MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Thursday, June 20
Published: Jun 20, 2024
We got some day baseball here on Thursday with a seven game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. The featured matchup of the day is in Coors Field with the Dodgers set to play their final game of the series against the Rockies.
Weather may also be a story on today's slate as half the games on the slate are expected to see some possibility of rain. When it comes to pitching, there isn't a ton of great value on this slate so you will need to be creative with your lineup construction on DraftKings where you need two starters.
Before you finalize your daily fantasy lineups with help from our MLB DFS picks, it's important to check out today's MLB DFS projections and MLB DFS ownership projections. Take advantage of our MLB Lineups Page to identify players who are in and out of the lineup, along with utilizing our MLB DFS Lineup Generator!
MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, June 20
MLB Weather Today, 6/20
Rain is in the area and could cause a late start or in-game delay if the storm systems move over the stadium.
Rain is moving in the area, less likely to cause a delay, may just play throw some showers if systems shift over the ballpark.
Much like the Mariners/Guardians game, this one could see some shows over stadium which causes them to play through a little precipitation but nothing expected to be a long term impact on this game.
We could have a late start to this one as there is going to be scattered storms in the area, that said, the early start to this game gives them plenty of time to wait out any rain that would impact this game.
MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
Roster construction is going to be very interesting today, especially on DraftKings where you need to pick two starting pitchers because there isn't a ton of great value options and we likely want to be jamming in Dodgers today against Ty Blach.
If you watched the preview show you saw our example lineup where we settled on Seth Lugo as our top priced pitching option and then took the strikeout matchup for Logan Allen against the Seattle Mariners.
Your pitching will determine your hitting for the day as a double spend up will likely limit you to just one top priced hitter on this slate.
Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options For Strikeouts
- Luis Gil vs. Baltimore Orioles
- Seth Lugo vs. Oakland Athletics
- MacKenzie Gore vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Best Odds For A Win
- Gavin Stone vs. Colorado Rockies
- Seth Lugo vs. Oakland Athletics
- Luis Gil vs. Baltimore Orioles
- Luis Castillo vs. Cleveland Guardians
Core MLB DFS Pitchers
Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals
This is your chalk play of the slate as Lugo draws the best matchup of the top priced starters.
Coming off of a good outing against the Dodgers where he allowed just two runs over six innings, Lugo had 10 strikeouts against the A's the first time he pitched against them this season.
Though not considered an elite strikeout pitcher, this matchup certainly raises the ceiling with Oakland owning the second-highest strikeout rate against RHP this season.
Luis Gil, New York Yankees
I certainly don't love the idea of pitching against the Baltimore Orioles but Gil has been one of the best, if not, the best pitching in the American League this year and has faced tough opponents including this same O's lineup which he dominated over 6.1 shutout innings already.
If you have the money and want to spend all the way up for Gil, you certainly can make that play here today.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stone has the best odds to win on the board today at -105 which will put him in play for us today even though he is pitching in Coors Field.
After having a poor season in 2023, Stone has been a pleasant breakout for the Dodgers this season, going 7-2 with a 2.53 ERA.
Stone is not the biggest strikeout guy but if he pitches deep enough into this game he should be able to get us four-to-five strikeouts.
Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians
This is a pure strikeout upside play with the Mariners owning the second highest strikeout rate against left-handed pitching this season.
Allen faced the Mariners in his second start this season and tossed 6.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
Despite his 5.30 ERA, Allen is 7-3 on the year and should he continue to get that level of run support it will only make him more valuable.
Recommended MLB DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Ty Blach
- Colorado Rockies vs. Gavin Stone
- Houston Astros vs. Chris Flexen
- Washington Nationals vs. Ryne Nelson
Core MLB DFS Hitters
Shohei Ohtani, OF/1B Los Angeles Dodgers
I mean, was there going to be anyone else? He is the cover of today's YouTube show after yet another big time performance in Coors on Wednesday.
So far this series, Ohtani has five runs, three doubles, one home run and six RBI.
The lefty on lefty matchup does not matter to me here.
Ketel Marte, 2B Arizona Diamondbacks
From the cover of the YouTube show to the cover of the playbook, Marte has crushed left-handed pitching this season, hitting .333 with a .472 wOBA and .402 ISO.
Nationals southpaw MacKenzie Gore is having a breakout season but the Diamondbacks are a top three offense against lefties this year so he should have his work cut out for him.
Lane Thomas, OF Washington Nationals
Right-handed bats are doing all the damage against Diamondbacks righty Ryne Neslon this season and while the batting average on the season isn't great for Thomas, he is hitting .297 with an OPS of .916 over the last 10 games. He also has 16 stolen bases on the year and with a righty on the mound he is more likely to try and steal.
Chicago White Sox
Just a blanket statement for me here today but I don't mind playing a cheap White Sox stack against Spencer Arrighetti here today including Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, Paul Dejong, Tommy Pham and a spend up play of Luis Roberts.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | IF | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Luis Gil  $10,700 |  Freddie Freeman $4,300 |  Jose Altuve $3,900 |  Royce Lewis $4,500 |  Gunnar Henderson $4,300 | Shohei Ohtani $5,300 |
 Seth Lugo $10,500 | Will Smith $4,100 |  Ketel Marte $3,800 |  José Ramírez $4,200 | Bobby Witt $4,100 |  Juan Soto $4,400 | |
| Christian Walker $3,800 | Teoscar Hernández $4,300 | |||||
| Medium | Gavin Stone $9,100 | Josh Naylor $3,400 | Miguel Rojas $3,100 |  Ryan McMahon $3,500 | Ezequiel Tovar $3,700 | Steven Kwan $3,600 |
| Carlos Santana $3,200 |  Andrés Giménez $3,000 | Isaac Paredes $3,100 | Anthony Volpe $3,000 | Andy Pages $3,400 | ||
 Alex Bregman $3,100 |  Julio Rodríguez $3,300 | |||||
| Lane Thomas $3,300 | ||||||
 Luis Robert $3,200 | ||||||
| Miguel Vargas $3,200 | ||||||
| Lourdes Gurriel $3,000 | ||||||
| Low | Andrew Vaughn $2,900 | Blaze Alexander $2,600 | Jose Miranda $2,800 |  Paul DeJong $2,900 | Byron Buxton $2,900 | |
| Vinnie Pasquantino $2,800 |  José Caballero $2,800 | Trevor Larnach $2,900 | ||||
| Randy Arozarena $2,700 | ||||||
| Jacob Young $2,700 | ||||||
| Randal Grichuk $2,700 | ||||||
| Austin Martin $2,400 |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.