DraftKings MLB: Strategies and Picks for Saturday, June 21

Select a few Cardinals at home versus the Reds to save some salary for your Saturday DraftKings MLB DFS lineups.
DraftKings MLB: Strategies and Picks for Saturday, June 21

We have a unique slate Saturday in that the main slate kicks off at 1:05 p.m. EDT rather than at 4 or 7. With the action spread out, we'll have eight games to work with as the focus of our preview below.

Pitchers

Sonny Gray ($10,400) represents the highest-salaried option, which is slightly troubling given his inconsistency. He still lists the lowest SIERA of the available pitchers (3.17) while averaging 20.3 DK points at home, where he'll be going up against the Reds on Saturday.

Grant Holmes ($9,800) is another pitcher near the top end of the pool. He's certainly aided by the 15 batters he fanned last time out. While that's obviously an outlier, Holmes is a proven strikeout pitcher and will enjoy a start against a Marlins lineup that's been in the bottom-third of the league in wOBA the last month. They aren't particularly strikeout prone, so this may not be a ceiling performance.

After that duo, it's not a great day for pitching. That leads us into looking at matchups and to an uncomfortable option in Jose Berrios ($8,300). He's exceptionally difficult to predict, though a matchup against the White Sox helps. Mitch Keller ($7,700) is in a similar situation, yet the Rangers are a less appealing offense to face.

There are two punt options to consider. The first is Emerson Hancock ($6,800), who's shown signs of delivering on his prospect pedigree with at least 20 DK points from two of his last three outings.

We have a unique slate Saturday in that the main slate kicks off at 1:05 p.m. EDT rather than at 4 or 7. With the action spread out, we'll have eight games to work with as the focus of our preview below.

Pitchers

Sonny Gray ($10,400) represents the highest-salaried option, which is slightly troubling given his inconsistency. He still lists the lowest SIERA of the available pitchers (3.17) while averaging 20.3 DK points at home, where he'll be going up against the Reds on Saturday.

Grant Holmes ($9,800) is another pitcher near the top end of the pool. He's certainly aided by the 15 batters he fanned last time out. While that's obviously an outlier, Holmes is a proven strikeout pitcher and will enjoy a start against a Marlins lineup that's been in the bottom-third of the league in wOBA the last month. They aren't particularly strikeout prone, so this may not be a ceiling performance.

After that duo, it's not a great day for pitching. That leads us into looking at matchups and to an uncomfortable option in Jose Berrios ($8,300). He's exceptionally difficult to predict, though a matchup against the White Sox helps. Mitch Keller ($7,700) is in a similar situation, yet the Rangers are a less appealing offense to face.

There are two punt options to consider. The first is Emerson Hancock ($6,800), who's shown signs of delivering on his prospect pedigree with at least 20 DK points from two of his last three outings. The other is Kumar Rocker ($6,000) with the slate's third-best SIERA (3.83) while drawing the abysmal Pittsburgh lineup.

Check out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!

Top Hitters

The Yankees' offense has been in a rut for the better part of a week, but that will change at some point. There's potential for that to be Saturday as Zach Eflin has allowed 1.86 HR/9 this season with only a 15.8 K%. There should be a lot of contract against him, and it will come at homer-happy Yankee Stadium. Cody Bellinger ($4,700) is definitely someone to consider.

Simeon Woods Richardson is another pitcher with a high contact and long-ball rate, making him someone to target with a power bat. Both Christian Yelich ($4,400) and Jackson Chourio ($4,300) are coming off monster efforts on Friday with a chance to repeat that.

Value Bat

The Twins-Brewers matchup isn't likely to be a popular one to target, though it's an under-the-radar good spot for hitting. Milwaukee will start Jose Quintana, who's crafty while posting decent results. However, it's hard to ignore his limited 16.8 K% and 6.7 K-BB%. Harrison Bader ($3,100) and Willi Castro ($3,400) both represent solid selections.

Stacks to Consider

Cardinals vs. Reds (Chase Petty): Brendan Donovan ($3,600), Willson Contreras ($4,100), Alec Burleson ($3,700)

Petty has only made two big-league starts, but hasn't looked ready for The Show. That's highlighted by a -2.8 K-BB% while surrendering three homers across only 5.1 innings. The Cardinals haven't been a great lineup this season, yet the top of the order has been productive and checks in at a reasonable value. For those that want to pay up at pitcher, the St. Louis offense looks to be a good option.

Atlanta at Marlins (Eury Perez): Ronald Acuna ($6,500), Alex Verdugo ($3,300), Austin Riley ($4,800)

Eury Perez boasts plenty of talent, though he's going through the bumps that often comes with a return from a serious arm injury. His second appearance was better on the surface, yet he still gave up seven baserunners over four innings with a total of a 5:5 K:BB through seven since being activated. Atlanta has been underperforming on offense, but this should be a favorable spot for them.

Try our DraftKings MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan started covering fantasy sports in 2015, joining Rotowire in 2018. In addition to Rotowire, Dan has written for Baseball HQ and Rotoballer.
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