MLB DFS Slate Preview: Friday, June 2
Erik Wardenburg previews the Friday, June 2nd slate, breaking down his favorite MLB DFS picks, the top stacks, and some optimizer values at DraftKings & FanDuel. Sign up for MLB Premium to build DFS lineups like a pro!
Huge 13-game slate to end the week, with Ohtani vs. Valdez headlining my must-watch pitching matchup of the day. Civale and Clevinger will come off the IL to start today, and we’ll see the MLB debut for Tigers prospect Reese Olson.
Stanton and Donaldson will come off the IL for the Yankees, and Rizzo has a good chance of returning from his neck issue. So much more news and notes to get to along with plenty of MLB DFS picks, so no more chit chat and let’s get to lineup building!
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel & DraftKings
This daily article highlights some of RG’s most helpful MLB DFS tools, including our industry-leading MLB DFS projections and MLB DFS optimizer, with some picks and analysis along the way. I will focus on the main slate of the day, but you can still find plenty of other tools, content, and analysis on RG for other slates.
MLB DFS Weather Check
Before we look at the projected lineups and MLB DFS picks for the day, it’s crucial to understand how the weather will impact the slate. Then we can better understand if we want to target certain games with ideal hitting conditions, for example, and possibly avoid games at risk of delay or postponement. Two tools to use are the MLB Weather Report and MLB WeatherEdge, which are both managed by RG’s Chief Meteorologist, Kevin Roth. You should also be following Roth on Twitter for his important weather news and updates.
- TBR/BOS is our biggest rain concern, as it’s currently with an ORANGE rating and does have slight PPD risk. Fast moving scattered showers and storms will have widespread coverage in the area, so there’s a good chance for a delay or two and not out of the question they just decide to not play. I’m fading pitchers in this game and targeting hitters only in GPPs, if it sounds like they’ll try to play.
- TOR/NYM, CLE/MIN, and COL/KCR are all rated YELLOW, as scattered showers give each game a chance for a delay. All three games will be very warm with temps in the low 80s to high 70s if played.
- STL/PIT and PHI/WSH will be scorching today with temps in the high 80s.
- DET/CHW will be in the low 70s to high 60s. CHC/SD, NYY/LAD, and BAL/SF will be in the low 60s.
- Today’s dome games are SEA/TEX, LAA/HOU, and ATL/ARI.
MLB Projected Lineups – Analysis & Top Stacks
There are ways to get edges in MLB DFS, such as stacking a lineup or targeting guys higher in the order (since they are more likely to see an extra at-bat). We should always look for value bats that arise each slate. They allow us to fit those extra one or two players into our lineup who are likelier to hit home runs and get us those ceiling games we need to win tournaments.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at MLB Starting Lineups to see what the likely batting orders are for this slate, which teams I’m looking to stack, and any other interesting notes. Going forward, the projected lineups will usually be pretty consistent daily, with the main changes being based on the opposing pitcher being a righty or lefty. Also, certain players are more likely than others to get a day off if playing a day game after a night game.
- Carlos Santana will return to the Pirates lineup after missing some time with a back injury. Marcano remains at leadoff against another righty.
- Brandon Belt is back in the lineup at cleanup for Toronto, so Varsho will back down to seventh.
- Josh Bell is going on the paternity list, so Naylor and Arias will get most of the 1B starts until he returns. Rosario is getting a day off so Freeman will start and hit second.
- The Phillies are changing their order up and moving Schwarber to the leadoff spot. Stott will move down to second, while Trea Turner will move down to fifth.
- The Mariners optioned Trammell and called up Mike Ford, who is in the lineup tonight at DH batting eighth.
- Correa re-aggravated his plantar fascia yesterday and is out today, while Buxton was HBP in the ribs and is also out. Royce Lewis is up to second in the order and is a great play.
- Kris Bryant landed on the IL yesterday, so we’ll see more OF starts for Jones and Doyle.
- Lars Nootbaar is going on the IL with a lower back contusion, so Jordan Walker will likely be a regular in the lineup again after being recalled. Donovan moves to leadoff today and should be a regular there against righties until Nootbaar returns.
- Riley Greene has a stress fracture in his leg and is out indefinitely, so Akil Baddoo should get a lot of starts in the top 3 of the order. Guys like Nevin, Marisnick, and Ibanez will all get more starts in the OF now.
- Manny Machado is back for the Padres hitting cleanup, while Bogaerts will move to leadoff with Cronenworth down to fifth.
- Smith and Rojas are getting days off for Arizona, so Perdomo will move to leadoff and Rivera will play 3B.
- The Yankees have a lot of moving pieces today, as Stanton and Donaldson are back in the lineup, and potentially Rizzo as well. Bader went on the IL recently, while Cabrera and Cordero were sent down, so today’s lineup should be pretty standard against lefties.
- Michael Conforto is likely still out with a heel injury, so Sabol should continue to get OF starts with Bailey getting most of the catcher starts.
- Taillon has allowed 3+ ER in all but one of his starts this year, so the Padres are my top stack of the slate. SD just put up 10 runs on Luzardo yesterday, so I’m expecting another crooked number from them back at home against a much worse pitcher. I also really like the White Sox against Olson making his MLB debut, as he sports a 6.38 ERA in AAA this season. KC is one of my top “under-the-radar” stacks today at home against the low strikeout Chase Anderson.
Make sure to follow the RG MLB Twitter feed for confirmed lineups, as well as our DFS Alerts page for important news and analysis.
