Not many baseball fans and daily Fantasy baseball players knew what to expect when the Mets signed former Yankees closer Clay Holmes to join the starting rotation this offseason. But Holmes, who hadn’t started a game since making four starts as a rookie in 2018 with the Pirates, has become one of the most reliable starting pitching options in the MLB DFS player pool. Holmes has a 2.87 ERA over 14 starts this year, so how should he factor into forming a Thursday MLB DFS strategy? Holmes is set to take the mound on Thursday on the road against the Atlanta Braves at 7:15 p.m. ET.
The Braves have many popular options for MLB DFS picks, such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson and Austin Riley, so should you favor Holmes or Atlanta hitters when forming 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’s 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 highlighted Astros second baseman/outfielder Jose Altuve as one of his top MLB DFS picks on both sites. The result: Altuve went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, returning 24 points on DraftKings and 31.7 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2025 MLB season continuing on Thursday, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for June 19. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Thursday, June 19
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Thursday is Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena ($4,700 on DraftKings and $3,400 on FanDuel). Pena went 3-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored on Wednesday. He’s scored at least one run in eight of his last nine games, with five multi-hit games over that span. Pena was 0-for-14 over his past four games before Wednesday, but Wednesday is more indicative of his season and the last few weeks, as Pena is seventh in baseball in batting average (.321).
Pena is batting .373 with an .871 OPS over 16 games in June after hitting .327 with an .898 OPS over 28 games in May. The Astros close their four-game series with the Athletics on Thursday, and Houston has scored 24 runs over the last two games. The Athletics are starting LHP Jacob Lopez, who has a 4.80 ERA this season, and Pena is hitting .368 with a .941 OPS against LHP this year.
McClure is also rostering Phillies catcher JT Realmuto ($3,500 on DraftKings and $2,800 on FanDuel). Realmuto is hitting .313 with a .740 OPS over 13 games in June after hitting below .240 in each of the first two months of the season. The 34-year-old catcher has at least one hit in 11 of 13 games this month.
Realmuto, a three-time All-Star in his 12th MLB season, has a career low batting average (.241) and OPS (.672) over his 11 full MLB seasons, but that has also lowered his price on DFS sites. However, he’s often outperformed his price point this month, getting on base at the rate he did earlier in his career. Realmuto is a career .271 hitter and enters a matchup against a pitcher he’s had previous success against. Realmuto is 2-for-6 with a home run and three walks over his career against Marlins probable RHP Edward Cabrera, as McClure sees the catcher as a strong value for Thursday MLB DFS lineups. See McClure’s full MLB DFS player pool right here.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for June 19, 2025
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.
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