Sunday, June 5, wraps up the weekend with the featured slate beginning at 1:35 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (6/5)
Top Stack: Reds vs. LHP Patrick Corbin — 5.5 implied runs
Despite a 6.96 ERA and 1.79 WHIP, Patrick Corbin has allowed only seven home runs. Of course, six of those have come in the last four games, and he has ceded 22 total extra-base hits. Across 11 starts, he has allowed five or more runs six times, making the Reds a top team to target.
DraftKings goosed the salaries for Brandon Drury ($5,000) and Tommy Pham ($5,400), but likely leadoff man Nick Senzel is only $2,400 and the Human Wind Machine also known as Aristides Aquino is at the minimum $2,000. Catcher Tyler Stephenson, shortstop Kyle Farmer and the venerable Joey Votto are all in play as well. The Nationals bullpen is shaky at best, and they used five relievers yesterday and four on Friday. Temperatures should be in the low-80s, and crooked numbers are in the forecast for Cincinnati.
Mid-Afternoon Slate: Astros at RHP Jonathan Heasley — 4.3 implied runs
Saturday saw the Astros being blanked by Kris Bubic (of all people) and a strong bullpen performance. Do not let that dissuade you from going right back to the Houston hitters against a very pedestrian Jonathan Heasley. Looking at the Awesemo Stack Tool, the ‘Stros have a nice mix of leverage, value and upside this afternoon. Heasley spent two seasons pitching for Oklahoma State before being selected in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. After steadily progressing through the minors, Heasley was called up to The Show in mid-May, with the plan being for him to get the opportunity to stick in the rotation. Over his first four starts, he has 19.1 innings with a whopping 16 walks and just 10 strikeouts. In his last two outings, he ceded three home runs, with each coming after his first time through the order. The 25-year-old profiles better as a multi-inning reliever, but Kansas City is short on arms and likely will keep running him out every five days as a starter.
The usual suspect are the way to go, with Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman all being core options. For differentiation, Chas McCormick and catcher Jason Castro have cheap power at the bottom of the order.
Afternoon Slate: Dodgers vs. RHP Trevor Williams — 5.0 implied runs
Once again, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner are popping in the new Awesemo Top Batters Tool. Trevor Williams is a perfectly average pitcher, though he will be lucky to make it through the Dodgers order two full times. That means the relievers are going to have to handle five or more innings today, and everyone except for Edwin Diaz and Adonis Medina has already seen action in this series. Justin Turner, Mookie Betts and catcher Will Smith can be used for full stacks, though with a 12-run line in the Coors Field Extravaganza, it makes sense to top out at just three Dodgers.
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Best MLB DFS Pitchers Today
Top Target: RHP Lucas Giolito at Rays — 3.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,600 | FanDuel $10,200
Today Lucas Giolito tops the list as the best pitching option, but he is far from a must play. Over his last five starts, the 27-year-old righty has a 4.13 ERA and a 1.41 ERA. Neither of those numbers is particularly eye-catching, though his 37 strikeouts in 28.1 innings during this timeframe is impressive. Across his last 873 batters faced, Giolito has a stellar 29.0% strikeout rate, which is elite. Now for the caveat, the projected Tampa Bay lineup has a lot of plate discipline, striking out only 18.3% of the time against right-handed hurlers over the last season and change. In summary, while Giolito does seem to be the top pitcher today, his salary is granting no reprieve and by no means is this matchup going to be a cakewalk.
Secondary Target: RHP Kevin Gausman vs. Twins — 3.3 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $10,100
The Twins lineup is not as fierce today with Carlos Correa out with COVID-19 and Kyle Garlick (hamstring) and Gio Urshela (foot) dinged up. Max Kepler and a couple relief pitchers do not meet the Canadian health and safety requirements, so they will not be playing today.
Kevin Gausman has been outstanding in his debut season for Toronto, with a career-best 2.51 ERA and six quality starts through his first 10 appearances. He has the ninth-most strikeouts in the league and his 10.3 per nine innings rank eighth among qualified starters. Aside from Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and K-happy Gary Sanchez, the rest of the Minnesota lineup is below replacement level from an offensive perspective.
Afternoon Target: RHP Frankie Montas vs. Red Sox — 3.7 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $10,100
Today will be overcast in the Oakland area with cool temperatures in the low-60s, along with a strong chance of misty drizzle. Boston is not an easy matchup, and they have plated 15 runs in the first two games of this series. On the flipside, Frankie Montas is having a breakout campaign in his age-29 season. Over his last 35 innings, he has a 2.31 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP while recording 40 strikeouts. In this stretch, he faced the Astros, Rays and Angels (twice), which are all loaded with good hitters. There are only three games on the afternoon slate today, so Montas will be popular by default, but he is the clear top option — along with Julio Urias — considering one of the three games is in Coors Field and the other has Trevor Williams taking on Los Angeles in Dodger Stadium.
Additional Opportunities
Patrick Corbin is a target in DFS as well as in the MLB player props market today. Currently he has a 4.5 over/under on his strikeout prop, and the Awesemo Projections have him for 4.1, giving him a 63% probability of failing to exceed today’s threshold. While that does seem close, keep in mind that in his 11 starts, Corbin has more than four strikeouts in just four games (6, 5, 5 and 8).
Other Pitching Options
- RHP Zac Gallen at Pittsburgh Pirates (Main)
- LHP Framber Valdez at Kansas City Royals (Main, Mid-Afternoon)
- RHP George Kirby at Texas Rangers (Main SP2, Mid-Afternoon)
- LHP Martin Perez vs. Seattle Mariners (Mid-Afternoon)
- LHP Julio Urias vs. New York Mets (Afternoon)
One-Off Hitters
- Christian Walker at RHP Zach Thompson (Main)
- Josh Naylor at RHP Dean Kremer (Main)
- Matt Chapman vs. LHP Devin Smeltzer (Main)
- Rowdy Tellez vs. Mike Clevinger (Mid-Afternoon)
- Chad Pinder and Sean Murphy vs. LHP Rich Hill (Afternoon)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
There are slight precipitation risks in Colorado, Kansas City and Oakland, though none of the games are likely to be postponed. Most of the East Coast venues will be in the low-80s, which should make for a pleasant day of baseball.
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