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Tuesday, June 15, brings 30 teams in action with warm weather and not much in the way of top-shelf pitching, which should make for a very enjoyable tournament slate. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel.

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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Tuesday, June 15

Yahoo Stack of the Day: Cleveland Indians vs. RHP Matt Harvey — 5.2 implied runs

This is going to be a very specific recommendation with the lefties in this lineup going against Matt Harvey. Harvey has been tattooed over his last 575 batters faced, allowing power to both lefties (.250 ISO) and righties (.214 ISO). In this stretch the Harvey has allowed 1.99 home runs per nine innings to opposite-handed hitters and 2.14 to right-handed batsmen.

The salaries for Cleveland are off the charts and basically in the same range as the Padres, who have a seven-run implied total in Coors Field, where the temperatures will again be in the upper 90s. The Padres deserve the first look, but Cleveland is a way to go for differentiation. The focus should be with switch-hitting Jose Ramirez ($25) and lefties Eddie Rosario ($17) and Bobby Bradley ($25). Because of their salary cap hit, gamers can stop with this power trio. If a full stack is the strategy, then looking to Josh Naylor ($11) can help average down the cost. Switch-hitting Cesar Hernandez ($19) is not cheap, but there is a decent chance he will get six at-bats if Cleveland rocks Harvey tonight.

Evening Slate

Miami Marlins at LHP Kwang Hyun Kim — 3.7 implied runs

The Coors Field game is also on this sub-slate, so that is the first priority. However, no one needs to be told that that, so this section will focus on the Marlins against Kwang Hyun Kim. Over his three starts before being placed on the injured list, Kim was getting crushed by opposing hitters. Across 13.2 innings he allowed four home runs, 10 earned runs and recorded just nine strikeouts. Though he had 12 years of sustained success in the KBO, the skill level of that league is somewhere between Double-A and Triple-A.

Starling Marte, Jesus Aguilar and Adam Duvall are the right-handed hitters to focus on tonight. It needs to be noted that the Cardinals have just two lefties in the bullpen, and one pitched last night. This means we will likely see right-handers for the back half of this game, which means we can look to Corey Dickerson as a discount dandy in the cleanup spot. It is going to be in the upper 80s tonight in Busch Stadium, which means it will be more hitter-friendly than it was in the spring. There is no need to go to the Marlins on the main slate, but on the short slate they become a nice secondary or contrarian option.

Late Slate

Minnesota Twins at RHP Chris Flexen — 4.4 implied runs

This is an intriguing spot against Chris Flexen, who really got a second chance after washing out with the Mets because Seattle is so desperate for arms. The biggest issue with Flexen is that he does not strike out many hitters, with a 14.3% rate since joining the Mariners. While he does not walk many batters, he pitches to contact and walks a thin line with fly balls.

The lack of strikeout stuff plays well for Miguel Sano and Trevor Larnach. Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson should be the core hitters, and then sprinkle in Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco for a five-man full-stack. On the full slate, focus on the Twins as a two- or three-man stack, as it is going to be relatively cool in Seattle tonight with game-time temperatures in the low 60s.

Spotlight Pitchers

Top Target: LHP Andrew Heaney at Oakland Athletics — 3.8 implied runs

While Andrew Heaney is taking on a mostly right-handed lineup of power-hitting Athletics, he is drawing a reasonable salary on Yahoo and DraftKings tonight. Though he is not great a cash game pitcher on FanDuel, his projection, salary and risk are in line with other options such as Julio Urias and his opponent Frankie Montas.

Strikeouts are Heaney’s calling card; this season he has 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings and does a good job of limiting walks, so when he does give up the inevitable home run, it is often just a solo or two-run shot. It is going to be pleasant tonight in Oakland, with game-time temperatures in the mid- to upper 60s. This will be the first time Heaney is facing the Athletics this season. While it should be noted this is still a small sample size, current A’s have a combined .202/.261/.404 triple slash line in 119 plate appearances against Heaney; three of the five home runs were hit by Elvis Andrus, of all people.

Secondary Option: RHP Casey Mize vs. Kansas City Royals — 4.83 implied runs

The salary for Casey Mize stands out as a steal on DraftKings, and there is a decent chance he will complete the sixth inning, which would meet a major threshold for a quality start on FanDuel. This will be the fourth time this season that Mize has squared off against the Royals, although it has been a full month since they last saw him on the mound. In the three starts, Mize tallied 17 innings, 11 strikeouts and allowed just two home runs. The downside is that he had a 4.77 ERA, which is far from his sterling 3.34 ERA on the season. However, most of that damage was done in a late-April game, with Mize holding serve ceding just three runs in 12.1 May innings against Kansas City. In his last seven starts, Mize has averaged nearly 95 pitches and a strikeout per inning.

Wild Card: RHP Sammy Long vs. Arizona Diamondbacks — TBD implied runs

Tonight Zack Littell will likely be serving as the opener for rookie Sammy Long. This is an intriguing spot, as gamers will be looking for some salary savings to work in all of the hitting options. This year in 15 innings at Double-A and 7.2 innings at Triple-A, Long struck out 37 of 84 batters. In his first appearance out of the bullpen for the Giants, he struck out seven Rangers on 69 pitches in four innings of work. While this is no guarantee of success tonight, he should throw around 75 pitches. Plus, with an opener, there is a chance he will be the pitcher of record in the fifth inning and eligible for the win should San Francisco best Arizona tonight.

Final Thoughts for the Tuesday, June 15, MLB DFS Slate

There is no comfort in the pitching options tonight, but everyone is facing the same challenge. As always, be mindful that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

The post MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks for Tuesday, June 15 appeared first on Awesemo.com.

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