MLB DFS: Model picks and value plays at DraftKings for June 19

FantasyLabs’ MLB player models contain numerous data points to help you build your MLB DFS rosters.

They include our floor, center and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our trend tool, stacking tool and more.

Also, don’t forget that for large field tournaments, you can use our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you want to manually build your teams for cash games or small field tournaments.

Let’s take a look at some MLB plays that stand out in our player models for today’s roster.

Bargain Rating Selection

You may be wondering: What is the bargain rating and why should I care?

Bargain Rating shows how cheap a player is on one DFS site compared to others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than another, he will have a positive Bargain Rating on the site where he is cheaper and a bad Bargain Rating on the site where he is more expensive. It’s a simple metric, but targeting players with discounted prices is almost always a good strategy in DFS.

Bargain rating is highly correlated with player value, which you can quickly see with our projected plus/minus metric.

Given that Plus/Minus helps you estimate a player’s likely number of points compared to what his salary implies, this is a good company for bargain valuation.

MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain Value

Austin Martin ($2,600): Outfielder, Minnesota Twins

After his return to the Twins on June 13 Austin Martin has been valuable to the club and fantasy owners. He has a batting average of .545/.583/.636 over the last four games with three multi-hit appearances.

Martin has played in 34 games for Minnesota, with an overall batting line of .264/.326/.391. His performance was capped with just one home run and eight RBIs in 95 batting appearances. The model sees value in Martin as a gap-filler in the lower lineup with double-digit DraftKings scoring ability.

The Twins face the 23-year-old right-hander Taj Bradley for the Rays today. Bradley is 2-4 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP this season.

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MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Tips

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Cole Ragans ($9,800) at Oakland Athletics

The Kansas City workhorse has kicked into another strikeout gear and ranks second in the American League with 102 punchouts this season. His 29.1 K% and 94.53 average pitch count give him plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points each night.

Cole Ragan’s is 4-4 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP this season. He has an average plus/minus of +0.79 with a wOBA of .274 and an xBA of .233 this season.

Using PlateIQ, the Athletics’ projected lineup has a .229 ISO and a .339 wOBA against left-handed pitchers this season. Oakland is one of the best pitching stadiums in the league with low stadium ratings for hitters on both sides of the plate. Expect Ragans to take advantage of the low run and hit projections for the Athletics tonight.

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Freddie Freeman ($6,400) in the Colorado Rockies

The Dodgers have a number of promising games to show for themselves tonight in Colorado. Just behind teammate Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman has the second highest ceiling projection on the main board.

Freeman is having another strong season for Los Angeles, with a hitting line of .298/.409/.496, just under the .300 mark he hit in seven of the last eight seasons. His power numbers are down a bit from recent seasons, with 10 home runs in 75 games. His hard-hit percentage of 39.3 and xSLG of .482 are his lowest numbers since at least 2015.

The model expects fireworks in Colorado as the Dodgers have a top-notch matchup against Ryan FeltnerThe Rockies right-hander has a 1-6 record, a 5.71 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

More DraftKings MLB DFS bats and pitchers

One of the great benefits of a FantasyLabs Pro membership is the ability to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.

A new addition to our MLB projections is THE BAT X by Derek Carty of RotoGrinders. This purchase allows you to use his projections alone or create aggregated projections within our player models.

For this example, we created a 50/50 blend using THE BAT X and the FantasyLabs projections to identify some hitters that stand out with this blend.

MLB DFS Pitchers

Joe Ryan ($9,500) vs. Tampa Bay Rays

When Joe Ryan can keep the ball in the field, he has been very effective for the Minnesota Twins this season. The right-hander has already allowed 13 home runs this season, but has also amassed the fourth-best WHIP in the American League (0.94).

Overall, Ryan is 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 starts. He has posted four positive plus/minus results in his last four starts, each with at least 23 DraftKings points.

The Rays are near the bottom of the league in home runs but have a high longball projection. Their hit-and-run projections are much lower, with the model having Ryan stand out for fantasy owners tonight.

Available now: our MLB DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator, which uses the power of simulation to create advanced DFS lineups.

MLB DFS BatsS

Shohei Ohtani ($7,000) at the Colorado Rockies

It is difficult to hold Shohei Ohtani from the model picks on a daily basis, but with the matchup in Colorado, it’s even more difficult. Ohtani is 5-10 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs in the first two games of the series.

Ohtani continues his historic pace in 2024 with a batting line of .316/.388/.608. He has already hit six home runs in June, bringing his total to 20 on the season, and is on pace to set a new career high with 16 stolen bases in 72 games.

The Dodgers have by far the highest implied run total on the roster. Even with a price tag that starts with a seven, Ohtani is still worth his money as a star in fantasy lineups.

Francisco Lindor (4,800 USD) at the Texas Rangers

Fantasy owners looking for value outside of the state of Colorado could target streaking Francisco Lindor tonight in Texas. The Mets shortstop has an impressive plus/minus average of +4.39 in his last 10 games.

This season, Lindor has a batting average of .238/.309/.424 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI. He has hit 11 bases and 18 doubles while scoring the ninth most runs in the National League (46).

Lindor will play against the weakening Andrew Heaney tonight. The left-hander from Texas is 2-8 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 13 starts this season.