Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for Friday, June 5
Friday’s MLB slate is a monster, with 15 games on the board stretching from a 2:20 p.m. ET afternoon matchup at Wrigley Field all the way to the Dodgers hosting the Angels late on the West Coast. With that kind of slate depth, DFS players have real options at every salary tier — from bonafide aces to absolute salary dumps who make your roster construction hum. The key tonight is identifying the right matchups and not getting too cute in what is a legitimately top-heavy slate for offense.
The approach for tonight’s DraftKings lineup is to anchor around one elite arm who is clearly the best value on the board at his price point, layer in a couple of high-floor hitters in premium run environments, and fill the back end of the roster with smart, low-ownership value plays that free up budget. There is one undeniable stacking spot on this slate, and it needs to be a part of your tournament lineup construction.
Parker Messick, SP — Cleveland Guardians ($8,600 DraftKings)
Messick has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season and still is not being priced accordingly on DraftKings. He carries a 2.21 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 12 starts in 2026, with 74 strikeouts in 69.1 innings — that is a 9.6 K/9 rate that plays extremely well for DFS purposes. His 27.2 percent strikeout rate against batters ranks among the better marks in the American League, and his .272 opponent batting average signals he is not just getting lucky on his ERA number. The Statcast data backs it up: opponents are averaging just 87.5 mph exit velocity against him, and his xERA sits at 3.24, in line with a genuinely elite pitcher.
Tonight, Messick gets the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, a matchup that is firmly in his favor. The Rangers are 30-32 on the season, and while Globe Life Field plays slightly hitter-friendly in warmer weather, Messick’s ground-ball tendencies and strikeout ceiling limit the damage. Kumar Rocker gets the ball for Texas but this write-up is about exploiting the Cleveland starter, not the Texas lineup. The Guardians are slight favorites on the money line, which means Messick is in a solid spot to collect the win bonus. At $8,600, he is the best pitching value on tonight’s slate among the legitimate aces. His last seven starts show a 2.56 ERA over 38.2 innings with 45 strikeouts, making him the safest arm you can roster tonight. He is a cash game lock and a tournament anchor.
Brice Turang, 2B — Milwaukee Brewers ($5,700 DraftKings)
The Brewers travel to Coors Field tonight to face Colorado’s Ryan Feltner, and this game has DFS gold written all over it. The Brewers-Rockies matchup comes with the highest over/under on the board at 11.5 runs, and Coors Field is doing what Coors Field always does — inflating run totals and making every average pitcher look exploitable. Feltner carries a 4.85 ERA on the season with a 1.31 WHIP, and while he did pitch six scoreless innings against the Giants last weekend, that was against a San Francisco lineup ranked near the bottom of the league in offense. The Brewers are a different animal, ranking first in the NL Central and averaging 5.0 runs per game on the season.
Turang is the linchpin of this stack. The Brewers second baseman is slashing .280/.406/.464 with seven home runs and 11 stolen bases through 57 games, giving him one of the best on-base marks in the lineup. His .870 OPS against right-handed pitching makes him a natural target in this spot, and with the Brewers likely sending him to bat second, he will see a premium number of plate appearances in a game projected to feature significant run scoring. At $5,700, Turang is well-priced for the matchup and gives you DFS flexibility to pair him with additional Brewers bat or a premium hitter elsewhere. He is a core piece in any Coors Field stack tonight.
Jake Bauers, 1B — Milwaukee Brewers ($4,100 DraftKings)
Staying in the Coors stack, Bauers has been one of the more reliable and undervalued producers in Milwaukee’s lineup all season. The first baseman is hitting .269 with an .839 OPS through 53 games, and his 10 home runs make him a legitimate power threat at a salary that does not reflect his production. First base is a position where DraftKings pricing often lags behind reality for players who are not traditional sluggers, and Bauers has been quietly excellent in the heart of the Brewers order.
