MLB DFS Playbook June 7: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Jun 07, 2023
Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for June 7! We have an exciting 10-game slate on our hands tonight. We have a 7:05 pm ET start time, so plenty of time to read over the playbook and all of today’s content! Make sure to check out all of our amazing MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook June 7
MLB Weather Updates
New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves (possible rain)
San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies (possible rain)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
None.
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians (blowing straight in)
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
This slate is a fun one, at least on the offensive side of things. There are so many options at the dish. Pitching isn’t great, mainly because all of the high-end guys like Corbin Burnes, Logan Webb, and Max Scherzer, don’t have the best of matchups. We do have Coors Field on tonight’s slate as well, so keep that in mind. The directions you can go tonight are nearly endless, which does make it a bit tougher to limit the options down.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
Best Odds for a Win
Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants -200)
Noah Syndergaard (Los Angeles Dodgers -169)
Chris Bassitt (Toronto Blue Jays -157)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Pitching on this slate SUCKS, but let’s dive into a few options.
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
Burnes this season has not been the same Burnes we are used to, but he’s still been solid with a 3.75 ERA and 66 Ks across 69.2 innings. His first two starts were horrendous, but over his last 10 starts he has a 2.83 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. The Orioles aren’t an easy test, but none of the top arms have good matchups tonight.
This is a tough test against the Braves, but Scherzer has been dynamite lately, scoring 22.3, 21.1, 30.2, and 32.2 dk points over his last four starts with those last two coming against the Rockies 9at Coors) and Phillies. He has 48 Ks across 47.2 innings this season and his ERA (3.21) and WHIPE (1.09) are both strong. On a slate that lacks options, I’m looking to ride arms that are in a groove.
Gray has been nothing short of amazing over his last five starts, scoring 30.8, 29, 21.1, 30.8, and 27.4 dk points in that span. He has pitched 34 innings in that timeframe and given up just three runs while winning ALL FIVE games and striking out 32. The Rangers provide a ton of run support and Gray is locked-in right now.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
6.00 – San Francisco Giants vs. Connor Seabold
5.97 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Brandon Williamson
5.22 – Colorado Rockies vs. Logan Webb
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Christian Walker, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Walker has crushed lefties this season with a .283/.371/.679 slash line, good for a ridiculous 1.050 OPS. He’s also been better on the road (.834 OPS) than he has been at home (.761 OPS). Tonight, he gets to face a bad lefty in Patrick Corbin, who has a 4.92 ERA and 1.48 WHIP on the season. Righties have put a hurting on Corbin, slashing .306/.343/.494 against him, compared to the .222/.286/.267 line that lefties have produced.
Casey Schmitt, 2B/3B/SS, San Francisco Giants
Schmitt has cooled off a bit and started to lose out on some playing time, but I like him if he is in the lineup today. He is a cheap Coors Field option and he has played well thus far, hitting .295 with two home runs, two steals, and 28 total R/RBI across 25 games. He faces Connor Seabold, who has a 5.40 ERA and reverse splits as righties have slashed .291/.367/.519 against him, compared to the .278/.347/.478 line lefties have produced.
Elly De La Cruz, 3B/SS, Cincinnati Reds
Cruz made his MLB debut last night and he performed well, going 1-3 with a double, two walks, and a run scored to finish with 11 dk points. That was in a tough matchup against Tony Gonsolin, but tonight’s matchup against Noah Syndergaard is one of the best in the league. “Thor” has a 6.54 ERA, has given up 10 dingers, and there’s already been 16 stolen bases against him (just one caught). On top of ALL that, lefties have an absurd .872 OPS against him this season. And, on top of ALL that, this game is at Great American Ball Park, which is a haven for offense.
J.D. Martinez, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
This guy is on another planet right now, homering for the sixth in his last eight games and over his last 15 games he is hitting .350 with TEN home runs and 22 RBI. Righties have done the damage against Brandon Williamson this year, accounting for all six extra base hits he has given up and sporting a .734 OPS (lefties have a .517 OPS). And, as stated in Cruz’s section, we love to target offense at Great American Ball Park.
Jake Fraley, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Let’s go to another Reds bat tonight (probably my favorite stack of the day in fact), and another lefty. Fraley has scored 12, 39, 14, and 14 DK points over his last four games. He is hitting .262 on the year with seven home runs, 11 steals, and 60 total R/RBI across 54 games. He is slashing .295/.382/.483 against righties this season (with all 7 home runs and all 11 steals) and this is the perfect spot for someone with his speed/power upside.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Corbin Burnes  $10,000 |  Will Smith $3,900 | Freddie Freeman $4,200 | Mookie Betts $4,000 |  Ryan McMahon $3,900 |  Corey Seager $4,500 |  Yordan Alvarez $4,400 |
 Vladimir Guerrero $3,600 |  Jonathan India $3,700 |  Casey Schmitt $3,500 | Bo Bichette $3,500 |  J.D. Martinez $4,000 | |||
 Mike Trout $3,600 | |||||||
| Medium | Max Scherzer $9,600 |  Blake Sabol $3,200 |  Nathaniel Lowe $3,400 | Ketel Marte $3,300 | Wilmer Flores $3,100 | Ezequiel Duran $2,900 | Joc Pederson $3,500 |
| Jon Gray $9,500 | Patrick Bailey $3,200 | Christian Walker $3,100 |  Christopher Morel $3,000 |  Jake Fraley $3,100 | |||
| Low |  Tanner Bibee $9,000 | Gabriel Moreno $2,500 |  Brandon Belt $2,600 | Andrés Giménez $2,500 | Elly De La Cruz $2,800 |  Andruw Monasterio $2,600 |  Corey Julks $2,600 |
| Miguel Rojas $2,200 |  Abraham Toro $2,400 | Will Benson $2,100 |
Stacks
| Reds | Will Benson | Matt McLain | Elly De La Cruz | Jonathan India | Jake Fraley |
 DraftKings | 2300 | 4600 | 2700 | 5400 | 4500 |
| Fanduel | 2100 | 3500 | 2800 | 3700 | 3100 |
| Dodgers | Mookie Betts | Will Smith | Miguel Rojas | Freddie Freeman | J.D. Martinez |
| DraftKings | 5800 | 5500 | 2500 | 5400 | 4800 |
| Fanduel | 4000 | 3900 | 2200 | 4200 | 4000 |
| Giants | Joc Pederson | Wilmer Flores | Casey Schmitt | Michael Conforto |
| DraftKings | 4100 | 3300 | 3800 | 4300 |
| Fanduel | 3500 | 3100 | 3500 | 3700 |
| Astros | Corey Julks | Kyle Tucker | Yordan Alvarez |
| DraftKings | 2800 | 5100 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 2600 | 3400 | 4400 |
| Rangers | Nathaniel Lowe | Josh Jung | Corey Seager |
| DraftKings | 4700 | 5200 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 3400 | 3500 | 4500 |
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.