Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for June 21

Sunday’s MLB slate on June 21 is loaded with 15 games and some of the sharpest DFS angles of the week. The story of the day is at the extremes — you’ve got two elite aces posting identical 2.01 ERAs in completely different contexts, and a Coors Field matchup featuring a pair of pitchers with combined ERAs north of 13. There’s a full range of options across both platforms today, from premium pitching anchors to cheap hitters with monster upside.

Today’s targets lean into the most favorable pitcher-batter mismatches on the board. Cash game lineups should anchor around a dominant home ace and a mandatory Coors stack, while GPP players have a road-trip pitcher with the best record in baseball worth jamming in at a lower ownership percentage than his numbers deserve.

Zack Wheeler, SP — Philadelphia Phillies (DK: ~$11,000)

Wheeler is the cash game anchor of Sunday’s slate, and it’s not particularly close. The 36-year-old right-hander takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park for a nationally televised NBC/Peacock contest at 7:20 p.m. ET, carrying a 6-1 record and a sparkling 2.01 ERA into his 11th start of the season. His last outing came Monday against the Marlins, where he allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings — a dominant performance that underscores how locked in he’s been all year.

The underlying numbers back up the surface-level ERA. Wheeler is posting an 8.9 K/9 and a batting average against of just .174 across his 10 previous starts, which ranks among the best in the National League. He generates weak contact consistently, works deep into games, and absolutely owns Citizens Bank Park as a home pitcher. The Mets are sending David Peterson to the mound — a left-hander who owns a 3-5 record and a bloated 5.91 ERA through 15 appearances. Peterson hasn’t been able to limit damage for stretches this season, making the Phillies offense dangerous from the other side as well. Wheeler projects as a high-floor, high-ceiling SP1 for cash and a foundational piece in GPP builds for your DraftKings lineup today.

Bryan Reynolds, OF — Pittsburgh Pirates (~$5,700 DK)

Coors Field is in play this afternoon, and Reynolds is the best bat to target in that environment on Sunday. The Pittsburgh outfielder arrives at mile-high altitude at 3:10 p.m. ET against a Colorado rotation sending out a pitcher carrying a 2-8 record and a 7.13 ERA — those numbers at Coors Field are an absolute disaster waiting to happen. At a salary right around $5,700 on DraftKings, Reynolds offers one of the best value profiles on the entire board.

Reynolds has been one of Pittsburgh’s most reliable offensive contributors this season, and the Coors Park factor gives every bat in that lineup an enormous boost regardless of recent form. The high altitude reduces pitch movement and turns warning-track fly balls into extra-base hits at a rate no other ballpark in the league can match. With a pitcher that bad on the mound, the Pirates lineup — Reynolds in particular as an experienced switch-hitter capable of making hard contact — becomes a priority target for both cash and FanDuel picks today. Check confirmed lineups before first pitch to lock in his batting order position, but expect him near the middle of the order.

Brandon Lowe, 1B — Pittsburgh Pirates (~$6,300 DK)

Lowe gives you a second piece of the Pittsburgh Coors Field stack at a competitive salary. The first baseman is in the same offensive environment as Reynolds — facing that 7.13 ERA pitcher, in the same park that inflates run scoring by an enormous margin. Saturday night at Coors was a reminder of what this environment can produce, as both offenses had chances in a tight 2-1 Rockies win that required a ninth-inning escape to close out.

Lowe has been a productive piece of Pittsburgh’s lineup this season, and at $6,300 DK he sits in the mid-range tier where value is most actionable. He provides flexibility at the first base slot and pairs naturally with Reynolds as a two-man Pittsburgh stack. If you want to go deeper and add a third Pirates bat — Spencer Horwitz at roughly $5,100 has been a steady option — you can do it without breaking the bank. The Pirates’ matchup on Sunday is among the cleanest hitter environments on the entire slate, and Lowe is a key piece of building that out. For more on building your roster today, check out available DFS promotions to maximize your entries.

Chase Burns, SP — Cincinnati Reds (DK: ~$9,700)

Burns is the GPP play of the weekend. The Cincinnati right-hander heads to Yankee Stadium carrying an 8-1 record and a 2.01 ERA — numbers that would make him an unquestioned SP1 if he pitched for a larger market team. He’s racked up 95 strikeouts on the season and has been about as dominant as any pitcher in baseball since Opening Day. The issue is context: he’s pitching on the road at Yankee Stadium, against a Yankees lineup that is 46-29 on the season and will have Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57 ERA) answering on the other side.

That road environment and the quality of the opposing lineup is exactly why Burns will carry lower ownership in DFS. Most lineups will pivot to Wheeler at home or look elsewhere for pitching. But Burns’ raw metrics — sub-2.00 ERA, elite strikeout rate, dominant command — give him as high a ceiling as anyone on the slate. A strong outing from Burns in a nationally visible matchup against the Yankees is a tournament-winning play, and the ownership discount relative to his production makes him the most interesting GPP dice-roll of the day. He pairs beautifully with a Coors Field hitter stack — high-upside pitcher plus high-floor Coors bats is a formula that wins big tournaments. You can check live MLB odds to see how the market views this matchup before locking in.

Jung Hoo Lee, OF — San Francisco Giants (DK: ~$4,800)

Lee is the under-the-radar value play on Sunday’s slate. The Giants outfielder is hitting .331 on the season and slots into a favorable matchup at loanDepot park in Miami, where the Marlins are sending out a pitcher with a 0-2 record and a 7.24 ERA. That ERA is among the worst on any starting pitcher across today’s full slate, and facing it in a retractable-roof stadium that keeps conditions consistent makes Lee an exceptional DFS play at a mid-range price point.

Lee’s .331 batting average makes him one of the better contact hitters in the National League, and he’s positioned near the heart of a Giants lineup loaded with other quality names. Luis Arraez is batting leadoff hitting .321, Bryce Eldridge slots in second at .306, and the lineup top to bottom gives Lee premium run-scoring opportunities. At roughly $4,800 on DraftKings, Lee provides the kind of high-floor value that cash game lineups need — someone likely to produce at least one hit in a favorable matchup, with upside for extra-base production against a struggling starting pitcher. The Giants stack is one of the cleanest mid-afternoon plays on the board today, and Lee is the OF centerpiece of it. Learn more about how to use DraftKings to build stacks around plays like this.

Building Your Lineup

The framework for Sunday starts with the Coors Field stack. Reynolds and Lowe are the foundation, and adding Horwitz ($5,100 DK) makes it a three-man Pirates stack that projects to produce runs in bunches at altitude. Pairing that stack with Wheeler as your cash game SP1 sets a high floor while freeing up salary for the mid-tier value plays across the rest of your lineup.

In GPP formats, Burns is the pivot off Wheeler. He’ll draw lower ownership because of the road location and the quality of the opposing lineup, but his raw numbers are undeniable. A tournament-winning ceiling requires some differentiation, and Burns vs. Wheeler is a clean split decision that can separate your lineups from the field. Stack the Giants on top if you want to go deep in both tournaments and cash games — Lee and Arraez give you two bats against a 7.24 ERA pitcher who should not be in a big-league rotation.

One salary management note: Sunday’s afternoon slate kicks off at 1:35 p.m. ET with several games starting before 3:00 p.m., while Wheeler’s Phillies-Mets game doesn’t begin until 7:20 p.m. If you’re playing a full main slate, Burns and the early games give you immediate action while Wheeler carries your late window. Confirm lineups roughly 90 minutes before each game’s first pitch and pivot any player with an unexpected scratch before your lock time. The PrizePicks promo code is also worth checking if you prefer the player props format as a complement to your DFS lineups today.