MLB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Thursday Playbook
Published: Jun 04, 2026
Welcome to Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS picks and daily fantasy playbook for Thursday, June 4th. Our MLB DFS projections combine advanced pitching metrics, platoon splits, strikeout prop data, and ownership positioning to identify the sharpest plays on every slate. Whether you are targeting DFS projections, running lineups through our DFS optimizer, tracking ownership trends, or checking confirmed lineups, Fantasy Alarm has the tools to sharpen your edge. Today's 5-game main slate has multiple different directions to go with a big wind game in Wrigley Field and some elite pitchers in Chris Sale, Justin Wrobleski, and Shota Imanaga taking the mound. This MLB DFS playbook covers every key position on DraftKings and FanDuel with our best MLB DFS picks for today.
Slate: 5-Game Main | Lock Time: 7:15 PM ET, Thursday June 4th, 2026
Vegas Totals: ATH/CHC (highest-projected game), KC/MIN (Tied for second-highest), LAD/ARI (Tied for second-highest)
Highest K-Projections: Chris Sale 7.5 O/U (+119), Shota Imanaga 6.5 O/U (+104), Jared Jones 5.5 O/U (-106), Kai-Wei Teng 5.5 O/U (+120)
MLB Weather Today, 6/4
Kansas City vs Minnesota - It's likely that the storms in the forecast stay away until the end of the game, but keep tabs on this one throughout the day.
Athletics vs Chicago - Warm night in Chicago and there are 15 MPH winds blowing out as well. Great hitting environment.
MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers
MLB DFS Top Pitchers
Chris Sale (ATL)
Analysis: He's an elite pitcher with a not-so-great spot and yet, he's strikeout prop is set at 7.5 and is -108 outright win. He'll be mega chalk and you can always fade chalk, but he's blatantly the top pitcher of the day.
Shota Imanaga (CHC)
Analysis: I don't love that it's windy and I don't love that Imanaga is a flyball pitcher, but the Athletics do strike out a LOT against left-handed pitching. The A's have the fifth-highest K-rate in baseball against left-handed hurlers and their 93 OPS ranks 18th in baseball.
MLB DFS Value Pitchers
Jared Jones (PIT)
Analysis: Jones' debut didn't go great, but there was a lot to like about it under the hood. He threw a boatload of strikes, generated 15 whiffs, and had seven strikeouts. He threw nine pitches at least 100 MPH too, which is a great sign for a debut. Houston is slightly above league average against righties and they strike out nearly 22% of the time.
Kai-Wei Teng (HOU)
Analysis: This is more about Teng than it is about the Pirates. The Pirates are good against righties and they can throw a bunch of lefties at Teng which isn't great, but Teng has missed a boatload of bats lately. He's struck out 6+ batters in three straight starts and is one of the best sources for strikeouts available.
Top Options For Strikeouts
The three top strikeout targets in today's MLB DFS projections each carry a K/9 above 10.9 and favorable opponent strikeout splits. K-prop lines and value ratings are incorporated below for DFS and prop context. These are the arms building the highest strikeout ceilings on the nine-game slate.
Our model identifies these arms as the highest-ceiling plays for Alt-K lines today:
Chris Sale: 30.2% K% (10.7 K/9)
Jared Jones: 28.6% K% (12.5 K/9)
Kai-Wei Teng: 25.7% K% (9.2 K/9)
Shota Imanaga: 24.3% K% (8.8 K/9)
Best Odds For A Win
The following MLB DFS picks offer a combination of favorable win odds, sustainable ERA and xFIP metrics, and soft opponent matchups. Each carry K-prop lines worth noting alongside their DFS value at reduced ownership relative to the top tier.
