MLB DFS Picks & Underdog Player Props: Saturday (6/6)

It’s a big slate of day games that we’re looking at for today’s MLB DFS slate. DraftKings has a nine-game slate that begins at 1:10 p.m ET. FanDuel has a different main slate that focuses on the evening games. They’ve chosen to break the afternoon games into separate slates to choose from.

Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props

Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (6/6)

• Braxton Ashcraft has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball to begin this season. Only four pitchers have a lower expected ERA than Ashcraft’s 2.77. If you prefer strikeout-minus-walk rate instead, he is 11th among qualified pitchers in that category. Ashcraft’s matchup today against the Braves is difficult, but five of his six starts in May were good for at least 40 points on FanDuel, showing how consistently excellent he has been.
• Kyle Bradish‘s early-season struggles are in the rearview mirror. In his last five starts spanning 31.1 innings, he has 30 strikeouts. That comes with a 1.72 ERA and 3.26 FIP during that stretch. Bradish’s matchup today is against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have the sixth-worst OPS in baseball.
• Tatsuya Imai‘s starts still seem volatile, but we’ve seen the upside in a few of them. He’s now posted over 30 FanDuel points in his last two starts. As long as Imai can keep the walks in check, he can succeed against an Athletics team with a road OPS of only .685.

Suggested Lineup Stacks

Arizona Diamondbacks Projected Lineup (6/6)

It’s a big slate of day games that we’re looking at for today’s MLB DFS slate. DraftKings has a nine-game slate that begins at 1:10 p.m ET. FanDuel has a different main slate that focuses on the evening games. They’ve chosen to break the afternoon games into separate slates to choose from.

Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props

Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (6/6)

• Braxton Ashcraft has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball to begin this season. Only four pitchers have a lower expected ERA than Ashcraft’s 2.77. If you prefer strikeout-minus-walk rate instead, he is 11th among qualified pitchers in that category. Ashcraft’s matchup today against the Braves is difficult, but five of his six starts in May were good for at least 40 points on FanDuel, showing how consistently excellent he has been.
• Kyle Bradish‘s early-season struggles are in the rearview mirror. In his last five starts spanning 31.1 innings, he has 30 strikeouts. That comes with a 1.72 ERA and 3.26 FIP during that stretch. Bradish’s matchup today is against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have the sixth-worst OPS in baseball.
• Tatsuya Imai‘s starts still seem volatile, but we’ve seen the upside in a few of them. He’s now posted over 30 FanDuel points in his last two starts. As long as Imai can keep the walks in check, he can succeed against an Athletics team with a road OPS of only .685.

Suggested Lineup Stacks

Arizona Diamondbacks Projected Lineup (6/6)

• The Arizona Diamondbacks are taking on the Washington Nationals and starting pitcher Zack Littell. He has been pitching well recently, with four wins in his last four games. That comes with a 1.96 ERA, but a 3.89 expected ERA. His 5.01 ERA on the season is actually lower than his expected ERA of 6.11 and his FIP of 6.22.
• Ketel Marte recently missed some time with back and hamstring injuries. He returned and went right back to hitting home runs. In his last 16 games, he has 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs. Marte has a 1.084 OPS in that span.
• Nolan Arenado is having a bit of a resurgent season in his first season with the Diamondbacks. His OPS on the season is at .787. That would be his best finish since 2022. He also has a history of success against Littell — 5-for-12 with a home run.
• A few other players in the Diamondbacks’ lineup have had success against Littell over smaller sample sizes. Gabriel Moreno has gone 2-for-5 against Littell with a home run. While Corbin Carroll has never hit a home run off Littell, he is 2-for-5 against him with a pair of doubles. Finally, make sure to check if Pavin Smith is in the lineup. If he is, he has gone 2-for-6 against Littell in his career with a double and a home run.

Baltimore Orioles Projected Lineup (6/6)

• We don’t have full confirmation, but Spencer Miles is expected to start today for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles. Miles struggled in his most recent outing when he was asked to operate as a traditional starting pitcher. In that game, he allowed six earned runs in just three innings against this same Orioles lineup. In the last two weeks, the Orioles have the seventh-best OPS in baseball.
• Pete Alonso has looked a lot like the player we’ve come to expect with eight home runs since the start of May. His average exit velocity and hard-hit rate have climbed back to the 99th percentile, according to Statcast. He’s been better against right-handed pitchers with an .809 OPS against them, and a .679 OPS against left-handed pitchers.
• It didn’t take long for Samuel Basallo to establish himself in the Major Leagues. He hit .338 with four home runs in May. Most of his power success has come against right-handed pitchers. Eight of his nine home runs have come against right-handed pitchers, against whom he has a .920 OPS. Check to make sure that he is in today’s lineup after exiting early yesterday.
• If you want to shoot for upside with a bit of a cheaper option, look at Colton Cowser. He has done truly nothing against left-handed pitching with a .182 OPS, but has a decent .724 OPS against right-handed pitching. Three of his four home runs have come in the last two weeks.

Core Studs

• George Springer is not off to a good start this season. A matchup against Kyle Bradish could be the spark that gets him going. Springer has gone 8-for-19 against Bradish in his career with nine extra-base hits, including one home run.
• There seems to be no lingering issues from the quadriceps injury that Ryan O’Hearn recently returned from. He has already hit two home runs in the five games since being back. He’s been a menace to right-handed pitchers all season with a .932 OPS against them this season.
• Ivan Herrera has held his own against right-handed pitchers but dominated against left-handed pitchers. He has a .738 OPS against right-handed pitchers, which jumps to .955 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Today’s matchup is against lefty Nick Lodolo.

Value Plays/Punts

• Bryce Eldridge looks to be delivering on the prospect pedigree with his latest opportunity. Over the last two weeks, he has a 1.177 OPS. He does have a difficult matchup today against Ben Brown, but Eldridge’s price seems too low for his production.
• Isaac Paredes has three home runs in the last three days. He’s a notoriously streaky player who could be entering one of his hot streaks. All of his home runs have come against right-handed pitchers like Kade Morris, who is being called up for his debut.
• Ernie Clement has always been a safe floor option with little upside due to a lack of power. However, recently that has changed. In the last 28 days, Clement has a .904 OPS with six doubles and four home runs.

Saturday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props

Luinder Avila (RP – KC): 4.5 Strikeouts — Lower

Luinder Avila has recently transitioned from a bullpen arm to a starting pitcher. Therefore, he has only topped 4.5 strikeouts in one of his 11 appearances. It was his last appearance when he reached five strikeouts against the Reds.

That was against a Reds team that has the highest strikeout rate in baseball. The Twins have a 23% strikeout rate. Avila would have to be very efficient to reach five strikeouts.

JJ Bleday (OF – CIN): 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs — Higher

JJ Bleday doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify, but if you drop the threshold to 140, he is one of only three batters with an OPS over 1.000. The other two are Yordan Alvarez and Ben Rice.

While Bleday has been better against right-handed pitchers, he still has an .859 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Lefty Matthew Liberatore is starting today for the Cardinals.

Lake Bachar (RP – MIA): 2.5 Strikeouts — Lower

It’s a similar situation for Lake Bachar as mentioned above for Luinder Avila. Bachar is a reliever who is being transitioned to a starting pitcher due to necessity. He made his first start of the season just four days ago.

Bachar totaled a season-high 49 pitches in that start, but still only struck out three batters. Pitching on short rest against a Tampa Bay team with the lowest strikeout rate in the league makes three strikeouts seem unlikely.

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