MLB DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Optimizer Picks
With a good feel for the projected lineups, weather, and strong stacks to consider, let’s check out the RotoGrinders MLB DFS optimizer, LineupHQ. With this tool, you can create up to 300 MLB DFS lineups in seconds, all of which will adhere to the custom settings you input. For insight into how one of the best MLB DFS players uses LineupHQ, read this article and watch the embedded videos from the GOAT himself, CheeseIsGood.
If we click on the “P/$” column header in the LineupHQ grid, it will rank all of the available players from highest to lowest based on their expected fantasy points per dollar of salary on the specific DFS site you have selected — this is one of the best starting points for finding value on every slate. Let’s do that now and see what stands out on FanDuel and DraftKings.
- There are so many great SPs going today, and I’m expecting a pretty wide range of pitchers showing up in cash game lineups. Valdez, Ohtani, Webb, and Wheeler all have huge upside but will cost you a lot of salary. Meanwhile, guys like Verlander, Castillo, Jon Gray, Kershaw, and Morton are about $1-2k cheaper but could all end up as similar or even better p/$ plays. For even cheaper, I don’t mind taking shots on Flaherty, Severino, and Kremer in GPPs. Right now I’m not 100% decided on which SP I’m going with in cash games, as a lot will depend on what value plays I end up targeting as lineups start coming out. If I had to pick right now though, I’m leaning towards Wheeler from the expensive options or Jon Gray from the cheaper options.
- I’m going to do my best to fit in Tatis ($4,200) and Soto ($4,300), but If I need the salary I’ll drop one of them down to either Machado ($3,000), Cronenworth ($3,100), Odor ($2,900), or Carpenter ($2,900) as I really want SD exposure in my main build. Gary Sanchez ($2,300) is coming off b2b games with an HR, so if he starts today he is a very solid extreme value play. I like taking higher than 1.5 hits+runs+rbis for Soto on Underdog today, and if you’re a new user, make sure to use RG’s Underdog Fantasy promo code.
(See RotoGrinders projections directly on the Fantasy Pick’em sites with our browser extensions, available to premium users.)
- STL and PHI are other offenses I like targeting today, as they’re hitting in the best weather of the slate and have the highest projected run totals currently. Contreras ($2,800) and Donovan ($2,700) are my favorite value plays from STL, while Stott ($3,000), Turner ($2,900), Castellanos ($3,000), and Schwarber ($3,100) make for a fantastic full stack that will really help you fit in a top SP. Harper ($3,600) is also at a very affordable price if you have the extra salary, while Arenado ($3,400) and Burleson ($2,500) are a couple other pretty cheap options from STL.
- COL and KC are both facing very average righties in good hitting weather, so I like taking a couple hitters from each team here in your main build. Ryan McMahon ($3,600) remains one of the hottest hitters in baseball with two more hits yesterday, and although his price is starting to creep up, I still think he’s cheap enough to target at the 2B/3B spots in cash games. Blackmon ($3,400), Grichuk ($3,200), and Diaz ($2,900) are other COL bats to consider and make for a nice cheap GPP stack. From KC, I’m loving the prices of Pratto ($2,900), Pasquantino ($3,100), and Melendez ($2,800), while Perez ($3,600) and Witt ($3,700) are fantastic spend up options as Anderson has been reverse splitsy in his career.
- More value bats I like today include Alex Kirilloff ($2,900), Zach McKinstry ($2,900), Akil Baddoo ($2,500), Yoan Moncada ($2,900), Ian Happ ($2,900), and Seiya Suzuki ($3,200).
- Pitching is much more affordable on DK, as only Ohtani and Valdez are above $10k in salary. Wheeler at $9,200 is looking like a steal against Washington, and Jon Gray ($7,600) should be much closer to $9k the way he’s pitched over his last four starts with 1 ER or less in each. Morton ($7,800) and Wacha ($7,400) are other great options in the $7k price range, and for even cheaper, I would make sure to have exposure to Flaherty ($6,800) and Kremer ($6,700) in GPPs, and I’m actually considering Kremer for cash games, especially with a name like that on National Donut Day.
- Odor ($3,000), Carpenter ($3,000), and Sanchez ($3,300) are a great value stack from SD if you can’t afford Tatis or Soto in your main build. Donovan ($2,900) and Burleson ($2,200) are top value bats from STL, while Marsh ($2,800) is my favorite value bat from PHI.
- With all the injuries to MIN we could see Royce Lewis ($3,100) hit much higher in the order today, and now that he’s 3B/SS eligible he should be easy to fit in your lineup at a fantastic price. Alex Kirilloff ($3,300) should hit second today and is a great addition for a mini MIN stack, and you can use him at either 1B or OF.
- Castro ($2,400) and Jones ($2,900) are top value option from COL, and from KC we still have a great value stack of Pratto ($3,000), Pasquantino ($3,600), Melendez ($3,000), and Massey ($2,300).
- Other value options to consider include Akil Baddoo ($2,500), Spencer Torkelson ($2,600), Mike Tauchman ($2,300), Matt Mervis ($2,200), Josh Naylor ($3,300), and Jack Suwinski ($3,200).
MLB Premium subscribers will have access to all of this data in LineupHQ, so be sure to keep checking there as we start getting the confirmed lineups and projections update. The very best P/$ plays tend to be pretty consistent throughout the day for MLB. That being said, projections can always change if someone is hitting higher in the order than initially projected or if a player with a low salary gets a spot start for an injured/resting player.
MLB DFS – RotoGrinders Premium Tools Pre-Lock
If you have any tough last-minute decisions or need some quick MLB DFS picks, our MLB Premium package also contains Consensus Value Rankings, an Expert Survey, and daily LineupHQ Premium tags from our MLB DFS experts.
And for up-to-the-minute news and analysis leading right up to lock, make sure to watch MLB Crunch Time later in the day.
Good luck today!