MLB Cash Game Picks: 6-23-15

Cash Game Locks: MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball

Pitcher

Out of all the aces on the hill tonight, Madison Bumgarner will be my number one cash game play. In April and May his strikeout rate wasn't living up to the high price tag, but that has not been the case in June. He has a 30% strikeout rate, in 24 innings, up about 8% from May. Of course he will have the luxury of pitching in one of the best pitcher's parks in baseball, so that just adds another reason to play MadBum tonight. Vegas has the Giants as heavy favorites, and an opponent's run total of just 2.5, which is the lowest of the slate. San Diego has a few lefty mashers, which I doubt will give this elite lefty a lot of problems, and they carry a 23.5% strikeout rate.

While David Price and Zack Greinke both pitch tonight, I am leaning towards a cheaper pitcher for a possible SP2. Carlos Martinez has the fourth best strikeout rate among starting pitchers tonight, and the eighth best swinging strike rate. He has been on quite the tear since those back-to-back blowups. He has a 1.19 ERA since, with a 2.73 FIP. He was even impressive in Coors a few starts ago, which many have not been. Martinez has the capability of putting up a monster line, he has struck out eight or more batters in six starts. The Marlins rank in the bottom of the league against right-handed pitching this year. (.291 wOBA, 81 wRC+, 20.6% strikeout rate)

Catcher

If you are not punting behind the dish tonight, Jonathan Lucroy has a really nice price tag. It is tempting to fit a lot of these big names and salaries, but there is a lot of great plays around the slate. Jon Niese has allowed a .358 wOBA to right-handed bats this season, and Miller Park has had a 133 park factor for right-handed homers in the last three seasons. Lucroy has a 26.3% line drive rate off lefties this season, and has upped his hard hit ball rate tremendously since his return from injury.

First Base

Jesse Chavez has been pretty good this season, yet I don't believe he will come into Texas and exit without a few bruises. Warm weather combined with the Ballpark in Arlington can create a ton of runs, as we have seen in the past. Prince Fielder has come back down to earth since last month's tear, but still hitting the ball solid in June. He possesses just an 8.8% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching, which a low strikeout rate is something I love from my first baseman. Fielder has a .422 wOBA off right-handed pitching this year, and a 170 wRC+. Lefties have a 25% line drive rate off Chavez this season.

It is not tough to fit Paul Goldschmidt in your lineups tonight with a top pitcher, which may surprise you. Goldy may have the highest floor and ceiling of any baseball player in the league. Now he is taking on Kyle Kendrick IN Coors Field, that floor and ceiling only gets higher. I don't usually advocate paying this high for one player in cash games, but I don't mind the price tonight. Kendrick has allowed a .340 wOBA to right-handed bats this season, and his numbers in Coors are atrocious, just as you expected.

Second Base

Jose Altuve will be in every one of my DraftKings lineups tonight for cash games, his success against left-handed pitching, and his price tag make him the top option. On FanDuel, he is still priced pretty high. Ben Zobrist and Logan Forsythe are nice options there. He will likely hit third again against the lefty C.J. Wilson, which has been the trend for Altuve of late. Nothing has changed with Altuve and left-handed pitching, he has a .362 wOBA, and a 134 wRC+.

Third Base

The call will be made between Goldschmidt and Manny Machado as for who I pay up for in the infield. He has absolutely been on fire over the last two weeks, and will face a struggling Joe Kelly. Kelly has allowed a .366 wOBA to right-handed bats, and 35% hard hit ball rate. Machado feasts on bad right-handed pitching, with a .376 wOBA this season. June has been a breakout month for him with a .378 average and six homers.

The Yankees have a run total just as high as the teams in Coors, and even .5 better than the Rockies. Sean O'Sullivan has been just terrible against lefties this season, allowing a .427 wOBA to left-handed bats this season. I expect that number to skyrocket even higher after today's matchups. Yankee Stadium and O'Sullivan on the hill will make for a lot of nice cash game bats for the Bronx Bombers. Chase Headley has a whopping 33% line drive rate off right-handed pitching, yet it hasn't shown in his average. I expect him to take advantage of the matchup tonight, and he is a solid value option at the hot corner.

Shortstop

I was shocked to see Troy Tulowitzki priced below $5,000 on both sites, they have been upping his price tag at home since the beginning of the season. If you are creating a well balanced lineup, it is easier to fit him in over a guy like Goldy, without sacrificing a ton of upside. Tulo has kicked the early season scuffling and is hitting .368 this month, and of course has the Coors advantage. If you are looking for some cheap options, Cesar Hernandez, Didi Gregorius, and Ian Desmond are cheap with good matchups.

Outfield

Once again, I am shocked to see Brett Gardner not above $5,000 on DraftKings, where he was over just the last few games. He is priced to the norm on FanDuel, so I will be taking advantage of that tonight. He has put on a show over the last few games, and definitely has the matchup to keep this hot streak up. He has 14 hits in the last six games and three homers to go along in that span.

The all-around game that A.J. Pollock possesses makes him one of my favorite cash game targets. He will hit leadoff tonight and be involved in a ton of the run creating process. Pollock has a .340 wOBA off right-handed pitching this season, and a 34% hard hit ball rate. Pollock has some pop in his bat, but the Coors bump is going to bring a lot of upside to his game.

The numbers above are over 111 plate appearances, which have been scattered out since 2013. Joey Butler has done nothing but hit well at the Major League level and he has earned his spot with the Rays this year. He has a .383 wOBA this season off right-handed pitching, and has a 27% line drive rate. R.A. Dickey has allowed a .374 wOBA on the road this season, compared to .301 at home. Butler is hitting .346 this month, and has been a consistent value play for some time.