Seth Lugo performed as one of the top starting pitchers in the MLB DFS player pool over the first two months of the season, sporting a 1.72 ERA after his 12th start of the season on May 29. Lugo, who has pitched extended stretches as both a starter and a reliever over his nine-year MLB career, has a 3.65 over 79 career starts, so he's proven a capable starter but rarely had those dominant performances for MLB DFS lineups. After allowing at least four runs in back-to-back starts, Lugo held the Dodgers and their top-scoring offense in baseball to two runs over six innings in his last start on Saturday.
The Royals play the Athletics on Thursday with Lugo set for the start. Oakland has the second-worst scoring offense in baseball, so how should daily Fantasy baseball players factor Lugo into forming an MLB DFS strategy on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? With only nine games on Thursday's MLB DFS schedule, and with four of them starting before 2:15 p.m. ET, who should you include in MLB DFS lineups? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Thursday,be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book "Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune" as a top MLB DFS player, McClure's proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Wednesday, McClure identified Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani as one of his top MLB DFS picks. The result: Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and three RBI, returning 22.7 points on FanDuel and 16 points on DraftKings. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2024 MLB season rolling, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Thursday, June 20. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Thursday
One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Thursday is Yankees 1B/3B DJ LeMahieu at $3,400 on DraftKings and $2,400 on FanDuel. LeMahieu is coming off a 2-for-5 performance against the Orioles on Wednesday for his first multi-hit game since June 8. LeMahieu missed the first two months of the season with a foot injury and is off to a slow start with a .196 batting average over his first 17 games of the season.
Wednesday showed promise with a multi-hit performance though, and Thursday could be a favorable matchup for the right-handed hitter. The Orioles are scheduled to start LHP Cole Irvin, and LeMahieu is a career .309 hitter against southpaws. LeMahieu is 4-for-7 with a double over his career against Irvin, so he should feel comfortable in the batter's box, and given his current price, he could be a strong value play for MLB DFS lineups.
McClure is also targeting Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages ($4,400 on DraftKings, $3,400 on FanDuel). Pages went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored on Wednesday. He has three hits and three runs scored, including a home run, over his last two games against the Rockies as the Dodgers wrap up the four-game series in Colorado on Thursday. Pages has eight home runs over his first 56 games in his rookie season.
Pages was a young star in Cuba before signing with the Dodgers in 2018. He worked his way up the organization and made the 40-man roster in November 2022. The right-handed hitter has a slash line of .373/.400/.549 for a .949 OPS against left-handed pitching this season as the Rockies are scheduled to start LHP Ty Blach on Thursday. Blach has had an ERA greater than 5.50 in each of his last four seasons, and RHBs are hitting .349 with a .919 OPS against the Rockies starter this year.See McClure's full MLB DFS player pool right here.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for June 20, 2024
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Thursday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is, and get the rest of McClure's MLB DFS picks, here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Thursday?Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, all from the DFS expert who has won more than $2 million.
