Father’s Day weekend is always a good time for sports — the US Open is entering its second round, the NBA Finals play two critical games, and baseball is chock-full of rivalries. This weekend, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will meet once again and the Los Angeles Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants for the first time this season.
Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders I’m targeting from tonight’s 12-game featured DFS slate on DraftKings.
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PITCHER
Stud
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants, $10,600 – Yamamoto pitched six innings of shutout ball in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out nine (27.3 FPTS), but the Dodgers’ offense didn’t show up around him, forcing him to settle for a no-decision. He hasn’t been quite as sharp recently as he was in April, so I’m not necessarily expecting another shutout, but a quality start feels like the floor for Yamamoto. The three stars on tonight’s slate are Yamamoto, Garrett Crochet ($10,800), and Logan Webb ($10,100), but Yamamoto is facing the weakest offense. New York and Los Angeles rank first and second, respectively, in OPS, while San Francisco ranks 23rd.
Value
Luis Severino, Athletics at Kansas City Royals, $6,700 – Severino has had back-to-back brutal starts, conceding five runs on eight hits and four walks in 5.2 innings (5.6 FPTS) last Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles five days after conceding eight runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings (-7.9 FPTS) in a loss to the Minnesota Twins. But as capable as the veteran right-hander is of rough starts, he’s also proven his worth with several elite starts in a row; in a four-game stretch between April 13 and April 30, he pitched to a 2.19 ERA across 24.2 innings (16.8 FPTS per game). His underlying numbers between those starts and his most recent blowups weren’t all that different, though, so he’s capable of getting back to that form. A game against the Royals, the fifth-worst team by OPS, should help.
INFIELDER
Stud
Josh Naylor, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres, $4,800 – Naylor had been in a bit of a skid to start the month, but he’s coming off an excellent series against the Seattle Mariners, in which he went seven-for-12 with a homer, two doubles, and six RBI’s (18 FPTS per game). The 27-year-old is following up his maiden All-Star campaign in 2024 with an even better one, and he’s a primary reason why the Diamondbacks are still competitive in the NL West. Stephen Kolek ($8,200) has put up two shutout outings in a row, but he ranks in just the seventh percentile in whiff percentage, making him vulnerable to Naylor, who very rarely whiffs.
Stud
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $4,500 – Turang has had a fairly cold start to June, as he’s slashing just .206/.317/.265 (5.4 FPTS per game) over his last 10 games, but his 91st percentile sprint speed always makes him an asset. He ranks seventh in the National League in stolen bases so far this season after finishing third with 50 last season, and he’s now gone steal-less for a week, so he’s due. Turang should have plenty of chances to get on base against Erick Fedde ($6,900), who ranks in just the 11th percentile in expected batting average and the 20th percentile in walk rate. Fedde’s pitches are also slower than average, and that small difference can often be the difference between a stolen base and an out.
Value
Adley Rutschmann, Baltimore Orioles vs. Los Angeles Angels, $3,900 – Rutschmann has gotten off to a slow start this season after making All-Star teams in each of the past two seasons, but he’s started to turn it around lately, slashing .316/.386/.526 in his last 10 games (8.6 FPTS per game) as the Orioles in general have heated up, although they’re still last in the stacked AL East. The same can’t be said of Jack Kochanowicz ($5,500), who’s given up exactly four runs in each of his last four starts and now ranks in just the second percentile in average exit velocity and the fourth percentile in pitching run value. Kochanowicz predominantly throws sinkers, and Rutschmann has posted a .500 slugging percentage against the pitch so far this season, whiffing on just 4.2% of the sinkers he’s faced.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies, $6,100 – The Braves have struggled mightily as of late, losing 13 of their last 18 games, but Acuña hasn’t been the issue. The 2023 NL MVP has been tremendous, slashing .353/.436/.647 with six homers and 11 RBI’s. He hasn’t stolen a base yet, perhaps still trying to protect his surgically repaired ACL, and his expected batting average is far lower than his actual mark, but otherwise, there isn’t much more you could ask from the Venezuelan. There’s not much I need to say about Germán Márquez ($4,500), whose 7.00 ERA and 2-8 record encapsulates everything there is to know about the 2025 Rockies, but Acuña homered off of him the last time these two faced off in 2019.
Stud
Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians, $4,800 – Rodríguez has been entirely unaffected by the ankle injury that he suffered earlier this month when he was hit with a liner, as he’s slashing .375/.390/.475 in his last 10 games (nine FPTS per game). He’s coming off three consecutive multi-hit games and doubled twice on Wednesday against Arizona in a 15-FPT effort, and he wasn’t the reason his team got swept by the Diamondbacks. Gavin Williams ($8,000) has been worse on the road than he has at home, posting a 4.38 ERA away from the shores of Lake Erie. Williams throws his fastball 45% of the time, and Rodríguez has a .500 slugging percentage against fastballs this season.
Value
Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, $3,700 – Rafaela’s defense and speed have always been there, which has kept him in the everyday lineup, but his bat has been slower to come around. However, over his last 10 games, the 24-year-old has slashed .325/.386/.600 (10.7 FPTS per game) with three homers and three stolen bases. One of those homers was a walk-off bomb around the Pesky Pole in right field at Fenway Park to send the Angels packing, and though he had a rough series against the Yankees immediately after, hitting one-for-11, he’s posted two double-digit fantasy outings in his last three games. Ryan Yarbrough ($7,000) conceded eight runs in four innings (-8.2 FPTS) in his last start against Boston.
