MLB DFS Playbook June 5: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Jun 05, 2023
We have a seven-game MLB DFS main slate on Monday, June 5th, on DraftKings and FanDuel kicking off at 6:40 pm ET. It’s not the deepest slate of daily fantasy baseball pitchers, but plenty of offense should be scored tonight. Be sure to check out all of our tools including the MLB Lineups page, MLB DFS Projections – powered by FanJections –, MLB DFS Ownership, and all of the rest of our tools HERE! Let's dive into today's playbook, core plays, and top stacks of the day!
MLB DFS Weather Center
None.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies 6.5 (-165)
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres 6.5 (-140)
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins 5.5 (-115)
Andrew Abbott, Philadelphia Phillies 5.5 (-110)
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates 5.5 (-110)
Best Odds for a Win
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Detroit Tigers (-237)
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Oakland Athletics (-191)
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins vs. Kansas City Royals (-176)
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs (-173)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
The biggest favorite, the best odds for a win, and the highest strikeout upside on today’s slate from the pitcher’s position is Aaron Nola. Despite Nola’s struggles this year, the Tigers rank 29th in OPS and ISO, 28th in wOBA, and his 23.8% K-rate is 9th in the league. Nola is likely the highest-owned pitcher on tonight’s slate and it’s for good reason.
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins
Outside of a start against Atlanta, in which the Marlins tried saving their bullpen, Garrett has been excellent this season. Garrett’s allowed two runs or fewer in four straight games and has 7+ strikeouts in three. The only real downside of Garrett currently is the Marlins lack of trust in pitching him deep into games. The most pitches he’s thrown this year is 87. The Royals are 13th in K-rate against left-handed pitching on the year and he’s the third biggest favorite on the board.
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates
No team has been as bad as the Oakland Athletics against right-handed pitching this year in terms of OPS and wOBA and they also have the second-highest strikeout rate. Oviedo needs to stop offering free passes and he’ll be good. He has the second-best win odds tonight and has a great match-up. He’s flashed solid upside this year notching 23+ DKP in four separate starts this season.
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds
Look, I understand the $4,000 punt at pitcher hasn’t always worked out and it might not work out again here, but I’m going right back to the well. Sure this game is being played in Great American Ballpark which is a hitter's paradise, but it’s against the Milwaukee Brewers and nobody has been worse against southpaws than them. They’re 30th in OPS and wOBA, 27th in ISO, and have the highest K-rate in the league by 2.1% more than any other team. Abbott had 90 strikeouts in 54 minor-league innings between Double and Triple-A this year. That’s been his calling. I’m taking my chances here against an offense that continues to be dreadful against lefties.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
Toronto Blue Jays – 5.18 implied runs
Texas Rangers – 5.17 implied runs
Cincinnati Reds – 5.15 implied runs
Philadelphia Phillies – 5.03 implied runs
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
Sometimes, pitchers just get old overnight. That’s what has happened with Adam Wainwright. He looks old. He faces a Rangers offense that has been as good as any other offense in the league and is now hitting .349 with an OPS over 1.000 on the year. Left-handed bats have absolutely owned Wainwright posting a .453 wOBA and .286 ISO against him this year. Seager himself has a .296 ISO and .440 wOBA against righties.
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
There is a LOT of elite talent up top tonight including guys like Alvarez, Fernando Tatis Jr.. Jr., Juan Soto, and more, but it’s really hard to ignore Alvarez’s body of work and what Alek Manoah has done this year. Lefties are demolishing every offering he has this year posting a .387 wOBA, .203 ISO, 43.7% FB, and 53.4% hard-hit rate. Alvarez is one of the league’s best hitters and is as good of a spot as it’s going to get.
Jake Fraley, Cincinnati Reds
Continuously stacking against Julio Teheran is going to work sooner rather than later and doing it in Great American Ballpark feels like the place things are going to come around and bite him. Fraley’s homered in two straight games has four stolen bases over his last three and is really starting to round into form. He has a .194 ISO and .371 wOBA against righties this year and Julio Teheran has a sub-1 ERA, but an xFIP of nearly six. He’s not missing bats, allowing a lot of flyballs, and is downright getting lucky. That luck runs out at the hands of Fraley and the Reds.
Rodolfo Castro & Connor Joe, Pittsburgh Pirates
Some people are probably so sick of me when I do playbooks and the Pirates face left-handed pitching because I don’t change, but why should I? Look at Castro and Joe’s numbers against southpaws and they’re both CHEAP. Joe has a .310 ISO and .425 wOBA and Castro has a .317 ISO and a .468 wOBA against lefties on the year. They face JP Sears whose primary issue this year has been righty power. Righties have a .274 ISO, 59.1% FB, and 40.9% hard-hit rate against him.
