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MLB DFS: Model Picks and Value Plays for June 6

The FantasyLabs MLB Player Models house numerous data points to help you construct your MLB DFS rosters.

They house our floor, median, and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our Trends tool, stacking tool, and more.

Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your teams for cash games or small-field tournaments.

Let’s dive into some MLB plays that stand out in our Player Models for today’s main slate.

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Lineup builder and optimizer

Real-time DFS models & projections

Data-driven analysis & tutorials

Bargain Rating Picks

You might be asking: what is Bargain Rating, and why should I care?

Bargain Rating shows how much of a bargain a player is on one DFS site versus others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than the other, they will have a favorable Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more affordable and a poor Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more expensive. It’s a straightforward metric, but targeting players at reduced price tags is almost always a strong strategy in DFS.

Bargain Rating strongly correlates with player value, which you can quickly see with our predictive projected Plus/Minus metric.

Seeing how Plus/Minus helps you project how many points a player is expected to score compared to what their salary implies them to score, this is a good company for Bargain Rating.

MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain Value

Alex Call ($2,100): Outfielder, Washington Nationals

In his second major league season, Alex Call is off to a great start in June, batting .444/.545/.444. He has two multi-hit games in that three-game span.

On the season, the numbers are not as impressive. He is batting .218/.317/.311 overall with three home runs and 20 RBI.

Hot streaks and momentum can lead to fantasy bargains, and the model loves Call today against Diamondbacks lefty Tommy Henry. Henry is 3-1 with a 3.73 ERA on the season. He is coming off his best start of the season, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Rockies on May 31, but his low 15% strikeout rate should give allow the Nationals opportunities for baserunners.


Jake Bauers ($2,400): Outfielder, New York Yankees

Jake Bauers has been boom or bust for the Yankees at the plate, but for $2,400, he is a solid lottery ticket option.

Over the last five games, Bauers has games with 28.0 and 32.0 DraftKings points. He totaled five hits, three home runs, and six RBI in those two games. In the seven games before that, he had six scoreless fantasy outputs.

Bauers is hitting .238/.342/.524 overall on the season. He faces Lucas Giolito of the White Sox today with a 4-4 record and 4.08 ERA in 12 starts. Giolito has allowed at least one home run in each of his last six starts and is 1-3 with a. 5.68 ERA on the road this season.

MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks

Pitcher

Kevin Gausman ($11,000 DraftKings, $11,100 FanDuel) vs. Houston Astros

The 32-year-old righty is the first in the American League to reach the 100-strikeout mark on the season. With a career 3.87 ERA, Kevin Gausman is having a resurgence this season with a 4-3 record and 2.76 ERA thus far.

His 32.9 K% is one of the best marks in the league, and he’s topped double-digits in strikeouts five times already in 2023. In 12 starts, he’s had a couple of stinkers, giving up seven and eight runs, but has allowed two runs or less in nine outings.

Gausman has four 30+ DraftKings point games thus far and has the highest ceiling on the slate. He is coming off a scoreless, 11-strikeout performance on June 1 against the Brewers.


Hitter

Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,400 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel) vs. New York Mets

Ronald Acuna Jr. continues to light up the stat leaderboards this season. He sits in the top 10 in the National League with a .331 batting average, .407 OBP, .564 SLG, 52 runs, and 26 stolen bases.

The Braves superstar has an incredible +102.87 Plus/Minus on the season and is coming off two straight 20+ DraftKings point performances. He went 5-10 with a home run and double in the last two games in Arizona.

Tonight, the Braves return home to face the New York Mets and Carlos Carrasco with his 2-2 record and 5.74 ERA. Carrasco has one of the lowest K% in the league and a juicy .359 xwOBA.

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More MLB DFS Hitters and Pitchers

One of the great features of being a FantasyLabs Pro member is the option to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.

In addition to our in-house MLB projections,  THE BAT X from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders is available in our marketplace. With this purchase, you can use his projections alone or create aggregate projections within our Player Models.

For this example, we created a 50/50 blend with THE BAT X and the FantasyLabs projections to pinpoint some hitters that are standing out with this blend.

Pitcher

Joe Musgrove ($7,800 DraftKings, $8,300 FanDuel) vs. Seattle Mariners

The model loves Joe Musgrove as one of the highest rated pitchers on today’s slate. Musgrove is 3-2 with a 4.71 ERA on the season. His .293 xwOBA is solid and he’s thrown at least six innings in each of his last three starts.

