MLB DFS Picks, Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks: SP1 Max Fried + Yankees Stacks (June 20)

Friday wraps up the workweek with a thrilling 13-game featured slate locking at 7:05 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Yahoo is reaching forward to add the 6:40 p.m. ET game in Pittsburgh, so be sure to register for contests in a timely fashion. As always, the best way to find top MLB DFS picks is via Stokastic’s industry-leading tools and MLB DFS projections to figure out how to build MLB DFS stacks, identify top pitchers and build strong daily fantasy baseball lineups top to bottom. The Stokastic MLB DFS Top Stacks Tool loves both sides of the Coors Field Extravaganza, and the Yankees in New York present an alternative path. Aces abound, with LHP Max Fried rising above the fray, though Zack Wheeler, Hunter Brown and Clayton Kershaw have strong matchups. Young Haden Birdsong is the best fantasy point-per-dollar option, looking like the SP2 on DraftKings and Yahoo.

MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | June 20

MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers

In New York, LHP Max Fried gets a matchup against a Baltimore offense that has been showing signs of life but still doesn’t have a full complement of hitters, with Tyler O’Neill, Ryan Mountcastle and Jorge Mateo all on the shelf. The Orioles have scored the fifth-most runs in the league over the last 30 days, though in June, they have tallied four or fewer runs in 10 of 17 games.

Fried ranks third with his 1.89 ERA and eighth overall with his 0.951 WHIP, while his 11 quality starts are the second most in the league this season. Plus his nine wins match teammate Carlos Rodon atop the leaderboard. Aside from Ramon Urias, the rest of the projected O’s lineup has been a hot mess against southpaws this season, posting a sub-.100 ISO and a 25.8% strikeout rate. This is a far cry from last year when the same hitters had a .158 ISO and a 24.1% strikeout rate against lefties. Danger is always right around the corner with the Batters of Birdland, but we are now looking at nearly a half a season of subpar results.

Across his last 1,101 batters faced, it has been fellow lefties with the most production against Fried, while he has held opposing-righties to a scant .077 ISO, a solid 22.8% strikeout rate and only a 5.1% barrel rate.

Wilyer Abreu (oblique) is expected to return from the injured list, but that is small consolation for the Red Sox, who need to replace Rafael Devers, along with the still injured Alex Bregman and Tristan Casas (out for the rest of the season).

Birdsong started out the season in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. Since moving into the rotation, the soon-to-be 24-year-old has seen his pitch count steadily increase (80, 88, 88, 93, 104) while averaging five innings per appearance, with his six frames in Coors Field last Thursday matching his personal best.

There was quite a bit of Twitter kerfuffle in the season-long fantasy world, with Birdsong commanding some ridiculous waiver bids across the big-money leagues when it was announced that he was going to be replacing Jordan Hicks (since traded to Boston as part of the Devers deal) in the rotation.

While he was the top prospect in the San Francisco system, graduating to The Show last season, Birdsong projected more as a single-inning or potentially four- to five-out reliever. He was a sixth-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft after mostly working as a multi-inning reliever for two seasons at Eastern Illinois.

It will be interesting to see how long Birdsong can hold his own before the league catches up to his deceptive delivery and if he can make countermoves against these adjustments. We are probably a couple months away from this starting to occur, so that isn’t much of an issue tonight, but it is important to understand how both fantasy and actual baseball analysts are divided in their assessments of Birdsong.

Jarren Duran and Abreu hold the platoon advantage tonight, and they will likely be the toughest outs, along with journeyman switch-hitter Abraham Toro. Youngsters Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are still very green, and that should give Birdsong the edge against them. Trevor Story, Ceddanne Rafaela and David Hamilton are below-replacement-level bats against righties, which bodes well for the Giants tonight.

MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks

Main Slate Secondary Target: New York Yankees

Heck, even the downtrodden Colorado offense has a 5.3 implied run total, courtesy of both the weather and a matchup against RHP Zac Gallen, who allowed four or more earned runs in six of his last seven starts. The Rockies got to him for four home runs and six total runs in Arizona one month ago. Pretty much anyone in the D-Backs lineup is in play, though it will cost a pretty penny, while the lefties for the Rox look solid and carry a more palatable cap hit.

Turning our attention to the Bronx, it is going to be a warm evening in Yankee Stadium with a 10 to 12 mph breeze out to right field, further augmenting the fun to be had by lefties. Baltimore will be riding with “rookie” RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, who has a 14.1% strikeout rate, a low 7.4% swinging-strike rate and an elevated 9.9% barrel rate. The 35-year-old is on a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles, and he has been a solid contributor, getting by on guile, ground balls and limiting fly balls. However, there are only so many tricks that he can use against an offense as strong as the Yankees.

Last night, New York ended a six-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The team has scored the third-most runs in the league this season, though it has been mired in the doldrums with just 14 in the last eight games, including the seven scored yesterday.

Aaron Judge ($6,600) and Jazz Chisholm ($5,100) are expensive on DraftKings, but outfielders Trent Grisham ($4,000) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,700) will help lower the cost of stacks. Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe also profile well against Sugano, which makes the Yankees a strong Coors Field countermove. Baltimore has a solid bullpen, though it has seen a lot of work over the last week.

Stokastic’s MLB DFS Single Lineup Simulator is a game-changing tool that transforms lineup construction through powerful, data-driven simulations — essential for serious DFS players. See how the Simulator analyzes this single lineup for today’s MLB DFS slate:

Late Slate Primary Target: Cleveland Guardians

Going from Tropicana Field to Sutter Health Park is quite the dichotomy for a pitcher, with the sizeable boost to offensive production bestowed upon hitters. Even with a sub-5.00 run total, the Guardians are still projecting out as an above-average stack, particularly on the five-game late slate.

Targeting the right-handed batsmen will be key, which bodes well for Lane Thomas and David Fry, who are likely to be in the top half of the order with a southpaw toeing the rubber tonight. This duo is off to a slow start this season, though both have a solid track record with the platoon advantage. Switch-hitters Jose Ramirez and the always smooth Carlos Santana are in play as well, with shortstop Gabriel Arias a strong discount dandy on DraftKings ($3,200) and FanDuel ($2,400).

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 a bet like Miguel Rojas under 0.5 total hits + runs + RBIs (HRR). On the surface, it’s a simple play. But behind the scenes, it’s a +EV bet — meaning it’s mathematically profitable based on the best odds available. And with Portfolio EV, you’re not relying on one-off picks. You’re stacking dozens — even hundreds — of +EV wagers at scale using the Mass Entry tool, turning small edges into long-term profit.

Just like one DFS lineup won’t win you a GPP, one smart bet doesn’t build a bankroll. But a consistent process does. This isn’t about chasing hot streaks. It’s about making smart, data-backed decisions every day and letting the math do the heavy lifting.

Rojas should be in the lineup tonight against LHP MacKenzie Gore, which is far from an easy matchup. The 36-year-old infielder failed to accrue a hit, run or RBI in 16 of his 25 starts. It is never fun rooting for a player to do literally nothing on offense, but with +166 odds and “true odds” of +141, the 8.1% expected ROI is too tempting to ignore.