- Chris Sale -108
- Justin Wrobleski +134
- Shota Imanaga +156
MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Stacks & Hitters
MLB DFS Top Hitters
Byron Buxton (OF, MIN)
Analysis: Seth Lugo struggles with right-handed bats and Byron Buxton is the best one-off of the day because of it. Buxton has a .368 ISO and .402 wOBA this year vs. RHP while Lugo has allowed a .188 ISO and .234 xISO.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF, CHC)
Analysis: Winds are blowing out in Wrigley tonight and that means a big boost to bats. Ginn has struggled with lefty bats since last year and this years no different. He has allowed a .320 wOBA and .341 xwOBA to lefties. PCA is heating up and has good underlying metrics (.166 ISO, .235 xISO, .312 wOBA, .363 xwOBA)
Max Muncy (3B, LAD)
Analysis: Lefties have killed Ryne Nelson this year and things could actually be even better for them based on numbers under the hood. He has allowed a .228 ISO, .279 xISO, .307 wOBA, and .358 xwOBA to righties. Max Muncy has a .270 ISO, .293 xISO, .384 wOBA, and .401 xwOBA.
MLB DFS Value Hitters
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, KC)
Analysis: Pasquantino has had much better at-bats lately and the numbers are turning around ever so slightly. He has a .289 AVG and .847 OPS over his last 10 games and nearly had two homers just yesterday. He has a .176 xISO and .340 xwOBA vs. RHP this year and faces the Twins bullpen games here.
Colby Thomas (OF, ATH)
Analysis: Shota Imanaga is a severe flyball pitcher and now you're putting him in a wind game? Yikes. He's already allowed a .198 ISO and .174 xISO to righties and Thomas should lead off and he himself has a .217 xISO vs. LHP.
Alex Freeland (2B, LAD)
Analysis: Twice over his last four games Alex Freeland has put up over 20 DKP and he's a talented hitter when given opportunity. Freeland also has a little speed and has a good matchup against a pitcher struggling against left-handed pitching.
MLB DFS Top Stacks
Primary Stack: Chicago Cubs vs J.T. Ginn (ATH RHP)
Why: 15 MPH winds blowing out in warm weather. Elite hitting weather. Prefer the lefties, but will add righties to complete the stack.
Primary Stack: Los Angeles Dodgers vs Ryne Nelson (ARI RHP)
Why: Both splits hammer Ryne Nelson. Righties have a .246 ISO, .235 xISO, .351 wOBA, and .340 xwOBA and lefties have a .228 ISO, .279 xISO, .307 wOBA, and .358 xwOBA against him.
Primary Stack: Kansas City Royals vs Andrew Morris/Twins Bullpen (MIN RHP)
Why: The Royals offense is warming up slightly and Andrew Morris has had his struggles and Mike Paredes didn't exactly shove at Triple-A.
“Contrarian Stack”: Athletics vs Shota Imanaga (CHC LHP)
Why: If Shota misses bats, he should dominate this A's lineup, but if he can't? And is allowing flyballs in the wind? He's going to give up multiple home runs and the A's – who aren't getting ownership – could break the slate.
MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters & Pitchers
| The "Chalk" (Popular) | The "Pivot" (Low Owned) | The Winning Logic |
| Jones (SP, chalk) | Teng (SP, lower owned) | I don't dislike Jones, but Teng is lower-owned and has flashed big K-upside as a starter. |
| CHC + ATL as primary stacks | LAD + KC as contrarian stacks | We have no idea who the Blue Jays are going to throw after Fluharty but that makes it hard to stack ATL & Cubs super chalk b/c wind, but major GB pitcher opposing them. |
| Bregman + Hoerner (chalk) | Muncy + Freeman (lower owned) | Everybody playing the wind game against a groundball pitcher but the Dodgers look great at lower ownership. |
The foundation for every MLB DFS lineup you build today. These are the core MLB DFS picks by position across DraftKings and FanDuel.
- Chris Sale (SP1)
- Jared Jones (SP2)
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (Core Bat)
- Max Muncy (Core Bat)
- Ian Happ (Core Bat)
- Vinnie Pasquantino (Core Value Bat)
- Alex Freeland (Core Value Bat)
Player Pool
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