DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 6/3/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! These Thursday slates tend to be lighter, but we're treated with an eight-game ledger here. I believe that's the largest slate we've had on a Thursday since the opening week, and it's the perfect amount of games. What does need to be monitored is the weather, though. We've had numerous postponements throughout the week, and Mother Nature is doing her best to ruin our DFS fun. With that in mind, let's kick things off with the best pitcher on the board. Pitchers Yu Darvish FD - P 11500 DK - SP 10700 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park - SD FD - 44.33 DK - 24.85 If you haven't watched much Yu, be sure to check him out. This guy is one of the most exciting pitchers in the Majors, throwing out numerous pitches at all sorts of weird velocities. That has jelly-legged numerous hitters throughout Darvish's career, and he looks as sharp as ever right now. Since the beginning of last season, Yu has a 2.08 ERA and 0.95 WHIP while striking out 172 batters across 142.2 innings. Those are obviously some of the best numbers in the league, with Darvish scoring at least 35 FanDuel points in eight of his 11 starts this year. We absolutely love that in a matchup like this, with the Mets ranked 25th in OPS and dead-last in runs scored. Tyler Anderson FD - P 7200 DK - SP 8200 Opponent - MIA (Cody Poteet) Park - PIT FD - 31.78 DK - 15.58 I watched many Tyler Anderson starts in his Rockies days, and I always thought he was better than his numbers said. He's shown that for most of this season, collecting at least 21 FanDuel points in all but one start this year. That was a disastrous nine-run outing, and it's quite amazing to see that TA has a 3.51 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in the other nine starts. A lot of that has to do with his home ballpark, with PNC being one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in baseball. We're certainly not worried about him facing Miami either, with the Marlins ranked 25th in OBP, 27th in runs scored, and dead-last in xwOBA. Catcher/First Base Miguel Sanó FD - 1B 2600 DK - 1B/3B 4000 Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KC FD - 11.14 DK - 8.23 If you've been reading these articles, you know just how much I love...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 6/2/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Walker Buehler FD - P 9700 DK - SP 10600 Opponent - STL (Carlos Martinez) Park - LAD FD - 41.9 DK - 23.28 First of all, can we discuss how DraftKings seems to have a thing with Marlins pitching as Pablo Lopez is just $600 cheaper than Walker Buehler yet one is a -220 favorite and the other is a +132 dog. It makes no sense at all and the decision to go with Buehler as top pitcher very easy. While the lack of strikeouts recently is a bit of a concern, it is washed away with the fact he has been fairly dominant holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in three straight and four of his last five starts. He also goes deep into games consistently(6+ IP in all 10 starts) and while the matchup isn't elite, the Cards are just a league-average offense through two months. Fire up Buehler in all formats tonight. Sean Manaea FD - P 8500 DK - SP 9600 Opponent - SEA (Chris Flexen) Park - SEA FD - 32.95 DK - 17.05 The price on Manaea has hit a season-high but is mostly relative to the smaller slate and lack of top pitching so I am not at all concerned. Helping my feeling of safety with this pick is the fact Manaea has been very consistent all year holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in seven of 11 starts and enters the night with a 3.86 ERA/3.60 xFIP. The matchup is what ties it all together as the Mariners are a bottom-third offense(.285 wOBA/86 wRC+) and strike out 27% of the time vs. left-handed pitching. All things considered, Manaea is my top SP2 on Draftkings and can be considered in all formats on FanDuel should you need that extra $1000. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 4700 Opponent - SEA (Chris Flexen) Park - SEA FD - 11.27 DK - 8.35 First of all, if you can find enough value elsewhere it is hard to ignore what Vladdy Jr. is doing right now. I might try and fit him into some GPP builds but for my cash games, I am normally going a little more balanced and at first base it starts with Matt Olson in the next tier down. What he lacks in consistency, in terms of average(.258), he more than makes...