FanDuel MLB Daily Fantasy Picks 6/3/19

Slate News, Injuries, Vegas Totals, & Weather

I have never seen a Monday slate look like this before. We have three games, and the slate starts at 9:40 EST. Few injuries to break down as David Peralta is looking to return to the Arizona lineup. This would give a better bat back into the lineup. Justin Turner has been dealing with a hamstring issue, but is listed as probable tonight. No weather concerns given all games are on the West Coast or have roofs. Houston has the highest implied total of 5.2, as Los Angeles is second at 4.7.

Pitchers

Aaron Nola ($9,600) – After a rocky start to the season, Aaron Nola has bounced back with a few strong starts in a row. He will have a great chance to keep this hot stretch going against San Diego, and in Petco Park. He will face a heavily right-handed Padres lineup. Since 2018, the projected lineup has a 24.7% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching. Not much has changed in 2019 alone, giving Nola some larger strikeout upside here. Both him and Walker Buehler will be the popular arms tonight because on a three game slate where else are you headed? Nola is a slight road favorite, and has a 26% strikeout rate this season. His xFIP currently sits at 3.65. We get a reasonable price tag on him, and despite his ownership I will choose to differ in tournaments with bats instead.

Cash Hitters

Myles Straw ($2,000) – There is a free square at $2,000 tonight and his name is Myles Straw. With the injuries piling up in Houston, we are getting some cheap value. Straw is projected to lead off and he opens up some salary relief for you to fit bigger bats in. Because the two arms are on the expensive side, Straw allows you to add a couple hundred to your average salary remaining. He also gets to face Wade LeBlanc. The lefty has allowed a .408 wOBA and .278 IDO to right-handers this season. His hard-contact rate and flyball rate is over 40% to right-handed hitters. Great value here and tough to avoid in cash games.

Alex Bregman ($4,400) – One of the only big Houston names healthy is Alex Bregman. For the reasons above with LeBlanc on the hill, it all applies to Bregman being a strong pay up option. LeBlanc has sometimes been a crafty lefty but that hasn’t been the case this season. He relied a lot on his changeup, which Bregman has a .378 wOBA off lefty changeups. Against southpaws in general dating back to last season, Bregman owns a .392 wOBA and .241 ISO. Third base has a few enticing options and I can see myself using two 3B on this slate given the utility spot.

Mallex Smith ($2,600) – Cooling off over the weekend has kept Mallex Smith’s price down in this range. A lot of his production comes on the base paths with steals. After his minor league stint we saw Smith start to produce as expected in a full time role with Seattle. He is another cheaper leadoff bar who has plenty of upside but also a stable floor in a matchup with an average right-hander. Martin has a 4.81 xFIP this season, and has allowed a .336 wOBA to lefties in a small major league sample size. The Seattle implied total sits around 4.5 and this game has a chance to be a shootout given the pitching matchup.

Tournament Hitters

David Freese ($2,800) – You can make the case for both David Freese and Justin Turner in this spot, although Freese comes about $500 cheaper. Both have strong numbers against left-handed pitching, but I’ll resort to them more in tournaments with Robbie Ray being such a boom or bust arm. Since 2018, Ray has allowed a .348 wOBA and .174 ISO to right-handed hitters. However, he also has a 30% strikeout rate in that span. Freese and Turner have nearly identical numbers against left-handed pitching. He has a .402 wOBA and .218 ISO. Turner sits with a .398 wOBA and .216 ISO. Both should find their way into the lineup tonight and are strong plays.

Mitch Haniger ($4,100) – Martin has been hammered by right-handed hitters in a small sample size this season. He has allowed over a .500 wOBA and .400 ISO to right-handed hitters. Seattle is still a powerhouse for home runs, and Mitch Haniger is one of them. He has a .353 wOBA sand .228 ISO against right-handed pitching. Haniger has a .360 wOBA and .220 ISO off this fastball range which Martin relies on over 60% of the time against right-ganders. The Seattle bats are in play tonight even though their run total has fluctuated in the last 24 hours.

Andrew McCutchen ($3,600) – The downside to the Phillies lineup tonight is that they are playing in Petco Park where it is tough for right-handed power. Eric Lauer is on the hill, who is an average lefty that a lot of Phillies right-handed bats stand out against. Since 2018 Lauer has allowed a .337 wOBA to both sides of that plate and has an xFIP over 4.50. In that span, Andrew McCutchen has a .357 wOBA and .171 ISO off left-handed pitching. His hard-contact rate is also at 41%.