will almost certainly regress towards league average by the end of the season. Next, ERA estimators like xFIP (3.38) and SIERA (3.33) both believe he has been over two full runs per nine innings better than his actual results. Finally, his strikeout rate is significantly better than league average at 26.8%, and he has has trimmed his walk rate to 7.4%.  

The Brewers are an average matchup, ranking 15th in strikeouts and posting a 93 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Will Warren is the easy SP2 click in the $7K-salary range, but Brown is an outstanding GPP pivot who projects to be significantly less popular than Warren. 

David Festa, Minnesota Twins 

Festa is coming off the longest start of his season after tossing six innings of two-run ball against the Rangers. He was up to 86 pitches in the outing and has now thrown at least 80 pitches in three consecutive outings. The leash is not ideal, but it is acceptable at his price tag. Festa gets a tough assignment today against the Reds in Great American Ballpark. The Reds have an above average 107 wRC+ against righties this season, but they also strike out at the 7th-highest clip. Festa has posted a healthy 25.8% strikeout rate through five starts this season. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

New York Yankees vs. Kyle Hendricks 

The Yankees rank top two in nearly every major offensive category, and they get an elite matchup against Kyle Hendricks on Tuesday. Hendricks owns a lofty 5.20 ERA and has struck out just 14.5% of batters faced this season, while allowing a .212 ISO and 1.52 HR/9. Aaron Judge is of course the top option, with his other-worldly .330 ISO and 22.6% barrel rate against righties this season. Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells all own an ISO above .200 to righties. Giancarlo Stanton just returned to make his season debut yesterday, and he posted a .275 ISO against righties last season.  

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Randy Vasquez

Like the Yankees, the Dodgers rank top two in nearly every major offensive category, and they too get an elite matchup against a low-strikeout righty. Looking at Randy Vasquez's peripherals, it is unfathomable he has only allowed more than three earned runs in two of his 14 starts this season. He has walked nearly as many batters as he has struck out, and the .249 BABIP he's allowed is completely unsustainable. Lefties have completely owned Vasquez, as he has allowed a .220 ISO and an absurd 16.8% barrel rate to them. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are each elite plays. Ohtani has a ridiculous .386 ISO against righties, while Freeman and Muncy are both above a .230 ISO. 

Houston Astros in Sutter Health Park 

The Astros will potentially roll out nine righties in their lineup and that is bad news for Athletics starter JP Sears. The lefty has allowed a .225 ISO to righties with 1.85 HR/9 allowed, and he has struck out less than 18% of them. Isaac Paredes, Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Cam Smith all own an ISO above .230 against lefties this season, and Jeremy Pena has posted an elite .427 wOBA. Given the matchup against a fly-ball lefty in a great park for offense, the Astros rank right up there with the elite offenses of the Yankees and Dodgers for top overall stack on the slate. 

Athletics in Sutter Health Park 

The home team in Sutter Health also has a fantastic matchup on Tuesday, as the Athletics face off against Jason Alexander. The righty is a 32-year-old journeyman who has had plenty of success at the Triple-A level, but he has never been able to have sustained success in the big leagues. Lefty power bats like Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz would be my top priorities, with the elite contact skills of Jacob Wilson and the elite power of Brent Rooker ranking closely behind. 

Chicago Cubs with Favorable Wind

The wind is blowing out at Wrigley Field tonight and temperatures are expected to be in the 80s. Chad Patrick has had plenty of success for the Brewers this season, but this is a very difficult spot for him. He is a massive fly-ball pitcher with just a 27.2% ground ball rate, while the Cubs offense boast loads of power and ranks 6th in ISO against right-handed pitching. Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Carson Kelly all own an ISO above .220 against righties this season. 

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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