MLB DFS Slate Preview: Tuesday, June 6
Erik Wardenburg previews the Tuesday, June 6th 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!
We’re in for a wild 12-game slate today with a lot of high-scoring offenses in great spots. The Rockies are back at home hosting the Giants, so both offenses are obvious top stacks in Coors Field. SF is especially appealing as they’re getting back Joc Pederson and Thairo Estrada from the IL and get to face Dinelson Lamet, who has a 13.17 ERA this year.
Hunter Brown vs. Kevin Gausman is a must-watch pitching matchup today, while Mitch Keller is by far my favorite SP for cash games at home against Oakland. Hayden Wesneski is back in the bigs getting a start against the Angels, and guys like Bieber, Gilbert, and Peralta will be looking to bounce back after rough outings in their last starts.
Aaron Judge headlines the injury news as his toe injury will keep him out today and possibly much longer. Let’s get to all the other news and notes for today, along with some MLB DFS picks!
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.
- CHW/NYY, NYM/ATL, and SFG/COL could see some early rain that might cause late starts, but the games should all play fine eventually. ATL is our best hitting weather today with temps in the low 80s and 5-10mph wind out to left.
- LAD/CIN is the next warmest game, with temps in the low 80s to high 70s and a 6mph breeze blowing out. ARI/WSH will be similar, with temps in the high 70s and a 10mph cross breeze.
- OAK/PIT & CHW/NYY will be cooler in the mid to low 70s, with PIT seeing 10-12 winds blowing to center and NYY seeing 10-15mph wind out to right.
- CHC/LAA, SEA/SDP, SFG/COL, and BOS/CLE will be in the 60s. CLE will get 10mph wind blowing in, COL and LAA 8mph wind blowing out, and SD a slight 5mph breeze out to right.
- Today’s dome games are STL/TEX, BAL/MIL, and HOU/TOR.
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.
- Aaron Judge is getting more tests done on his toe and will be out today. His absence will give more ABs to guys like Calhoun and Bauers against righties.
- Joc Pederson and Thairo Estrada are expected to return for SF, and it’s great timing with a series starting in Coors Field. I expect Estrada to get his 2-hole spot back right away, while Pederson should be the regular DH against righties and hit third or cleanup. Conforto is likely still out with his heel injury, so Sabol should continue to get regular OF starts. With Estrada back, we will see Schmitt and Crawford fight for playing time at SS.
- Jose Altuve could return today but it’s looking like Wednesday is more likely, so Dubon should continue to hit leadoff until he returns.
- Rosario remains out for Cleveland, so Arias will hit second today and is a solid value option. Josh Bell is back from the paternity list after missing three games, and against a lefty, we could see Fry get a spot start over Naylor.
- Jake Fraley was scratched yesterday with allergies, but he was in the leadoff spot on the Reds’ initial lineup, so he could hit there today, assuming he’s healthy. Senzel is going on the IL so Fairchild and Barrero should handle most of the CF starts now. Elly De La Cruz is being called up, so look for him to start immediately and see starts at SS, 2B, and possibly 3B.
- JP Crawford is likely back in the lineup after missing a game with a bruised knee. Xander Bogaerts is hopeful to return to the lineup after missing a couple of games with his wrist injury.
- The Giants and Dodgers are top stacks today, with both currently at 6.2+ run totals. SF is a little more affordable as a stack on both sites, so they’re my 1A. Meanwhile, LAD will cost you a lot of salary to stack, so I’ll likely pick a few bats in cash games and then do stacks in GPPs. ATL, COL, and TEX round out my top 5 stacks, followed by LAA, ARI, and STL.
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.
- Musgrove ($8,300) and Schmidt ($7,700) are coming in as top p/$ SPs, and if you’d rather spend up on bats, I could see a case for using either in your main build. Personally, I want a higher floor/ceiling combo in cash games, so I’m going with either Mitch Keller ($11,300) or Kevin Gausman ($11,100). Both pitchers have 60+ FP upside, but I’ll give the edge to Keller today as his matchup against Oakland is the best in baseball. Gausman faces Houston, who is a much more potent offense, but whoever you don’t end up using in cash games, I’d still go heavy on in GPPs.
