MLB DFS Picks Today (6/26): DraftKings & FanDuel Lineups

It is a massive Friday in MLB DFS: a 15-game main slate with ownership spread thin and a clear top pitcher to build around. On the Stokastic MLB DFS Live Before Lock show, host Eric Lindquist walked through his DraftKings and FanDuel board, and the takeaway was simple. Jacob Misiorowski is the play that defines the night, and almost everything else is about finding the cheap arms and bats that let you afford him. Here are the picks, the stacks, and the leverage for Friday, June 26.

In Summary

• The SP1: Jacob Misiorowski (about 24.4 projected points) is the centerpiece on DraftKings; build to fit him.
• The Top Stack: the Minnesota Twins lead the Sims at Target Field, with the Yankees and Phillies right behind.
• The Leverage: a big 15-game slate means thin ownership, so pair Misiorowski with cheap arms (Patrick Corbin, Joey Cantillo) and under-owned bats.
• See every projection, projected ownership, and optimal-lineup rate in the Stokastic MLB DFS Sims.

Watch The Video

Eric Lindquist built lineups live on screen and broke down every pitcher and stack on the June 26 slate. Watch on YouTube for the full pre-lock show.

The 15-Game Slate At A Glance

Fifteen games is a lot of real estate, and that changes how you build. With this many bats and arms in the pool, no single play has to carry a huge ownership tag, which opens up leverage everywhere. The weather is muted across most of the board, with Busch Stadium (Marlins at Cardinals) carrying real rain risk and Target Field and Oriole Park grading as the friendlier hitting spots. Lindquist's whole approach was to lock in his pitching conviction, then dig for value bats that fit. If you want the deeper logic on punting ownership for upside, our MLB DFS contrarian strategy guide walks through it.

The Tools Behind These Plays

Every pick below comes off the Stokastic MLB Sims, which simulate the full contest tens of thousands of times to produce projections, projected ownership, leverage, and optimal-lineup rates, then build and balance your lineups inside the Sims. That is how Lindquist knew Misiorowski was showing up in 95% of his top-150 builds and where the under-owned pivots were hiding.

Build this slate with the Sims. Stokastic runs the contest tens of thousands of times to find the highest-upside lineups, with projected ownership and leverage built in. Code MLBLBL takes 15% off any MLB or all-access package.

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Pitching: Build Around Jacob Misiorowski (SP1)

Here is how we have the pitching pool stacking up on DraftKings, with Misiorowski as the anchor and the rest of the board sorted into leverage and value tiers:

Misiorowski is the player the slate revolves around. He projects for north of 24 fantasy points, he leads the entire slate in home-run-to-fly-ball ratio, and the Cubs rolled out a heavily right-handed lineup against him, which is exactly what we want. Against righties he runs a near-29% strikeout rate with elite power suppression, and the strikeout upside is what fantasy scoring rewards most.

Jacob Misiorowski · $13,000 (DK) · Brewers vs. Cubs

• The clear top projection on the board at roughly 24.4 points in the Sims.
• Right-handed-heavy Cubs lineup plays directly into his splits.
• Lindquist ran him at about 95% exposure in his top-150 lineups and projected ownership near 45%.

Yes, $13,000 is a big tag on DraftKings, and the lineups without him look very different. But the math is the point: the realistic floor-to-ceiling range on a pitcher like this is far tighter than trying to make up 12-plus points across multiple cheap one-off bats. On FanDuel, where his top-pitcher rate comes down and he sits around $7,900, his ownership drops under half the field, which only makes him better there.

The SP2 Decision

Because Misiorowski eats so much salary, the second pitcher spot is where this slate gets interesting. Lindquist's preferred values:

Patrick Corbin · $5,500 (DK) · Blue Jays vs. Rangers

• The cheapest arm on the slate and his favorite tournament dart at about 10-11% exposure.
• Good against left-handed bats (a 23.5% strikeout rate vs. lefties), and Texas runs several dangerous lefties he matches up with.
• The stuff has faded, so the floor is shaky, but at $5,500 it frees up the salary to roster Misiorowski plus bats.

Joey Cantillo · $7,400 (DK) · Guardians vs. Mariners

• The leverage SP2: projected for roughly half of Taj Bradley's ownership against a better matchup.
• Progressive Field is one of the worst parks in baseball for right-handed power, and Seattle has been among the league's worst against left-handed pitching.
• The strikeout ceiling is not elite, but the run-suppression floor is strong.

Roki Sasaki · $8,000 (DK) · Dodgers vs. Padres

• A sub-10% tournament pivot against a Padres lineup that strikes out at a top-four rate vs. righties.
• A 24.1% strikeout rate and that splitter give him real upside; the home-run risk is the catch.

Taj Bradley · $7,600 (DK) · Twins vs. Rockies

• The cash-game arm and likely the most popular SP2 on the slate, drawing the Rockies at pitcher-friendly Target Field.
• A fine play, but the ownership is why Lindquist preferred Cantillo as the leverage version of the same price point.

J.T. Ginn · $7,700 (DK) · Athletics vs. Angels

• A right-hander facing an Angels lineup that strikes out plenty against righties, with one of the highest top-pitcher rates on the board.
• Lindquist did not care that Ginn could push 50%-plus ownership; the projection and strikeout certainty made him a jam regardless.

One arm to fade: Nathan Eovaldi ($9,000, DK) faces a Blue Jays team with the lowest strikeout rate in baseball against right-handed pitching, and his home-run rate is up. The metrics underneath are fine, but there are cheaper arms in better spots, so the price is not worth it here.

