Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Sunday 6/1

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2025-06-01 14:19:06 Premium Content Part of the product MLB DFS

Long-time grinder, Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84), is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks.

Happy Sunday, Grinders! Welcome to the first day of June! It’s crazy to think that we are already here. This Sunday brings us a healthy 11-game main slate on DraftKings, while FanDuel has removed the STL/TEX game that starts 30 minutes earlier than any other game this afternoon. That gives us a 10-game slate over there. At first glance, this is an interesting slate with plenty of angles to target for both pitching and offense.

With Sundays often being a hectic lineup day where teams tend to give players a day off on occasion, keep an eye on our MLB starting lineups page as the lineups start to trickle in. We’ll keep you covered with those Sunday surprises.

Let’s dig in and see what this Sunday has to offer!

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS sites available today.

Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings

TOP TIER PITCHING

Hunter Brown vs. Rays
Garrett Crochet vs. Braves
Jacob deGrom vs. Cardinals (DK Only)
Clay Holmes vs. Rockies
Kris Bubic vs. Tigers
Kevin Gausman vs. Athletics

For the second straight day, we have a very strong group of aces at the top. I get the feeling that Cheese is going to be left with some underwhelming pitching days to start the work week, but that shall be his problem to deal with. For today, we have more gloriousness!

As usual, let’s start with a look at the 2025 data:

Brown – 2.00 ERA, 2.61 xFIP, 31.2% K, 6.3% BB
Crochet – 2.04 ERA, 2.94 xFIP, 29.8% K, 8.0% BB
deGrom – 2.42 ERA, 3.39 xFIP, 25.1% K, 5.7% BB
Holmes – 2.98 ERA, 3.64 xFIP, 22.2% K, 9.1% BB
Bubic – 1.45 ERA, 3.37 xFIP, 26.1% K, 7.5% BB
Gausman – 3.68 ERA, 3.55 xFIP, 24.0% K, 4.7% BB

I will start by saying that you can play any of these pitchers. None of them are unplayable. They’re all ace caliber in the context of this slate, and they’re all viable. However, we can afford to be somewhat picky given the plethora of options.

It feels weird to say that Hunter Brown has been the best pitcher of this group, but the numbers support it. He has the lowest xFIP, the 2nd-lowest ERA, and the highest strikeout rate of the bunch. However, that is also factored into his salary tag, as he is now the most expensive pitcher on both FD and DK. His worst start of the year also came against the same Rays team that he faces today. I always give the edge to the hitters when there’s a rematch within a short period of time. I like Brown plenty, but he’s not my priority spend now that the salary is at the top of the list.

I’m going to skip a few names to say that Clay Holmes is probably the default option for cash game play because he is facing the high strikeouts and complete nonsense of the Rockies. This lineup is simply horrendous, and you do save a few bucks with Holmes. His numbers aren’t the same as these other pitchers, but as I wrote yesterday with Kodai Senga, the matchup is the great equalizer.

My favorite GPP option is going to be Garrett Crochet. The Braves will be seen as a difficult matchup on paper, but their offense is still stuck in neutral. They rank 20th in the league in team wOBA against LHP in 2025, and Crochet is one of the best pitchers in the game. He has a 2.04 ERA and 2.94 xFIP on the season to go along with a 30% strikeout rate. His strikeout prop sits at 7.5 today. Ownership will be lower on Crochet given that we have so many other top options in “better” matchups, and I am more than happy to use him as my SP1 in GPP builds.

I do not have a strong take on the other arms that I have listed in this tier. They are all above average in terms of strikeouts, and they all have relatively neutral matchups. Kris Bubic is probably the odd man out for me, as he will not continue to have a sub-5% HR/FB rate, and he has a tough matchup against the Tigers. Kevin Gausman is the intriguing risk/reward option and looked much better in the month of May. Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom has settled in as a very strong 25% strikeout pitcher with good metrics. He’s not the high-upside ace that he used to be, but he is still absolutely a strong play. He just gets lost in the shuffle a bit with all the high-end pitching options. On other slates, he would be the clear SP1. It’s just the way today shakes out.

SECONDARY PITCHING OPTIONS

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