Welcome to Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS picks and daily fantasy playbook for Wednesday, June 3rd. 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 9-game main slate has multiple different directions to go, considering how loaded the top of pitching is with Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Chase Burns, and Gerrit Cole all toeing the rubber. This MLB DFS playbook covers every key position on DraftKings and FanDuel with our best MLB DFS picks for today.

Slate: 9-Game DK Main, 11-Game FD Main  |  Lock Time: 7:05 PM ET, 6:40 PM ET, Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026

Vegas Totals: LAD/ARI (highest-projected game), KC/CIN - ATH/CHC - COL/LAA (tied for second-highest)

Highest K-Projections: Paul Skenes 6.5 O/U (-158), Chase Burns 6.5 O/U (-130), Gavin Williams 6.5 O/U (-106), Shohei Ohtani 6.5 O/U (+110), Gerrit Cole 5.5 O/U (-104)

MLB Weather Today, 6/3

All clear today. 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers

MLB DFS Top Pitchers

Shohei Ohtani (LAD)

Analysis: Ohtani has been dominant on the mound this season, with a 0.82 ERA across nine starts. The strikeouts are down a touch from a season ago, but his ground balls are up significantly, and he's allowing very little hard contact. Arizona has been one of the worst offenses against right-handed pitching in baseball, with an 88 wRC+.  

Paul Skenes (PIT)

Analysis: Skenes got back on track with 10 strikeouts in his last start after a couple of rough (by his standards) outings. Overall, he's still been elite this season, and there is absolutely zero concern for his production moving forward. He draws a slightly tougher matchup than Ohtani, but the slight salary discount makes up for it.   

Chase Burns (CIN)

Analysis: Burns belongs right in the conversation with the other two NL Cy Young contenders on this slate. He owns an elite 1.96 ERA and 28.9% strikeout rate through 11 starts this season. He also draws a plus matchup against a Royals squad that owns just a 91 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. 

Gerrit Cole (NYY)

Analysis: Vintage Gerrit Cole showed up in his second start of the season, as the 35-year-old racked up 10 strikeouts in 6.2 shutout innings against the Royals. Tonight, he draws a good matchup with the Guardians, who own a below-average 93 wRC+ against right-handers.  

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

Gavin Williams (CLE)

Analysis: Williams draws a tough assignment in Yankee Stadium, but there is a good chance he won't have to worry about Aaron Judge. Williams owns a 3.07 ERA and an elite 29% strikeout rate, so there is plenty of upside here. Despite being an elite offense, the Yankees strike out at the 7th-highest rate against righties. Williams comes with a little more risk than the top arms, but there is just as much upside when the salary discount is factored in.  

Walbert Urena (LAA)

Analysis: Chalk Angels pitchers have not fared well in the series against the Rockies, but that shouldn't deter us from targeting another high-upside value option tonight. Urena has been outstanding with a 2.44 ERA through 44.1 big league innings. His strikeout rate is just below league average at 21.1%, but his 11.8% swingin-strike rate suggests he has been a little unlucky in that department. The ground ball rate is also borderline elite at 50.8%. 

Top Options For Strikeouts

The four top strikeout targets in today's MLB DFS projections each carry a K/9 above 10.0 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:

Paul Skenes: 29.4% K% (10.3 K/9)

Shohei Ohtani: 28.6% K% (10.0 K/9)

Gavin Williams: 29.0% K% (10.4 K/9)

Chase Burns: 28.9% K% (10.1 K/9)

Gerrit Cole: 26.7% K% (8.3 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.

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Stacks & Hitters

MLB DFS Top Hitters

Freddie Freeman (1B, LAD) & Max Muncy (3B, LAD)

Analysis: Freeman and Muncy lead the way for the Dodgers tonight against Gallen, who owns a .243 xISO against lefties this season. Muncy is all the way up at a .277 ISO against righties this year, while Freeman is at a still-excellent .213 ISO. In addition to the underlying power problem, Gallen's strikeout and ground-ball skills are worse against lefties compared to righties.  

Ronald Acuna (OF, ATL) & Ozzie Albies (2B, ATL)

Analysis: Corbin still has some skills against lefties, including a 24.4% strikeout rate and 51.6% groundball rate. However, he has much weaker tools to combat righties. Acuna has had reverse splits in his career, but the power and speed profile from the leadoff spot is too good to pass up. Albies has had more production against lefties in his career, including this season, where he owns a .170 ISO. 

