Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the mound on Monday for the first time since August 2023, and given his importance to the Dodgers‘ offense as one of the best hitters in baseball, the Dodgers can’t afford to send him to the minor leagues for rehab starts. So. daily Fantasy baseball players should expect Ohtani to only pitch the first inning or two on Monday in a pseudo-rehab start against the San Diego Padres. But given Ohtani hasn’t pitched in 22 months, would a wise MLB DFS strategy revolve around Padres such as Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts when making Monday MLB DFS picks?
Ohtani had a 3.14 ERA over 23 starts in 2023 before his injury as an elite two-way threat not seen in the MLB since Babe Ruth. Ohtani isn’t in the MLB DFS player pool as a pitcher on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, but his return has a significant impact on how to form MLB DFS lineups and he should remain in the batting order the entire game. Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Monday, 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 Friday (when McClure last made MLB DFS picks), McClure highlighted Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta as one of his top starting pitchers for MLB DFS picks on both sites. The result: Peralta allowed one run on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings, returning 23.9 points on DraftKings and 43 points on FanDuel to return strong value for MLB DFS lineups. 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 Monday, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for June 16. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Monday, June 16
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Monday is Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, who is $4,500 on DraftKings and $3,200 on FanDuel. The 27-year-old shortstop has scored at least one run in six straight games with four multi-hit contests over that span. Despite being hitless in his last two contests, Pena still scored for an Astros team that has won five straight games and eight of its past 10 contests.
Pena is fourth in baseball with a .325 batting average and 18th in OPS (.864). He has plenty of experience and production against Athletics probable starter JP Sears as Pena is batting .304 (5-for-23) with a home run and a double against the left-handed pitcher. Pena, a right-handed hitter, is hitting .382 with a .975 OPS against LHP this season in a strong matchup for Monday MLB DFS picks.
McClure is also rostering Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham ($4,500 on DraftKings and $3,100 on FanDuel). Grisham went 2-for-4 with a double on Sunday as he’s reached base safely in six of his last seven games. He has at least one hit in five of those contests. After hitting below .200 in each of the past three seasons, Grisham has been a pleasant surprise in New York with a .244 batting average and .815 OPS as he’s often outperformed his price tag for MLB DFS lineups.
The left-handed hitter is batting .271 with a .927 OPS against right-handed pitching this season as the Angels are scheduled to start RHP Jose Soriano. Grisham has some elite metrics this season as well with a chase percentage rate better than 99% of the sport and a barrel percentage and squared up percentage better than 85% of baseball. He’s also drawn at least one walk in seven of his last nine games, and Soriano has walked at least three batters in six of his last seven starts. See McClure’s full MLB DFS player pool right here.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for June 16, 2025
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Monday. 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 Monday? 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.