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 6/1/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Tyler Glasnow FD - P 10700 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - NYY (Domingo German) Park - NYY FD - 38.49 DK - 21.34 After yet another dud vs. the Blues Jays who have his number(sort of bragging as a Jays fan), Glasnow bounced back in a huge way going eight innings holding the Royals to three hits while striking out 11. It was the sixth time in 11 starts he has struck out double-digits and enters tonight with an elite  36% K rate to go with his 2.57 ERA/2.72 xFIP. While the matchup vs. the Yankees would normally scare me off that is not the case this season as they rank 23rd in runs scored and sit 10th in K rate(25%). With his lowest price since opening day and getting Yankees at the perfect time, Glasnow is easily my top pitch Tuesday night. Chris Bassitt FD - P 9300 DK - SP 9100 Opponent - SEA (Marco Gonzales) Park - SEA FD - 38.92 DK - 21.39 While this pick may seem like "point chasing" as Bassitt is coming off his best start of the season with a two-hit complete game against the Angels, hear me out. He has been incredible lately scoring 20+ DK/40+ FD points in seven of his last eight starts and enters the night with an impressive 3.21 ERA/3.547 xFIP. The biggest difference in that K upside this season has been the effectiveness of the slider that is generating a 27% swinging-strike rate. The Mariners are a bottom thrid offense overall and also happen to rank bottom 5 against sliders. I am looking for another solid start here from Bassitt and will be pairing him with Glasnow on DK in cash games. I can also see the argument to fade the 10K+ pitchers and start your lineups with Bassitt but that is more of a GPP play for me tonight. Also Consider: If you are looking for a value SP2, I don't mind Brady Singer(KC) who is a big favorite(-175) and faces a Pirates team that is near the bottom of the league in all offensive categories, or Adrian Houser(MIL) who also gets a plus matchup vs. the Tigers below-average offense but just doesn't have a lot of K upside Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD 3900 DK 5300 Opponent - STL (John Gant) Park - STL FD - 13.51 DK - 9.95 You can pretty...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 5/30/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Lucas Giolito FD - P 10000 DK - SP 9600 Opponent - BAL (Keegan Akin) Park - CHWFD - 42.99 DK - 23.45 Giolito enters as the biggest money line favorite on the main slate at -235 against the Orioles. He has big strikeout upside in this matchup against a bottom-third offense in baseball right now. Giolito struggled with one bad start this season when he allowed 8 runs in one inning against the Red Sox. Back that single game out and his numbers are pretty elite this season. He’d have a 2.78 ERA and is still striking out almost 11 batters per nine. Max Scherzer FD - P 12000 DK - SP 10800 Opponent - MIL (Brandon Woodruff) Park - WSHFD - 39.39 DK - 22.09 Scherzer just keeps going out there and dominating year after year. And this season is no different. In line with previous seasons, he’s striking out more than 12 batters per nine, but this year has even more control than last and is walking fewer than two batters per nine. His 3.06 xFIP is about three-quarters a run higher than the 2.27 ERA, but this is still a guy with some of the best stuff in the majors. He’ll face a Brewers team that is getting Yelich back, but has still been very weak this season, ranking third-to-last in team wOBA. Yelich will help, but this lineup is still mostly bad. Eduardo Rodriguez FD - P 7500 DK - SP 8500 Opponent - MIA (Sandy Alcantara) Park - BOSFD - 34.35 DK - 18.01 Eduardo Rodriguez is having the best season of his career, finally putting together his stuff with the ability to locate his pitchers more consistently as well. And sure, you are going to look at the 5.06 ERA and think “best season?!?” and I would say “yes!”. He’s struggled with a .368 BABIP and a 70% LOB%, both of which are the worst of his career. The 5:1 K:BB rate is the best control he’s ever had and this Miami team is ranked 25th in team offense this season. I love spotting E-Rod here in a good matchup with a little run bad at his heels. Catcher/First Base Carlos Santana FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 4100 Opponent - MIN (Matt Shoemaker) Park - MINFD - 10.71 DK - 7.97 He’s the first Royals guy we have on the list,...