Top MLB DFS Stacks

Minnesota Twins. The Sims' top overall stack, and they will be popular at 9-12% across the board. Lindquist leaned toward Twins one-offs and two-to-three-man combos rather than the full five, with Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Brooks Lee as the names he kept coming back to. Target Field plays up for right-handed power, which fits the matchup.

New York Yankees. His favorite spot every time they are under-owned. They draw a left-hander at Fenway with the wind blowing out, and the lineup has held its WRC+ and ISO even without their biggest bats. Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Jasson Domínguez, and Cody Bellinger headline a stack the field keeps forgetting.

Philadelphia Phillies. A genuine smash spot. The Phillies face an inexperienced, struggling Mets left-hander with almost no big-league track record, and Lindquist loved the price-to-upside on Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh. The splits do not scare him even with lefty bats facing a lefty.

Leverage tip: when an anchor like Misiorowski soaks up 45% ownership, the edge moves to your bats. We want at least one stack the field is under-rostering, which is why the cheap White Sox and the Athletics matter as much as the chalk Twins.

Chicago White Sox. Not a five-man-stack play so much as a source of dirt-cheap bats for mini-stacks. Miguel Vargas (about 5% owned), Colson Montgomery, and Jacob Gonzalez give you cheap upside that frees salary for Misiorowski. He likes them as a contrarian two- or three-man piece.

Athletics. If you cannot or will not play Misiorowski, the A's go to the top of the alternative list: a much better park than their last series and real power up and down. Nick Kurtz, Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers, and Tyler Soderstrom are the bats, and they are cheap enough to fit easily on FanDuel alongside savings plays.

The Washington Nationals are a quieter one Lindquist flagged: the best team in baseball against left-handed pitching this season, drawing a lefty in Trevor Rogers. James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Dylan Crews lead a lineup that is not pulling much ownership.

Value Bats And Home Run Plays

When the slate is this big, the cheap bats are how you afford the pitching. A few FanDuel values Lindquist highlighted:

• Trea Turner · $2,900 (FD) · Phillies, badly underpriced
• Royce Lewis · $2,800 (FD) · Twins, with third- and first-base eligibility
• Byron Buxton · $4,100 (FD) · Twins, his favorite Minnesota piece
• Jacob Gonzalez · $2,300 (DK) · White Sox, his favorite contrarian one-off

For home run swings, Lindquist's headliner was Miguel Vargas, who he called "nuclear" against a beatable White Sox-Royals pitching matchup at 5% ownership. Paul Goldschmidt is the auto-click power bat at plus money, and the Athletics' power core (Kurtz, Soderstrom, Butler) gives you cheap pop if you want to get off the chalk.

Weather To Watch

Most of the slate is clean, but keep an eye on Busch Stadium (Marlins at Cardinals), where rain risk is real and Lindquist planned to simply avoid the game in single-entry rather than gamble on a delay. Oriole Park graded as a friendly hitting environment, while Target Field is a good pitching park that still lets right-handed power play.

Example: How To Build A Misiorowski GPP Lineup

Here is how the salary math actually works on DraftKings. Paying $13,000 for Misiorowski leaves $37,000 for the other nine roster spots, an average of about $4,100 each. That is why the cheap arms matter: slot Patrick Corbin at $5,500 as your SP2 and you have spent $18,500 on pitching, leaving $31,500 for eight bats, or about $3,900 a spot. From there:

1. Anchor a stack the field is light on, like four or five Yankees bats against the Fenway lefty.
2. Add a value mini-stack: two or three White Sox (Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Jacob Gonzalez at $2,300) to free salary.
3. Fill the last spots with one-off leverage like Byron Buxton or Trea Turner ($2,900 on FanDuel).

Run that frame through the Sims and let the projected ownership tell you which version of it wins most often. For the full GPP framework, see our guide on how to win DFS tournaments.

FAQ

Who Is The Top MLB DFS Pitcher Today?

Jacob Misiorowski is the clear SP1 on the June 26 slate at roughly 24.4 projected points in the Stokastic Sims, leading the board in home-run-to-fly-ball ratio against a Cubs lineup that leaned right-handed. He is expensive at $13,000 on DraftKings, but the projection gap is large enough that Lindquist ran him in about 95% of his top builds.

Who Are The Best MLB DFS Stacks Today?

The Twins (the top stack in the Sims at Target Field), the Yankees (vs. a lefty in wind-aided Fenway), and the Phillies (against a struggling Mets lefty) headline the board, with the cheap White Sox and the Athletics as contrarian GPP pivots.

How Do I Find Leverage On A Big MLB DFS Slate?

On a 15-game slate, ownership spreads thin, so pair a heavily owned anchor like Misiorowski with under-owned bats and arms. Stokastic projected ownership flags the spots the field is overlooking, such as Joey Cantillo at roughly half of Taj Bradley's ownership. New to the terms? Our MLB DFS glossary covers the basics.

Where Can I Get The Full MLB DFS Projections And Ownership?

The complete Stokastic MLB Sims, projections, projected ownership, and optimal-lineup rates live in the Stokastic DataHub. Code MLBLBL takes 15% off any MLB or all-access package.

Bottom Line

This is a Misiorowski slate. Lock in your SP1, find the cheapest competent second arm (Corbin, Cantillo, or Sasaki for leverage), then load up on under-owned bats from the Twins, Yankees, Phillies, and the cheap White Sox. With 15 games on the board, the field is spread thin, so the edge is in projected ownership: ride the chalk where it is worth it and leverage everywhere else. Run it all through the Sims before lock to see which builds actually win.

New to Stokastic? The MLB Sims simulate the full contest tens of thousands of times so you build on simulated outcomes, not one projected score, with projected ownership and leverage built in. Code MLBLBL takes 15% off any MLB or all-access package.

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