Musgrove has two straight positive Plus/Minus games, although he has a negative overall Plus/Minus on the season. He’s allowed just one earned run in 12.1 innings over his last two starts and scored 19.90 and 24.64 DraftKings points. A repeat of those results would be well worth the value pricing.

The Mariners have one of the lowest implied run totals on the slate. In their last six games, Seattle has just one win and one game with more than four runs scored.

Be sure to check out all the pick’ems Boom Fantasy has to offer with promo code LABS for a $100 deposit match.

Hitters

LaMonte Wade Jr. ($4,000 DraftKings, $3,400 FanDuel) at Colorado Rockies

LaMonte Wade Jr. continues to find ways to get on base for the Giants this season. He is in the top 6% of hitters with a .389 wOBA and .392 xwOBA. Much of this comes from a crazy high walk rate, with 38 free passes in 57 games this season.

Overall, Wade Jr. is batting .273/.413/.466 on the season. His salary hits the $4,000 mark for the first time this season with the Colorado bump. He has three double-digit DraftKings point totals in his last four games.

The Giants face Dinelson Lamet, who is making just his second start of the season and 14th appearance. He is 1-2 with a rough 13.17 ERA in 13.2 total innings. This is a great spot for Wade Jr. and the Giants lineup to produce for fantasy owners.


George Springer ($4,700 DraftKings, $3,300 FanDuel) vs. Houston Astros

After a tough start to the season, George Springer had a stronger month of May, batting .287/.368/.465. Taking advantage of the larger bases this season, he has already swiped 10 bags on the year, well ahead of his best career pace.

Springer has the potential for high ceiling games with two 30+ DraftKings games in late May but also provides some consistent production with five double-digit DraftKings totals over his last 10.

The 24-year-old Hunter Brown takes the bump for the Astros with a 5-2 record and 3.61 ERA in his first full big league season. Brown gave up five earned runs in four innings during his last outing against the Twins on May 31.

The FantasyLabs MLB Player Models house numerous data points to help you construct your MLB DFS rosters.

They house our floor, median, and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our Trends tool, stacking tool, and more.

Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your teams for cash games or small-field tournaments.

Let’s dive into some MLB plays that stand out in our Player Models for today’s main slate.

Become an All-Access Member Today

Lineup builder and optimizer

Real-time DFS models & projections

Data-driven analysis & tutorials

Bargain Rating Picks

You might be asking: what is Bargain Rating, and why should I care?

Bargain Rating shows how much of a bargain a player is on one DFS site versus others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than the other, they will have a favorable Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more affordable and a poor Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more expensive. It’s a straightforward metric, but targeting players at reduced price tags is almost always a strong strategy in DFS.

Bargain Rating strongly correlates with player value, which you can quickly see with our predictive projected Plus/Minus metric.

Seeing how Plus/Minus helps you project how many points a player is expected to score compared to what their salary implies them to score, this is a good company for Bargain Rating.

MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain Value

Alex Call ($2,100): Outfielder, Washington Nationals

In his second major league season, Alex Call is off to a great start in June, batting .444/.545/.444. He has two multi-hit games in that three-game span.

On the season, the numbers are not as impressive. He is batting .218/.317/.311 overall with three home runs and 20 RBI.

Hot streaks and momentum can lead to fantasy bargains, and the model loves Call today against Diamondbacks lefty Tommy Henry. Henry is 3-1 with a 3.73 ERA on the season. He is coming off his best start of the season, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Rockies on May 31, but his low 15% strikeout rate should give allow the Nationals opportunities for baserunners.


Jake Bauers ($2,400): Outfielder, New York Yankees

Jake Bauers has been boom or bust for the Yankees at the plate, but for $2,400, he is a solid lottery ticket option.

Over the last five games, Bauers has games with 28.0 and 32.0 DraftKings points. He totaled five hits, three home runs, and six RBI in those two games. In the seven games before that, he had six scoreless fantasy outputs.

Bauers is hitting .238/.342/.524 overall on the season. He faces Lucas Giolito of the White Sox today with a 4-4 record and 4.08 ERA in 12 starts. Giolito has allowed at least one home run in each of his last six starts and is 1-3 with a. 5.68 ERA on the road this season.

MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks

Pitcher

Kevin Gausman ($11,000 DraftKings, $11,100 FanDuel) vs. Houston Astros

The 32-year-old righty is the first in the American League to reach the 100-strikeout mark on the season. With a career 3.87 ERA, Kevin Gausman is having a resurgence this season with a 4-3 record and 2.76 ERA thus far.

