MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | June 9
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
In turn, LHP Matthew Boyd is worthy of tournament consideration against the Phillies, with the oft-injured 34-year-old only 10 innings away from his largest workload of the preceding five seasons. The right-handers in the lineup for Philadelphia have struggled this season with southpaws, though they were tremendous last year. It is also worth pointing out that Bryce Harper (wrist) is on the injured list.
Atlanta is in Milwaukee starting a three-game series tonight. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner LHP Chris Sale will be on the mound against the hometown nine. The 36-year-old has similar numbers to last season, with his strikeouts, walks and home runs each up a tick. The Brew Crew strikes out around league average against southpaws, but their power has disappeared this season with a scant .121 ISO.
Rhys Hoskins and Jackson Chourio are producing like All-Star shoe-ins, but catcher William Contreras is having his worst season against southpaws and Christian Yelich has faltered after a resurgent season last year against fellow lefties. Journeyman Daz Cameron is just happy to be on the field, and former prospect Sal Frelick is much better against righties. The matchup won’t be a walk in the park, but with no Coors Field Extravaganza, there is room under the salary cap to go with a bucks-deluxe pitcher.
Aside from a disastrous performance in his second start of the season, RHP Merrill Kelly has been steady. That game took place in Yankee Stadium, where he allowed nine runs, including a trio of taters in 3.2 innings to the Bronx Bombers. Remember the torpedo bat craze?
In the subsequent 11 starts, Kelly had a 2.55 ERA, 2.56 FIP and a 2.79 xFIP. This was accompanied by just over a strikeout per inning and only five home runs.
The Mariners perform much better on offense away from Seattle, though the team is best positioned to deal with lefties.
Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena are competent at the plate in same-handed matchups, but nothing that should overly intimidate Kelly. Switch-hitters Cal Raleigh and Jorge Polanco do their best work from the left side of the plate, so they will be the biggest worry for the 36-year-old baseball lifer. Rowdy Tellez will be in the lineup until a lefty comes out of the bullpen, and leadoff man J.P. Crawford is a contact maven but short on power.
Kelly is a top-5 option on the full slate, though he really stands out on the three-game late slate, which has some fun contests already posted across the main DFS sites.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Primary Target: Arizona Diamondbacks
Writing these articles every day is fun, a labor of love and also a reminder of things that go sideways. Your Ol’ Pal said some less-than-flattering things about RHP George Kirby, who had struggled since returning from injury. So naturally, he struck out a career-high 14 Angels, which also is the highest mark in the majors this season, tying RHP Max Meyer of the Miami Marlins. The goal is to be right more often than wrong, and that can be challenging in the highly variant sport of baseball.
Coincidently, the recommendation is again to target a Seattle starter; this time it is RHP Emerson Hancock. Like Kirby, Hancock was a first-round selection, though he is not on the same trajectory as his teammate and is unlikely to ever sniff an All-Star nomination, which Kirby has already earned. RHP Logan Gilbert is nearing a return, with the team wanting him to have one more rehabilitation start in the minors. This means Hancock is likely pitching for a spot in the bullpen; otherwise he is likely to be sent back down to the minors unless the team decides it is struggling RHP Bryce Miller who should be demoted instead.
Tempting fate again, Hancock is not much of a strikeout pitcher, recording more than five in just three of his 25 career starts. The 26-year-old also allows power to hitters swinging the stick from both sides of the plate, with elevated hard-hit and line-drive rates that can turn into extra base knocks.
Pretty much everyone in a Diamondbacks uniform is in play tonight, as only Alek Thomas and Jose Herrera are bats to avoid.
Main Slate Secondary Target: Los Angeles Angels
Tonight LHP Jeffrey Springs will be on the mound for the Athletics, and it appears injuries have gotten the best of the 32-year-old. In 2022, Springs had a breakout season with Tampa Bay, and he was building on that in the early portion of 2023 when he suffered a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery, though he at least got the bag with a four-year, $31 million deal a couple months prior.
Since returning to action in 2023, Springs has had walk and home run issues, which is not a good combination. He is still a mid-rotation talent on his best days, but those have been few and far between over his 20 outings since returning to action.
Leadoff man Zach Neto, outfielder Taylor Ward and catcher Logan O’Hoppe are the trio to target, along with Angels legend Mike Trout. On the late slate, Jo Adell is worthy of consideration as a discount dandy, though he is a human wind machine when he is not making contact.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
If you’re serious about making sharp MLB DFS picks, you already know that long-term success starts with using the right tools. The same approach applies to sports betting — and that’s where Portfolio EV shines.
Take Chris Sale under 7.5 strikeouts, for example. This is a +EV bet, meaning it has positive expected value based on the best odds available. But smart betting with Portfolio EV isn’t about chasing isolated plays; it’s about consistently firing off a high volume of +EV wagers. With the Mass Entry tool, you can scale your action and let the math compound your edge over time.
Just like one DFS lineup won’t guarantee a takedown, one bet won’t define your night — it’s the consistent process that leads to profit.
Portfolio EV is built for bettors who want to win over the long haul. By identifying market inefficiencies, the best available odds and stacking a portfolio of +EV bets, it sets you up for compounding returns over time. This isn’t about chasing hot streaks — it’s about trusting the numbers and executing a smart, consistent and scalable strategy to beat the books.
Clearly, Sale is an amazing pitcher and future Hall of Famer, but he is projected for just over seven strikeouts tonight, and this wager is plus money for him to fail to reach eight whiffs. The projected lineup for the Brew Crew has a sub-20% strikeout rate against southpaws over the last season-plus, which means Sale is going to need to make his own magic at the plate. In this same timeframe, he has a 31.6% strikeout rate, which is stellar, but the math favors the under in this scenario.