MLB DFS Podcast June 5th
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MLB DFS Livestream June 5th
Jon Impemba & James Grande will go LIVE on the Bettor Sports Network & Fantasy Alarm YouTube channels discussing today's 7-game MLB DFS main slate!
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Aaron Nola  $10,000 |  Paul Goldschmidt $3,900 |  Marcus Semien $4,000 | Corey Seager $3,900 |  Yordan Alvarez $4,300 | ||
 Blake Snell $9,500 |  Juan Soto $3,600 | ||||||
| Medium |  Mike Mayers $8,100 | Jonah Heim $3,300 |  Nathaniel Lowe $3,200 | Josh Jung $3,300 |  Bo Bichette $3,500 | Adolis GarcÃa $3,600 | |
 Johan Oviedo $8,400 |  Connor Joe $3,100 |  Nolan Arenado $3,100 |  Matt McLain $3,400 |  Kyle Tucker $3,400 | |||
| Andrew Abbott $8,000 | Nick Castellanos $3,300 | ||||||
| Jake Fraley $3,100 | |||||||
| Low | Rodolfo Castro $2,400 | Drew Ellis $2,000 | Tommy Edman $2,800 | Leody Taveras $2,900 | |||
| Manny Machado $2,800 | Jordan Walker $2,700 |
Stacks
| Rangers | Leody Taveras | Adolis GarcÃa | Josh Jung | Marcus Semien | Corey Seager | Jonah Heim |
 DraftKings | 3400 | 5500 | 5300 | 6000 | 5900 | 4800 |
| Fanduel | 2900 | 3600 | 3300 | 4000 | 3900 | 3300 |
| Cardinals | Tommy Edman | Jordan Walker | Paul Goldschmidt | Nolan Arenado | Luken Baker |
| DraftKings | 4200 | 3100 | 5600 | 5400 | 2000 |
| Fanduel | 2800 | 2700 | 3900 | 3100 | 2000 |
| Padres | Juan Soto | Manny Machado | Gary Sánchez | Fernando Tatis |
| DraftKings | 5800 | 4800 | 3700 | 6200 |
| Fanduel | 3600 | 2800 | 2600 | 4000 |
| Astros | Mauricio Dubón | Alex Bregman | Kyle Tucker | Yordan Alvarez |
| DraftKings | 3400 | 5200 | 5000 | 6100 |
| Fanduel | 2800 | 3200 | 3400 | 4300 |
Player News
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that the Brewers will promote Caleb Durbin before Friday’s game against the Athletics.
The Brewers have already optioned INF Oliver Dunn to Triple-A to make room for Durbin. The 25-year-old has a .797 OPS with Nashville over his 54 at-bats, and he’s homered twice while stealing three bases in that timeframe. Durbin should get playing time, but it’s reasonable to question his fantasy impact potential.
Tyler O’Neill (neck) is not in the starting lineup for Thursday’s game against the Guardians.
O’Neill was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with neck discomfort, and the 29-year-old will unsurprisingly miss at least one more game with the issue. Ryan O’Hearn will be the right fielder, and Jordan Westburg will be the designated hitter in O’Neill’s absence.
Blue Jays optioned INF/OF Davis Schneider to Triple-A Buffalo.
Schneider has just one hit in his 15 at-bats over 10 games, although he has gotten on base at a decent .333 clip thanks to five walks and a hit-by-pitch. The 26-year-old will almost assuredly be back for Toronto at some point, but for now the Blue Jays will look to a different option off the bench. That player will be announced before Friday’s game against the Mariners.
Jordan Westburg is hitting fifth as the designated hitter against the Guardians on Thursday.
Westburg got Wednesday off as the Orioles continue to give him maintenance to recover from his upper-body injury, and they won’t ask him to field the baseball for Thursday’s game. Ryan O’Hearn will get Thursday off with Westburg handling DH duties.
Wilmer Flores is not in the lineup for Thursday’s bout versus the Phillies.
Flores will get a day off even with left-hander Cristopher Sánchez on the bump for Philadelphia. Willy Adames is the designated hitter for the contest, and Christian Koss will be the shortstop.
Rays activated OF Richie Palacios off the 10-day injured list.
Palacios has missed the first three weeks of the season with a right finger fracture. The 27-year-old is someone who should see playing time against left-handed pitching, but won’t see enough run — or be good enough with that time — to be an option in fantasy leagues. Coco Montes was sent to Triple-A to make room.