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 5/29/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Afternoon Lance Lynn FD - P 10500 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - BAL (John Means) Park - CHWFD - 41.28 DK - 22.8 Lynn is a -172 home favorite against the Orioles on Saturday making him one of the better options for the afternoon. His strikeouts haven’t ticked back up to the levels we say in 2019, but he’s still putting down 9.5 batters per nine on the season and kept the walks relatively in check. The 4.20 xFIP screams massive regression on the 1.51 ERA so it isn’t all perfect here. But the matchup against the Orioles is a very good one and he’s not cost-prohibitive on either site. Frankly, on DraftKings, he’s a downright value. Nathan Eovaldi (FD $7500 DK $9000) is a good afternoon option against the Miami Marlins. Evening Ian Anderson FD - P 9000 DK - SP 9400 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park - NYMFD - 35.9 DK - 18.96 The Mets have been throwing out some real garbage lineups lately with so many of their guys on the shelf and even the healthy ones struggling. The game got rained out on Friday so we are going to need to just make sure about the starters here or if they try to squeeze in a doubleheader. But it stands to reason Anderson makes his scheduled start in this one. The Mets are the 26th ranked offense on the season and go down on strikes around 24% of the time. Meanwhile, Anderson is sporting a 3.26 xFIP and does strike out more than a batter per inning. I can see some people paying all the way up for Julio Urías (FD $11500 DK $10000) but I prefer Anderson and the matchup. Catcher/First Base Afternoon Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 4500 DK - 1B 6300 Opponent - CLE (Sam Hentges) Park - CLEFD - 12.34 DK - 9.36 The lefty Hentges could be in trouble here against the Blue Jays who sport a righty-heavy lineup and have been putting up some of the best numbers in the league. They are of course led by the breakout season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who has an OPS well over 1K and is walking at a 15% rate which is the same as his strikeout rate. He already has 16 home runs on the season which has driven the price all the way up. And he’s still...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/28/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD - P 12200 DK - SP 11200 Opponent - DET (Casey Mize) Park - DET FD - 45.94 DK - 26.02 Let's start right at the top tonight with a Top 3 pitcher in the game who also draws the best matchup as a -230 favorite against the Tigers. After getting roughed up by the Rangers, Cole rebounded nicely in his last start holding the White Sox to just four hits and no runs while striking out seven over seven innings. On the season, he has held opponents to two or fewer runs in nine of his 10 starts(1.81 ERA/2.23 xFIP) while striking out 39% of batters he has faced. He is, by far, the highest-rated pitcher in our system tonight, and with the amount of value we have seen this season it shouldn't be an issue fitting him into our lineups. Ian Anderson FD - P 9000 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park - NYM FD - 42.34 DK - 22.39 I don't blame you if you decide to fade Cole and his enormous price tag as it really limits the bats you can target. The good news is that we do have other, cheaper options and Ian Anderson is one that really stands out. He has been consistent all year with a 2.82 ERA/3.27 xFIP, hasn't given up more than six hits in a start, and has flashed some "Ace" upside holding opponents to one or fewer runs in five of his nine starts. What I like the most is the matchup against the Mets who rank dead last in runs scored over the last two weeks while striking out 28% of the time. Anderson is close to the top in PTS/$ rankings and is in play in all formats. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5200 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - CHW FD - 12.85 DK - 9.72 Andrew Vaughn FD - 1B 2500 DK - 1B/OF 2500 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - CHW FD - 9.41 DK - 7.15 The White Sox offense has cooled off a bit lately but is back in the #1 spot in terms of implied runs tonight. They open as -210 favorites against Matt Harvey who has really struggled giving up 7+ hits and 5+ earned runs in three straight starts. Let's start with the...