The Coors Field environment amplifies everything here. Feltner has allowed hitters to barrel the ball at a 5.1 percent rate this season, which is not alarming in a vacuum, but at altitude in the thin Colorado air, contact that might be a fly out anywhere else becomes a home run. Bauers’ career trajectory against right-handed pitching makes him a natural fit in this matchup. His $4,100 price tag on DraftKings allows you to keep significant salary flexibility while still deploying a hitter who produces like a mid-tier option. For GPP tournaments where you need Coors Field exposure, Bauers is the Brewer who will come with lower ownership than Turang while offering nearly equivalent upside in this environment.
Jordan Walker, OF — St. Louis Cardinals ($4,800 DraftKings)
Brady Singer gets the start for Cincinnati tonight at Busch Stadium, and his numbers are a DFS player’s dream for stacking against. Singer owns a 6.18 ERA on the season with a 1.69 WHIP through 11 starts. He has been hammered for 13 home runs in his last 27.1 innings, a 2.8 HR/9 rate that is more than double his previous career-high mark. He went 0-4 with a 7.77 ERA in his five May starts, and there is no statistical reason to believe the underlying problems are being fixed. The Cardinals offense, while not one of the better offenses in the National League overall, is home at Busch Stadium tonight with a team that ranks solidly in run scoring.
Walker is the Cardinals bat to target. The 23-year-old right fielder is hitting .291 with a .892 OPS through 59 games, with 15 home runs and 44 RBI. He has a .537 slugging percentage and has hit 10 of those home runs at home, making him one of the better power threats in the St. Louis lineup against a pitcher who is giving up nearly a home run per inning over his last month. His $4,800 price on DraftKings represents excellent value for a hitter with a double-digit home run total, strong OPS, and a gimme matchup against Singer. Walker is a cash game play and a tournament differentiator depending on how many DFS players are focused on the Coors Field game instead of this one.
Drew Rasmussen, SP — Tampa Bay Rays ($8,200 DraftKings)
The Rays travel to loanDepot Park tonight to face the Marlins, who are rolling out Ryan Gusto as their starter. Gusto owns a 9.00 ERA through his first appearances of 2026, giving up runs at an alarming rate in what amounts to an emergency spot in Miami’s rotation. The Marlins are 29-34 on the season and rank near the bottom of the National League in most offensive categories, which makes this matchup look more like a pitcher’s duel than a run-fest — but the advantage is firmly on the side of Rasmussen and the Rays offense against Gusto.
Rasmussen is having a strong 2026 campaign, pitching to a 3.36 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with a 55:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 59 innings. He has held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts this season, giving him one of the better consistency profiles of any starter on tonight’s slate. The road split is particularly notable: Rasmussen owns a 3.13 ERA away from home in 2026 with a 0.95 WHIP. The Rays project as a team total in the 4.5-5.0 range against Gusto, and with Tampa Bay favored on the money line, Rasmussen has a real path to a win bonus. At $8,200, he is the second-best pitching value on a slate where you need options at both SP spots.
Building Your Lineup
Tonight’s optimal construction leans into two clear spots: the Coors Field environment for the Brewers stack and the Cardinal power bats against Singer. The most natural lineup frame on DraftKings involves Messick at SP1 and Rasmussen at SP2, giving you two high-floor starting pitchers while keeping enough salary to roster four to five hitters at competitive price points. From there, anchoring with Turang and Bauers from Milwaukee, adding Walker from St. Louis, and filling the final spots with your preferred DFS lineup strategy delivers a balanced cash game build.
For GPP contests, consider fading one of the two Milwaukee hitters in favor of a third Cardinals bat — Alec Burleson at first base or Ivan Herrera at DH both offer solid production against Singer at palatable salaries. Ownership will concentrate heavily on the Coors stack, which means pivoting to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium gives you tournament differentiation. The DraftKings promo code contests favor lineups with a clear leverage play, and Jordan Walker in a low-ownership spot against a struggling Singer is exactly that. Monitor confirmed lineups before lock as batting order position can shift value significantly in a slate this large, and keep an eye on weather in any games with afternoon components. If you are playing DraftKings promo code contests tonight, prioritize this pitcher-heavy build with the Cardinals stack as your primary differentiation.
Ernie Horn
Sports Betting Contributor
Ernie is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He spent those early years working as a sports reporter and editor, but made the move back to the digital world in 2022. Ernie covers college football and NFL betting for Hello Rookie.