His 32.9 K% is one of the best marks in the league, and he’s topped double-digits in strikeouts five times already in 2023. In 12 starts, he’s had a couple of stinkers, giving up seven and eight runs, but has allowed two runs or less in nine outings.

Gausman has four 30+ DraftKings point games thus far and has the highest ceiling on the slate. He is coming off a scoreless, 11-strikeout performance on June 1 against the Brewers.


Hitter

Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,400 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel) vs. New York Mets

Ronald Acuna Jr. continues to light up the stat leaderboards this season. He sits in the top 10 in the National League with a .331 batting average, .407 OBP, .564 SLG, 52 runs, and 26 stolen bases.

The Braves superstar has an incredible +102.87 Plus/Minus on the season and is coming off two straight 20+ DraftKings point performances. He went 5-10 with a home run and double in the last two games in Arizona.

Tonight, the Braves return home to face the New York Mets and Carlos Carrasco with his 2-2 record and 5.74 ERA. Carrasco has one of the lowest K% in the league and a juicy .359 xwOBA.

Get Your First Deposit Matched Up to $100!

Sign up and deposit up to $100

Your deposit will be fully matched

New users only

More MLB DFS Hitters and Pitchers

One of the great features of being a FantasyLabs Pro member is the option to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.

In addition to our in-house MLB projections,  THE BAT X from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders is available in our marketplace. With this purchase, you can use his projections alone or create aggregate projections within our Player Models.

For this example, we created a 50/50 blend with THE BAT X and the FantasyLabs projections to pinpoint some hitters that are standing out with this blend.

Pitcher

Joe Musgrove ($7,800 DraftKings, $8,300 FanDuel) vs. Seattle Mariners

The model loves Joe Musgrove as one of the highest rated pitchers on today’s slate. Musgrove is 3-2 with a 4.71 ERA on the season. His .293 xwOBA is solid and he’s thrown at least six innings in each of his last three starts.

Musgrove has two straight positive Plus/Minus games, although he has a negative overall Plus/Minus on the season. He’s allowed just one earned run in 12.1 innings over his last two starts and scored 19.90 and 24.64 DraftKings points. A repeat of those results would be well worth the value pricing.

The Mariners have one of the lowest implied run totals on the slate. In their last six games, Seattle has just one win and one game with more than four runs scored.

Be sure to check out all the pick’ems Boom Fantasy has to offer with promo code LABS for a $100 deposit match.

Hitters

LaMonte Wade Jr. ($4,000 DraftKings, $3,400 FanDuel) at Colorado Rockies

LaMonte Wade Jr. continues to find ways to get on base for the Giants this season. He is in the top 6% of hitters with a .389 wOBA and .392 xwOBA. Much of this comes from a crazy high walk rate, with 38 free passes in 57 games this season.

Overall, Wade Jr. is batting .273/.413/.466 on the season. His salary hits the $4,000 mark for the first time this season with the Colorado bump. He has three double-digit DraftKings point totals in his last four games.

The Giants face Dinelson Lamet, who is making just his second start of the season and 14th appearance. He is 1-2 with a rough 13.17 ERA in 13.2 total innings. This is a great spot for Wade Jr. and the Giants lineup to produce for fantasy owners.


George Springer ($4,700 DraftKings, $3,300 FanDuel) vs. Houston Astros

After a tough start to the season, George Springer had a stronger month of May, batting .287/.368/.465. Taking advantage of the larger bases this season, he has already swiped 10 bags on the year, well ahead of his best career pace.

Springer has the potential for high ceiling games with two 30+ DraftKings games in late May but also provides some consistent production with five double-digit DraftKings totals over his last 10.

The 24-year-old Hunter Brown takes the bump for the Astros with a 5-2 record and 3.61 ERA in his first full big league season. Brown gave up five earned runs in four innings during his last outing against the Twins on May 31.

About the Author

Ben Strunk writes MLB and NFL DFS content for FantasyLabs. He earned bachelor's degrees in journalism and sports management at Ohio University and a masters in sport management from the University of Florida. Strunk has written for a variety of media outlets, including The Gainesville Sun over his career. He has more than a decade of fantasy sports experience and aims to provide data-driven analysis in a clear, efficient voice. Outside of fantasy sports, Strunk is a long time sports card collector, high school sports official, and ultrarunner.