DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday, 6/5/21 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 Kevin Gausman FD - P 11200 DK - SP 8900 Opponent - CHC (Kohl Stewart) Park - SF FD - 35.45 DK - 18.81 A highly touted prospect, Gausman is the definition of a late bloomer. Critics will point to the small sample size over the last couple of years, but digging a little deeper shows that these improvements are legit. Gausman dramatically changed his pitching repertoire last season to great effect, and this year's 3.05 xFIP is nearly identical to last year's 3.06 number. He's maintained his double digit K/9 while improving on his already solid control, and certainly qualifies as an ace in today's game. The Cubs are far from an easy match-up, but they do own a top 10 K rate this season. At -165, Gausman is the most heavily favored pitcher on the main slate, and is a great cash game option. Jacob deGrom FD - P 11500 DK - SP 11100 Opponent - SD (Joe Musgrove) Park - SD FD - 46.84 DK - 26.77 It would be tough to heap enough superlatives on Jacob deGrom given the pitcher he's become, and he's going to be an obvious cash game option any time he takes the hill. The Padres are projected for fewer than 3 implied runs here, which is pretty astounding for a lineup that solid. The only thing holding us back from running deGrom in cash games is the combination of the price and the match-up. As just a -130 favorite against Musgrove and the Padres, you could get screwed playing deGrom even if he's as good as ever. Also considered: Clayton Kershaw. I wrote these guys up by accident before seeing there were two slates, so please enjoy these bonus pitcher picks for the early slate: Lucas Giolito FD - P 11600 DK - SP 9500 Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - CHW FD - 41.18 DK - 22.37 After three straight years, I think we can pretty safely say that this is who Giolito is at this point: a mid-3s xFIP guy with 11+ Ks/9, and a nightmare for opposing batters. He's a -200 favorite against the hapless Tigers, who enter this game with the league's worst wOBA and highest K rate. It's very rare to get a pitcher this good in the best possible match-up, and you can believe cash game players will be all over him here....

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 6/4/21 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 Zack Wheeler FD - P 11500 DK - SP 10700 Opponent - WSH (Max Scherzer) Park - PHI FD - 38.96 DK - 20.44 We have a very interesting choice to make at pitcher in this NL East matchup that has a slate-low 6.5 total. With a lack of value options I trust for cash games, I will be fading Scherzer's price and leading off with Zach Wheeler. He provides a ton of consistency averaging almost seven innings per start and enters the night with an elite 2.75 ERA(14th best among starters) and 2.48 xFIP(5th best). He also gives us a ton of upside potential and has tallied 10+ K's in three straight(35 total) starts. It also helps that the Nats have struggled to score recently averaging just 2.6 runs per game over their last 10. All things considered, Wheeler is in play in all formats. Freddy Peralta FD - P 8700 DK - SP 10400 Opponent - ARI (Matt Peacock) Park - MIL FD - 37.01 DK - 20.7 While you can pair Wheeler and Peralta together on DraftKings, this pick is more about FanDuel tonight where he is $2500+ cheaper than both Max and Wheeler. He also has very similar numbers across the board with a 2.38 ERA/3.34 xFIP and is second behind Jacob deGrom with an elite 37% K rate backed up by a 15% swinging-strike rate. I also like the matchup tonight against the Diamondbacks who have a wRC+(87) 23% lower against right-handed pitching. Also Consider: Shohei Ohtani(LAA) who lacks control at times pushing his pitch count up early but has elite upside at these prices vs a SEA team that K's 26% of the time Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 5300 Opponent - COL (Jon Gray) Park - COL FD - 13.52 DK - 10.02 The A's are likely going to load up on left-handed bats tonight vs. Jon Gray in Coors Field and that leads us right to Matt Olson who is having a career-start to the season. While he is mainly used in DFS for his power numbers as he leads the team in HR(14) and RBI(37), he enters the night with a .274 average which is over 30 points higher than his career mark. A lot of this has to do with plate awareness and patience as he is striking out just 16.7% of the time...

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...