JJ Bleday (OF, CIN)

Analysis: Bleday has been unreal since joining the Reds, posting a 174 wRC+ that ranks third in baseball among hitters with at least 130 plate appearances. He gets a matchup against a low-strikeout righty who will attempt to induce contact on the ground. 

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Nathaniel Lowe (1B, CIN)

Analysis: Like Bleday, Lowe has also enjoyed a career resurgence since joining the Reds, smashing righties for a .321 ISO this season. Lowe's power should play well against the low strikeouts of Kolek in a great home run park.   

Jorge Mateo (SS, ATL)

Analysis: Mateo has come out of nowhere for the Braves to post a 136 wRC+, with 4 home runs and 7 steals in 87 plate appearances. His previous career best was an 87 wRC+ a couple of years ago. The production may not last, but it is worth chasing in an elite matchup while his price remains a bargain. 

Wade Meckler (OF, LAA) & Donovan Walton (2B/3B, LAA) 

Analysis: The Angels would be high on the list of priorities today if they had more lefty power. Unfortunately, the only lefties are value options with little track record for success. Meckler has been the better hitter this season in a tiny sample, but Walton's IF eligibility puts him in play as well. Lorenzen has allowed a .333 ISO to lefties this season. 

Carson Kelly (C, CHC)

Analysis: The wind is blowing in from right field at Wrigley today, but that shouldn't impact Kelly too much as he hits the ball the opposite way less than 24% of the time. He draws an elite matchup against the lefty Springs, who has allowed 1.63 HR/9 this season. 

MLB DFS Top Stacks

Primary Stack: Los Angeles Dodgers vs Zac Gallen (ARI RHP)

Why: Even with Ohtani on the mound (and thus not available to use as a hitter), the Dodgers come in as the top stack of the slate. They draw a matchup against a struggling Gallen, who has seen his strikeouts plummet to 16.1% and his hard-hit rate elevate to 45.2%. 

Primary Stack: Cincinnati Reds vs Stephen Kolek (KC RHP)

Why: Kolek will pitch to contact and attempt to limit damage by keeping the ball on the ground. If he is unable to execute his plan, he could pay dearly for it pitching in one of the best home run parks in baseball.  

Primary Stack: Atlanta Braves vs Patrick Corbin (ATL LHP)

Why: Braves righties lead the way as Corbin has had pretty extreme splits this season, but Olson and Harris have been excellent lefty-lefty also. Corbin's hard-hit rate is an elevated 44.6%, and a career-low 9.6% HR/FB rate is likely artificially limiting the damage. 

"Contrarian" Stack: Chicago Cubs vs Jeffrey Springs (ATH LHP)

Why: The wind should not affect right-handed pullside power, which the Cubs have quite a lot of. Suzuki, Happ, and Kelly are the top options, but don't sleep on Swanson and his long track record of success against lefties. 

"Contrarian" Stack: Los Angeles Angels vs Michael Lorenzen (COL RHP)

Why: Lefty power has been the main issue for Lorenzen this season, and the Angels have almost none of it. However, he has been basically neutral in his career and even had multiple seasons of reverse splits, including just last season when he allowed a .216 ISO to righties. 

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters & Pitchers

The "Chalk" (Popular)

The "Pivot" (Low

Owned)

The Winning Logic
Skenes (SP, chalk)Burns (SP, salary & ownership discount)Pivot up to Ohtani for a slight ownership discount or down to Burns for a slight salary and ownership discount. I also don't mind using Williams as SP1 and pairing him with a cheaper SP2 like Urena. 
LAD + CIN as primary stacksLAA + CHC as contrarian stacksNot being able to use Ohtani hurts the upside of the LAD stack, and CIN faces a ground-ball pitcher who can limit damage if he executes. 
Betts + Tucker (chalk)Acuna + Mateo (lower owned)While he should break out eventually, Tucker has been quite bad this season, and Betts has also seen a decline in production from his formerly elite levels. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The foundation for every MLB DFS lineup you build today. These are the core MLB DFS picks by position across DraftKings and FanDuel.

  1. Paul Skenes (SP1)
  2. Gavin Williams (SP2)
  3. Freddie Freeman (Core Bat)
  4. Max Muncy (Core Bat)
  5. Ozzie Albies (Core Bat)
  6. Jorge Mateo (Core Value Bat)
  7. Wade Meckler (Core Value Bat)

Player Pool

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Stacks

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