Sean Barnard gives his top DraftKings MLB Pick6 plays and projections for today’s MLB slate.

The final week of the MLB regular season is here, with a few playoff seeds up for grabs and the final standings still being completed. There are just three games taking place on today’s MLB slate as the slate narrows down in the twilight stages of the season. The Atlanta Braves will host the Washington Nationals, the Milwaukee Brewers will travel to face the San Diego Padres, and the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will face off as well. There are plenty of ways to get involved in the action. One of the more unique ways is with one of the newest features on DraftKings this year, Pick6 Fantasy Baseball!

This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for today’s action. You simply choose whether each set statistic will be more or less than the set number. With the stage set, here are my favorite picks on today’s MLB slate.

Marcell Ozuna More Than 1.5 Total Bases

It has been a down season for Marcell Ozuna, who is slashing .229/.353/.397 on the season with just 20 home runs and 65 RBIs. This is the fewest home runs he has ever hit in a season in which he played at least 130 games. However, this is a favorable matchup for Ozuna with MacKenzie Gore on the mound for Washington. The Braves’ designated hitter is 7-for-17 in his career against Gore with one home run.

Ozuna has played well against the Nationals this season, hitting .361 at the plate with a .611 slugging percentage. Atlanta’s season-long goals are off the table, but the team has quietly played some good baseball to close the year. They enter this contest on an eight-game winning streak, with four of these wins coming against Washington. Ozuna has also performed better at home this season, hitting .243 with a .420 slugging mark compared to .215 and .376 on the road.

Gore got off to an excellent start to the season, but has shown some signs of fatigue in the later stages of the year. Count on Ozuna to continue inching closer to the back of his baseball card in terms of production with the favorable matchup in mind. Look for him to record more than 1.5 bases for the third time in the past five games.

Chris Sale More Than 8.5 Strikeouts Thrown

After missing a large chunk of the season due to a rib injury, Chris Sale is back at full force looking like the best version of himself. Across his 19 starts, he is posting a 2.35 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 150 strikeouts across 115.0 innings pitched. Sale is posting 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and has tallied exactly nine strikeouts in each of his last four starts.

8.5 is an intimidating total from a strikeout perspective, but Sale has tallied more than this in eight starts this season and six of his last seven. This includes a matchup against the Nationals last week in which Sale went 8.0 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out nine batters. Washington averages 8.3 strikeouts per game as a team this season, which ranks 13th in the MLB. The reigning NL Cy Young winner is pitching like the prime version of himself, so look for this to continue as he closes out the season. Atlanta has an eight-game winning streak with high spirits entering this matchup. Look for Sale to pitch up to his expected level and tally more than 8.5 strikeouts tonight for the fifth straight start and second consecutive against the Nationals.

MacKenzie Gore More Than 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed

On the other side of the pitching matchup, the outlook is not as bright for MacKenzie Gore. The 26-year-old earned his first All-Star appearance this season and has been pretty excellent overall. But he is limping to the finish line to an extent, with some concerning metrics in his recent starts. On the season overall, Gore is posting a 4.00 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 10.2% barrel rate, and has allowed 1.1 home runs per nine innings.

After only allowing more than 2.5 earned runs in five of his first 19 starts, Gore has given up more than 2.5 earned runs in five of his last ten. Gore posted a 3.02 ERA before the All-Star break and is producing a 6.27 ERA over the second half of the season. He managed to escape last week’s matchup with the Braves without giving up a run, but it is a challenge to have the same success against a team in such a short period of time. Atlanta has been making good contact and has some momentum on their side. Marcell Ozuna, Ronald Acuna Jr, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II each have also hit a home run against Gore already in their careers. Count on the regular-season grind to continue catching up to Gore and for him to allow more than 2.5 earned runs tonight against the red-hot Braves.

Christian Yelich More Than 1.5 Total Bases

In the later portion of the MLB slate, the Milwaukee Brewers face off with the San Diego Padres. Nick Pivetta gets the start for the Padres and enters with a 2.81 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and 185 strikeouts across 176.0 innings. However, Christian Yelich has had success in this matchup in the past. Across their careers, Yelich is 6-for-16 at the plate against Pivetta with two home runs, seven RBIs and 14 total bases.

On the season overall, Yelich is slashing .266/.343/.461 with 29 home runs and 100 RBIs. He is hitting .304 over the past week with one home run and three extra-base hits. Pivetta has also allowed 22 home runs in 30 appearances this season. Against right-handed pitching overall, Yelich is hitting .276 with 25 of his home runs coming in the split. While I am not willing to go as far as backing Yelich to put one over the fence, look for the Brewers star to tally more than 1.5 total bases for the fourth time in the last seven games.

Rafael Devers More Than 0.5 Home Runs

In the final matchup of the night, the San Francisco Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals. Michael McGreevy will be on the mound tonight and enters with a 4.08 ERA across his first 86.0 innings pitched. Left-handed hitters have been dominating the 25-year-old, posting a .308 batting average, .494 slugging percentage, .186 ISO, 11.3% barrel rate, and 43% hard-hit rate. Lefties are hitting 1.47 home runs per nine innings against McGreevy, in contrast to .36 home runs per nine innings for right-handed hitters.

This is a perfect matchup for Rafael Devers, who is up to 32 home runs and 105 RBIs on the season. He has been especially productive against right-handed pitching, with 23 of these home runs coming in the split. Devers is producing a .495 slugging percentage, .239 ISO, a 19% barrel rate, and 55.4% hard-hit rate in these matchups. Devers hit a home run off of McGreevy in the previous matchup between these two teams, which was about three weeks ago. The Giants slugger is also hitting .455 with an .818 slugging percentage against the Cardinals this year overall. Devers may not have elevated the Giants in the way the team hoped for before making the trade, but count on him to continue doing his part as the season winds down and put another ball over the fence tonight.

Ivan Herrera More Than 1.5 Total Bases

On the other side of the matchup, Ivan Herrera has quietly put together a really nice season in St. Louis. The 25-year-old is slashing .281/.369/.455 with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. He will face off with Justin Verlander tonight in his age-42 campaign. The three-time Cy Young winner is posting a 3-10 record, 3.75 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across his 141.2 innings. Right-handed hitters have had more success with an 11.7% barrel rate against Verlander compared to a 6.7% rate against lefties.

Herrera slashes from the right side of the plate and is posting a 13.2% barrel rate and 46.7% hard-hit rate this season. He has 48 total bases across his past 24 games and is a good matchup for Verlander’s pitching mix. The Giants starter leans on his four-seam fastball and slider primarily, and Herrera has taken five four-seam fastballs deep for a home run already this year. It is impressive that Verlander is still pitching at a respectable level at his age, but he is no longer the caliber of a pitcher who strikes fear into opponents. Herrera has tallied a hit in three consecutive games and nine of his past 10. Look for the Cardinals’ catcher to tally more than 1.5 total bases once more tonight.

Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.

How to Play

Create a Pick Set

Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.

Enter an Amount

Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.

Sweat Your Picks

When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.

Compete for Prizes

Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.

Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!