It’s Thursday, so you know we’re going to be dealing with a weird MLB DFS slate on DraftKings.
What’s so odd about tonight’s incarnation? Well, it’s a five-game slate that will almost assuredly turn into a four-game slate, as there’s heavy rain expected throughout the night in Boston. It’s also a slate where George Kirby ($8,800) will be returning from the IL for his season debut, yet he’ll be doing so with a price tag and pitch count that almost makes him unusable. That’s fun.
Let’s break down all the other twists and turns as we find the top DFS picks for this evening’s action on the diamond.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st]
PITCHER
Value
Mike Burrows, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $6,200 – It’s kind of hilarious how many big time pitching prospects the Pirates have in Triple-A. Burrows is barely in the top five. He’s not Bubba Chandler or Thomas Harrington or even Hunter Barco, but Burrows is listed as Pittsburgh’s No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline and the 25-year-old has looked amazing in the minors this season. To wit, across 32.1 innings, Burrows owns a 2.51 ERA to go along with a 31.5% strikeout rate and a 14.4% swinging strike rate. You don’t have to squint too long to see the upside here. Thursday’s matchup also plays a key role in the right-hander’s DFS viability. In a way, it’s the best matchup that Burrows could possibly draw. The Brewers rank second-last in wOBA over the past 30 days (.284). The lone team worse? Burrows’ own Pirates.
INFIELD
Stud
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, $4,900 – Olson is heating up. Over his last 10 games, the veteran first baseman is slashing .300/.326/.675 with three doubles and four home runs. For the season as a whole, Olson’s got his wRC+ up to a respectable 125, and a .390 expected wOBA suggests there’s still greater heights to hit. As if you needed another reason to put the red-hot slugger in your lineups, Trevor Williams ($6,300) has not fared well against LHBs so far in 2025. Lefties are batting .383 off the RHP with a .433 wOBA.
Value
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, $4,000 – The Braves have recently settled on a platoon solution at catcher, in an attempt to keep Baldwin’s bat in the lineup as often as possible. I get it. The rookie has been as good as could have even been expected, slashing .357/.400/.583 with a 173 wRC+ in his first 90 plate appearances at the MLB level. Against specifically RHPs, Baldwin sports an eye-popping 1.059 OPS in 70 PAs. He’s also another lefty to stack versus the aforementioned Williams.
OUTFIELD
Stud
Randy Arozarena, Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros, $4,500 – You can’t say that Lance McCullers Jr. ($6,500) has been awful in his return to the majors, as he’s not allowed an earned run in two of his three outings. However, he didn’t even make it through the first inning in the other start, surrendering seven runs to the Reds back on May 10. Considering how far the 31-year-old’s velocity has fallen since we last saw him in 2022, I’m tempted to believe the predictive power of his current 8.74 xERA. As for Arozarena, he’s in possession of a 128 wRC+ in his 200 plate appearances in 2025. He’s also 5-for-11 off McCullers in his career with a home run.
Value
Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $3,500 – I would wager that this week has been Reynolds’ lowest stretch of salaries since 2020. It makes sense. The veteran outfielder has posted just a 61 wRC+ in his 213 plate appearances in 2025, though a career-low .254 BABIP and a .343 expected wOBA do portend happier days on the horizon. So does a matchup with Aaron Civale ($7,000). Injury has limited the RHP to only three innings of work this season, but Civale has still managed to conceded three opponent home runs in that span. This after giving up the seventh-most long balls of any pitcher in 2024 (29). Reynolds is actually the lone player on Pittsburgh’s 26-man roster with a homer off Civale. He’s got two in his career.
