There are 10 games of MLB action taking place across the Monday night slate. The first game will begin at 6:40 EST between the Dodgers and Marlins, building out to a 10:05 start between the Athletics and Mariners. One of the more unique features on DraftKings this year is Pick6 Fantasy Baseball!
This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for today’s action, 5/5/25. 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 MLB slate.
Freddie Freeman More Than 1.5 Total Bases
A loss to the Braves last night snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Dodgers, and the team immediately traveled down to Miami looking to get back in the win column. Sandy Alcantara will be on the mound for the Marlins. The former Cy Young winner has an impressive resume, but he simply has not looked like the pitcher he once was. Alcantara missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and is posting an 8.31 ERA through his first six starts this season.
Freddie Freeman has had success in matchups with Alcantara throughout his career and is playing at a high level to start this season. In the 32 at-bats that Freeman has faced Alcantara, he has nine hits, four walks, an RBI and a pair of doubles. This all came against the pre-Tommy John version of the Marlins pitcher. Alcantara has not escaped a start without allowing at least two hits and at least two earned runs this season.
Looking just at Freeman’s production, he is slashing .390/.471/.797 through his first 23 games. The 35-year-old has tallied six home runs, all of which have come against right-handed pitchers this season. He enters this game on a nine-game hitting streak and has recorded more than 1.5 total bases in five of these games. With a favorable matchup and Freeman seeing the ball well, look for him to tally more than 1.5 total bases tonight in the opening matchup of the MLB slate.
Christian Walker More Than 1.5 Total Bases
Christian Walker is beginning to heat up after a bit of a slow start to this season. On the season overall, he is slashing just .200/.273/.350 with just 24 hits in his first 120 at-bats. Over his 45 plate appearances, he is producing a .357 wOBA with two home runs and four doubles.
Tobias Myers will be on the mound for the Brewers today, which provides a great path for Walker to continue building off this. Myers had a solid rookie season but has struggled this year in a small sample size. He has pitched just 7.0 innings so far, allowing six hits and four earned runs. He has produced a 20.6% walk rate and also struggled in the 13 and 1/3 innings he pitched in Triple-A this spring. Myers allowed 10 hits and three earned runs in just 13.1 innings pitched while allowing a 48.8% fly-ball rate.
This fly-ball rate was evident in the majors last year, with opponents producing a 40.6% fly-ball rate against Myers. This is a good matchup for Walker, who has produced 25+ doubles and 25+ home runs in each of the last three seasons. He has tallied more than 1.5 total bases in four of his past six games against tougher pitching than he will see tonight. Look for Walker to stay hot and get hold of a pitch for an extra-base hit tonight.
Kyle Tucker More Than 0.5 Runs
The list of players playing better baseball than Kyle Tucker this season is very short. The Chicago Cubs took a risk by trading for the former Astros star, and Tucker is setting himself up nicely for a massive pay day in his upcoming free agency. Through his first 35 games, he is slashing .292/.399/.577 with nine home runs, 30 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He is third in the MLB in runs, trailing only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.
Landen Roupp will be on the mound for the Giants tonight, who is 2-2 with a 5.10 ERA. He has conceded at least four runs in three of his past four starts and has not escaped a game this year without allowing at least four hits.
Tucker has tallied 40 hits already this season and consistently puts himself in positions to score. The Cubs have tallied six or more runs collectively in four of their past six games and lead the MLB in runs scored overall. Look for Tucker to continue building off his strong start to the season and cross home plate again tonight.
Miles Mikolas Less Than 17.5 Outs Recorded
It has been a frustrating start to the season for Miles Mikolas. The 36-year-old is posting a 4.66 ERA through his first six starts. He has given up 30 hits in his first 29.0 innings pitched with 15 earned runs allowed. Mikolas has been held to 16 or fewer outs in five of his six starts and thrown more than 82 pitches just once.
This is not a huge outlier from last season, as Mikolas tallied 32 starts and finished with a 5.35 ERA. He allowed 194 hits and 102 earned runs in his 171.2 innings pitched and has ranked in the top three in the MLB in earned runs allowed in all of baseball over each of the past two seasons.
The Pirates are not exactly a lineup that strikes fear into opposing pitchers. They hold one of the worst offenses in the league, currently ranking 26th in wOBA and 28th in total runs produced. But it will be a struggle for Mikolas even under the best of circumstances. He has only recorded more than 17.5 outs in one of his six starts this season and failed to reach this number in 16 of his 32 starts last season. Expect him to need to earn every out in this game and be chased before getting through the sixth inning.
Brandon Nimmo More Than 1.5 Hits, Runs & RBIs
The New York Mets will have their sights set on a strong offensive output tonight as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ryne Nelson is expected to be on the mound for Arizona, giving Corbin Burnes some time off due to a shoulder issue. Nelson began his career as a starter but has pitched out of the bullpen this season, and this will be his first start. Across his first 17.0 innings pitched this season, Nelson has allowed 16 hits and 11 earned runs, coming out to a 5.82 ERA. He also produced a 4.76 ERA across his past two seasons as a starter, allowing 41 home runs and 156 earned runs across his 294.2 innings pitched.
New York hasn’t needed much help producing at the plate, but will certainly take it in this matchup. Brandon Nimmo will likely be slotted as the fourth or fifth hitter in the lineup, with Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso ahead of him. This provides some great lineup protection and a nice opportunity for Nimmo to deliver with some RBIs himself.
So far this season, Nimmo has tallied 28 hits, seven home runs and 23 RBIs on the year. He has produced more than 1.5 combined hits, runs and RBIs in three of his past five starts, including a four-hit, two-home run and nine-RBI performance against the Nationals. He has also tallied a hit in four of his seven plate appearances against Nelson, including a double and a triple. Look for him to capitalize on the favorable matchup and tally more than 1.5 combined hits, runs and RBIs tonight.
Luis Severino More Than 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed
In the final matchup of tonight’s MLB slate, Luis Severino will be on the mound for the Athletics as they face the Mariners. There will be some favorable hitting conditions tonight with big winds and temperatures in the mid-80s. Severino has struggled in Sutter Health Park, allowing 14 runs over his past 24 innings in this temporary home park.
On the season overall, he has allowed 16 earned runs in his seven starts. This means he is allowing 3.5 runs per game when pitching at home. He has allowed at least three runs in three of his four home outings, including against the White Sox in the previous game. Seattle is a much more dangerous offense than Chicago, ranking ninth in total runs so far this season.
Severino has had success pitching deep into games, but he has not been able to keep the inning clean at a high enough rate. Expect these struggles to continue with the wind expected to be blowing tonight and the four home runs conceded already in mind. It could take just one swing for the game to break open, and the 2.5 earned run margin is not large enough for my liking. Expect Severino’s struggles at home to continue and for him to allow at least three runs 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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