- I’m starting with SF and LAD exposure in cash games. Wade ($3,400), Pederson ($3,500), and Davis ($3,600) are my favorite SF bats, followed by Yastrzemski ($3,400) and Haniger ($3,300). It’s going to be hard to use 3+ top LAD bats with an $11k SP, so I’d prioritize Freeman ($4,200) and Muncy ($3,800) with the platoon advantage on Weaver. David Peralta ($2,400) and Jason Heyward ($2,600) are the best value options.
- ATL has a healthy 5.55 run total currently and offers some nice value bats. Eddie Rosario ($2,700) is on a 6-game hitting streak, averaging 29.5 FPPG over his last three starts. He’s also hitting .342 in 38 career ABs against Carrasco, making him one of my favorite value bats of the slate. Riley ($3,100) and Albies ($3,000) are also excellent p/$ plays for more cheap ATL exposure.
- Pavin Smith ($2,900) and Ketel Marte ($3,300) are a great value mini-stack at the top of the AZ order, and some other value bats to consider in cash games today include Josh Bell ($2,400), Gabriel Arias ($2,300), Jake Fraley ($3,100), Rowdy Tellez ($2,900), Brendan Donovan ($2,600), Nolan Arenado ($3,100), Mitch Garver ($3,000), Dansby Swanson ($3,100), Seiya Suzuki ($2,900), and Taylor Ward ($2,900).
- You’re going to need a few very cheap bats to fit both Keller ($10,900) and Gausman ($11,000) in cash games, but it’s very doable and you could be starting your lineup with 60+ FPs if both continue to dominate as they have been this year. If you want a few more expensive bats, then I’d drop Gausman down to either Peralta ($7,700), Musgrove ($7,800), Schmidt ($7,900), or Henry ($7,000).
- Speaking of those cheap bats to fit in elite SPs, Tucupita Marcano ($2,100) looks like a top option at almost minimum price. He does bring some pinch-hit risk, but if he can get a couple of hits and maybe a stolen base in his first 3-4 ABs, then he should easily be worth the price. Jack Suwinski ($3,000) is also a high-upside cheap bat from PIT if you want a mini-stack with Marcano. CLE doesn’t have the greatest matchup against Paxton, but they do offer a couple solid extreme-value bats in Josh Bell ($2,200) and Gabriel Arias ($2,500) if you need to fill a spot or two in your perfect lineup.
- I’m adding Elly De La Cruz ($2,000) here as he was just promoted by the Reds and is minimum price on DK today. We’ll see where he hits in the order, but no matter where it is he should be a very popular cash game play at SS as he brings big HR and SB upside.
- Peralta ($2,400) and Heyward ($2,600) by far the best ways to get exposure to LAD for cheap, as the top five bats are all $4,900 or higher. Muncy ($4,900) and Freeman ($5,400) are still top plays of the slate and actually pretty affordable compared to guys like Betts ($6,000) and Smith ($5,700). I like taking higher than 9.5 fantasy points for Freeman 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.)
- Mitch Haniger ($3,700) is my favorite p/$ Giants bat, followed closely by Joc Pederson ($4,100) and LaMonte Wade ($4,000). Davis ($4,700) and Yastrzesmki ($4,300) are also solid plays at affordable prices.
- Brendan Donovan ($3,200) should hit leadoff and is a great way to get STL exposure for cheap at either 1B or OF. Eddie Rosario ($3,100) also remains a fantastic value bat in the OF that will almost certainly be in my main build.
- Another cheap mini-stack to consider today comes from the Angels with Ward ($3,300), Thaiss ($2,500), and Renfroe ($3,700) against the blow-up-prone Wesneski. On the other side of that game, I like Mancini ($2,700) and Amaya ($2,300) for cheap cash game one-offs.
MLB Premium subscribers will have access to all of this data in LineupHQ, so be sure to keep checking there as we start getting the confirmed lineups and projections update. The very best P/$ 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!