It is a loaded day of MLB baseball with 16 games taking place across the day. There are matchups littered throughout the afternoon, building up to the Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the Dodgers and Braves. One of the more unique features on DraftKings this year is Pick6 Fantasy Baseball!
This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for action for today, 5/4/25. You simply choose whether each set statistic will be more or less than the set number. With the stage set, here are my favorite picks on the remaining slate.
Matt Chapman More Than 0.5 Runs Batted In
Matt Chapman has been red-hot this series, hitting a home run in back-to-back games against the Rockies, including a grand slam in yesterday’s win. This brings his home run total to seven on the season, with 21 RBIs tallied. Champan is slashing .205/.354/.419 thus far this season.
Today is a great opportunity to build on this with German Marquez on the mound. The 30-year-old enters with a 9.32 ERA and just an 11% strikeout rate. He has struggled against hitters on both sides of the plate and has escaped just one of his six starts without giving up three or more earned runs.
Chapman has homered off of Marquez twice in his eight career at-bats and is seeing the ball great at the plate right now. While I don’t hate taking a chance on a home run for the third straight game, we will go a bit safer and take Chapman to record more than 0.5 runs batted in and build off the five he has already tallied in this series.
Reese Olson More Than 5.5 Strikeouts
It has been a decent start to the season for Reese Olson, who will be on the mound for the Tigers today. He struggled in his first three starts, giving up 10 combined earned runs, but he has settled in and enters this matchup having struck out seven batters in back-to-back games.
This includes striking out seven batters against the Padres, who have the lowest strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers this season. Olson has a much more favorable matchup today against the Angels. Already in this series, Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty struck out eight batters in their starts. While Olson will not quite get confused for either of these guys on the mound, getting the line at 5.5 strikeouts is a much more favorable number.
Olson is registering a 23.4% strikeout rate and a 13.2% swinging-strike rate across his first 33 innings pitched. The Angels have registered the third-most strikeouts in the MLB so far this season, and look for Olson to continue to add to this. I am backing the 25-year-old to continue building off his back-to-back seven-strikeout games and record more than 5.5 today.
Riley Greene More Than 1.5 Total Bases
This Tigers vs. Angels matchup is also a great spot for Riley Greene to add to his production. Jack Kochanowicz will be on the mound for the Angels, who boasts a friendly 5.29 ERA and 19 earned runs allowed in his first six starts. He has given up at least two earned runs and at least four hits in every start this year. Kochanowicz also has given up a 10% barrel rate and allowed five home runs and an ugly .545 SLG to left-handed hitters this year.
Greene enters this game on a six-game hitting streak and is up to eight home runs on the year. His hitting splits have climbed to .275/.321/.496, and he is not a threat to be pinch-hit for late in games. The 24-year-old has recorded more than 1.5 total bases in five of his last 10 games. With a favorable matchup and him looking this locked in at the plate, I like this trend to continue today and for Green to tally more than 1.5 total bases in the matchup.
MacKenzie Gore More Than 6.5 Strikeouts
MacKenzie Gore will be on the mound for the Washington Nationals today and has been a pleasant surprise so far this season. In his fourth MLB season, Gore is currently leading the MLB with 59 strikeouts on the year. Through his first 41 innings pitched, he is posting a 3.51 ERA and a 1.098 WHIP while walking just nine batters.
The Reds have had their struggles at the plate, currently having tallied the eighth-most strikeouts in the MLB. This is led by Elly De La Cruz, who has struck out 40 times already this season, and Matt McLain, who has been sat down 34 times as well.
Gore has tallied 13 strikeouts in two separate starts this year and recorded more than 6.5 strikeouts in five of his seven starts. He finished with five and six strikeouts in the two games he failed to reach this number. With the Reds already having their struggles with strikeouts and Gore capitalizing on this to the fullest extent in less favorable matchups, I like him to add to his strong start to the season today. Look for him to record more than 6.5 strikeouts for the sixth time already this season as he makes his eighth start for this Nationals team.
CJ Abrams More Than 1.5 Total Bases
Another player who has stepped up for the Nationals this year has been CJ Abrams. The All-Star shortstop has taken another stride forward this season, posting hitting splits of .289/.341/.530 through his opening 21 games played. This growth in power changes Abrams’ ceiling as a player, and he is establishing himself as a clear foundational piece of this Nationals team.
The 24-year-old has a favorable matchup in this game with Nick Martinez on the mound for the Reds. Through his first six starts this season, Martinez is 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. He ranks in the 37th percentile in expected ERA and the 19th percentile in opponents’ expected batting average.
Abrams has been especially hot of late, hitting .313 with a .500 slugging percentage and .877 OPS over his past 12 games. He has tallied more than 1.5 total bases in three of his past five games and is riding a nine-game hitting streak entering this matchup. Abrams has faced Martinez four times in his career, with one of these at-bats resulting in a home run. Look for him to continue his strong start and tally more than 1.5 total bases again today.
Shohei Ohtani More Than 0.5 Home Runs
The final matchup of the night will be between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, with this game hopefully avoiding the rain delay fate that last night’s matchup suffered. Regardless of the weather, Shohei Ohtani will be ready to launch baseballs and has been doing so at his expected high level to start this season. He has hit a home run in two of his past four games, posting a .313 batting average, .813 slugging percentage, and 1.234 OPS across this stretch. On the season overall, Ohtani is posting hitting splits of .293/.396/.569 while leading the league in runs scored.
Bryce Elder will be on the mound for Atlanta, who is off to a tough start to the season. Through his first five starts, he is posting a 5.33 ERA and 1.41 WHIP whole ranking in the 31st percentile in expected ERA and the 24th percentile in expected batting average. Elder has faced Ohtani five times in their careers, with the Dodgers’ star going 2-for-5 with a home run. Elder has also allowed at least three home runs in four of his five outings on the season.
These struggles by the Braves pitcher are notable, and the Dodgers are the last lineup he should be looking forward to facing as he attempts to get back on track. It takes just one missed pitch for Ohtani to punish Elder on the mound, and he has not hit his spots at a reliable enough rate this season. Look for Ohtani to get the better of him in this matchup and put a ball over the fence again tonight.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether or not you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
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