Thursday, June 10, is getaway day, and there is a four-game set with a first pitch at 12:35 p.m. ET. There is also a six-game main slate at the usual time. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks, Thursday, June 10
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Houston Astros at LHP Eduardo Rodriguez — 4.5 implied runs
Tonight it is going to be relatively cool for Boston in June, with first pitch temperatures in the low 60s. Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez has really struggled over his last five starts, allowing 1.32 baserunners per inning and an unsightly 7.92 ERA. While he has been somewhat unlucky, he is going against a Houston squad that excels against lefties and just hung six earned runs on him in 4.2 innings on May 31.
Alex Bregman is a steal at $13 on Yahoo, and he will be among the most popular hitters of the day at the hot corner. Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel all have had sustained success against opposite-handed hurlers throughout their careers. Finally, look to Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, who consistently are eschewed by the average gamer when they are in lefty/lefty matchups. Alvarez is equally adept against pitchers of either handedness, and Tucker has a .205 ISO across his last 228 plate appearances against fellow lefties.
Early Slate
Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates — 5.2 implied runs
There are scattered showers in the forecast, but they are not slated to arrive until early afternoon, so this game should be OK for both the starting pitchers and the hitters. That said, look at the forecast closer to first pitch.
Through his first 27 starts in the majors, Mitch Keller has been an inconsistent disaster. With a whopping 81 runs allowed (78 earned) in his 114.1 innings, he has been saddled with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. The one positive is that he has averaged just over a strikeout per inning. Keller has been friendly to hitters from both sides of the plate, with a .206 career ISO to lefties and a .196 mark against same-handed batsmen.
Max Muncy was off on Wednesday to rest a sore ankle, but there is a decent chance he will be back in the mix this afternoon. Now that Cody Bellinger has recovered from the hairline fracture in his left leg, the Dodgers boast a lineup featuring multiple former MVPs. Will Smith and Justin Turner have excellent power against same-handed hurlers, and gamers can get some differentiation and salary relief, depending on who else is in the lineup, with Gavin Lux, Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock being the primary MLB DFS picks.
Late Slate
Minnesota Twins vs. RHP Michael King — 5.0 implied runs
While gamers will rightfully be flocking to the Yankees right-handed hitters going against southpaw J.A. Happ, do not overlook the Twins in the dugout across the field. The Twin Cities are in the middle of a heatwave right now, and game-time temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper 90s. Michael King looks to be better suited as a reliever, but someone has to fill the void in the rotation left by Corey Kluber. Though King threw a season-high 5.1 innings on Friday against Boston, it was on an uber-efficient 66 pitches. The warning-track fly balls are going to end up in the first couple rows of the stands in the unseasonably warm weather, which bodes well for the power bats in the Minnesota lineup.
Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sano are the power trio to target first. Switch-hitter Jorge Polanco is fresh off of two round-trippers last night, and he should see at least five at-bats from the leadoff position. Youngsters Alec Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach are reasonable options for a full stack and some salary relief, depending on the DFS site of choice.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top Target: RHP Max Scherzer vs. San Francisco Giants — 3.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $54 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $11,400
The Nationals are consistently inconsistent when it comes to dealing with weather and postponed games. First and foremost, the Nationals tend to make decisions that are in their best interest first and then hope the weather lands on their side. There have been at least two different postponed games where the decision came down after contest lock time to not even start the game — the kicker, there ended up being no precipitation issues for Nationals Park.
Speculation is that if there is any reasonable chance for rain (and there currently is in the forecast), then the Nationals will look to postpone the game and get Max Scherzer a start in a seven-inning doubleheader if they can. The one wrinkle is that this is a four-game weekend series, so there is also the opportunity to have a doubleheader pushed to Saturday. The Saturday game is also featured on FOX Baseball, so one could speculate that a nine-inning game would be more appealing on Saturday with a doubleheader occurring on Friday.
Scherzer is having yet another excellent season and is among the league leaders with a 2.22 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP and 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings. If this game looks like a go, then Scherzer is the top priority on all sites in all formats.
Secondary Option: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. Colorado Rockies — 3.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $41 | FanDuel $10,100 | DraftKings $9,000
The Rockies are not a particularly fierce offense, especially when they are away from Coors Field. Trevor Rogers is quietly becoming an excellent pitcher in a mostly anonymous situation with the Marlins. Across his last 413 batters faced he has a whopping 29.5% strikeout rate and a solid 43.6% groundball rate while doing an excellent job of limiting power. On FanDuel, if Scherzer is out as an option, then we Rogers can slot right in without hesitation. The Scherzer/Rogers pairing is also rather intriguing on Yahoo and DraftKings while working in some discounted hitters.
Wild Card: RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez — 4.5 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $26 | FanDuel $6,300 | DraftKings $6,600
There is absolutely no need to consider Chi Chi Gonzalez on FanDuel, but he provides tremendous salary relief as a second pitcher on Yahoo and DraftKings. While there is not a lot of strikeout upside, Gonzalez generally limits power outside of his home park, and at this salary point he just needs to produce four relatively clean innings and then hope the hitting upgrades he opens up can come through.
Final Thoughts for the Thursday, June 10 MLB DFS Slate
Weather is in the mix for both the early slate (Cincinnati and Pittsburgh) and the main slate (Washington). As always, be mindful that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
