June 8, 2025
It seems like Joey Logano's team has shifted its strategy in 2025. After purposely ignoring many races in recent years to focus entirely on winning the championship at Phoenix, it seems like all the Penske drivers are placing more emphasis on the entire season, perhaps to prepare for 2026 when the NASCAR Cup Series finale is returning to Homestead. As a result, it seems likely that Logano will run better at Michigan today than he did the last few years when Penske placed less emphasis on the tracks that don't have playoff races. Before they adopted that strategy, Logano was great here, winning three times and leading 590 laps, although he hasn't done much here with this car. With Penske's improved speed, Logano should finish better than expected as long as he doesn't make a mistake. He could be definitely worth starting.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Although Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been one of the most anonymous drivers of the season, he still quietly remains in the playoff hunt since he has been much less crash-prone this year. His only DNF came when Carson Hocevar wrecked him out last week at Nashville, which resulted in Hocevar overtaking Stenhouse by two points for 17th. Stenhouse will probably begin to fade from the playoff picture this week at Michigan, a track where he has only finished better than 12th once and has only led two laps, even though those came in last year's race. His 30th-place starting position doesn't bode well, and it feels like he has been running worse than he is finishing, with a regression to the mean likely. Stenhouse is probably only worth starting if you think he will benefit from a wild pit strategy, but that's very difficult to predict.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Despite pissing off everyone when he wrecked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. last week at Nashville, Carson Hocevar has been on a roll. After his first pole at Texas, he blew an engine while battling for the lead at the Coca-Cola 600 after starting 39th, then drove up from 26th to second at Nashville, earning his second second-place finish of the season. It now seems likely that Hocevar will win sooner than later, and his 14th-place starting position on Sunday is a better than average start for him. Although his performance last year isn't entirely relevant since Hocevar has been so much faster this year, he did get a top-10 finish in last year's Michigan race, so it seems likely he will do so again unless he crashes. Since he's likely to run better than expected as usual, don't be surprised if he leads on Sunday. He definitely has a lot of DFS value, even qualifying as well as he did.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
In Austin Dillon's heyday, Michigan was one of his best tracks as he earned two top fives, actually fought for the lead in the 2021 race, and won in the Xfinity Series here. However, Dillon consistently lacks speed when Justin Alexander is not his crew chief and Richard Childress Racing's recent burst of intermediate speed seems to have faded as even Kyle Busch doesn't really factor in intermediate races very often anymore despite qualifying second yesterday. Dillon meanwhile qualified 28th. He does tend to do a good job creeping through the field here and earning top 20 finishes, but that isn't really enough to consider seriously starting him, particularly in a year when he is the only driver in the field who has not scored a stage point.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Despite Ross Chastain's win in the Coca-Cola 600, Trackhouse Racing still rarely has speed and Daniel Suárez seldom does. Suárez actually has a solid record at Michigan though with two top fives in 2019, and 52 laps led and two top tens in his Next Gen era starts. However, he also qualified 35th, the worst he has ever qualified on speed here, which is consistent with his pretty terrible qualifying this year. His crew chief Matt Swiderski does seem to be great at strategy but not so much at car setups. Suárez has had a history of backing into strong finishes when a caution comes out during green flag pit stops, but although that's happened a lot this year, you can't really guarantee that will happen and that seems to be the only way he gets good finishes lately, as he did at Las Vegas and Texas. His lack of speed this year will probably override his solid historical record here.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Referee
June 8, 2025
Although Josh Berry has consistently had speed on 1.5-mile ovals this season, it's hard to know whether that will transfer to the two-mile Michigan oval on Sunday. In last year's race, he had one of his more mediocre runs, starting 16th and finishing 22nd, but he's definitely been faster on the intermediates this year. His seventh-place qualifying position suggests he may have some of the same pace he has shown on the intermediates and he'd seem to have a chance to score DFS points for laps led and fastest laps, but it's a big gamble, especially for a driver like Berry, who is inconsistent and crashes a lot. It seems like he will have speed, though, as all the Penske-related cars have been a lot faster this year. However, since he rarely finishes as well as he runs, it's probably not worth it to start him.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Although Michael McDowell has had a very poor record at Michigan historically with his 19th-place finish last year serving as his career best, he has arguably never looked faster on intermediate tracks than he has this year with his pole at Las Vegas, a top-10 finish at Charlotte, and a pass for the lead at Texas. However, all of those are 1.5-mile tracks, which do drive differently from two-mile tracks like Michigan. He does not seem to be strong on this track type in general, as he only had a single top-20 finish at Fontana, where he finished 18th in the last race in 2023. However, given his increased speed this year, it seems likely that he might run better here than he ever has in the past. Coupling that with a 32nd-place starting position and a quite solid strategist in Travis Peterson, he might be a better DFS longshot than he appears. Since he only costs $6,100, he isn't a terrible option.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Noah Gragson starts 29th at Michigan on Sunday, his worst ever start at the track. Although he did finish 12th in last year's race for Stewart-Haas Racing, that was more due to attrition than speed, as his average running position of 21st was actually worse than it was in his first start in 2022 before he crashed. Gragson's Front Row Motorsports teammate Zane Smith actually qualified in the top 10, and he looks poised to ultimately take control of the team for whom he previously won a Craftsman Truck Series title. Nonetheless, Gragson had his best race of the season at Charlotte two weeks ago and does have a knack for moving up through the field when he doesn't crash. However, he's crashing a lot more frequently than he did last year. Gragson probably has more DFS value than either of his teammates, but none of them look very valuable for Sunday's race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
After replacing Corey LaJoie at Spire Motorsports last year, Justin Haley hasn't really proven to be much of an improvement as he is consistently being outrun by Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell most weeks, although he does crash less than LaJoie did. Haley has his worst starting position at Michigan today of his career (31st), and although he has finished all four of his previous races here, he has finished slightly worse than mid-pack in three of them, especially after his crew chief Rodney Childers, who has won here before, left the team. Since he seems to have very little going for him in the way of momentum or recent success, it seems likelier he will finish closer to his worst finish (25th) than his best (17th) and won't score enough Place Differential points to be a valid DFS option, especially with a crew chief in Ryan Sparks who is not good at strategy.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
On paper, it might look like Riley Herbst might have some DFS value for Sunday's Michigan race since his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick won here last year, and his other teammate Bubba Wallace won the pole and finished second here in 2022. However, as usual, the rookie lacks speed in the NASCAR Cup Series, as his only top-10 finishes came on drafting tracks and he has never finished better than 14th elsewhere. Additionally, his 34th-place qualifying run is one of the worst of the season, and he seems to be slower on intermediates than most other track types. He has benefited from strategy a few times on intermediates, such as when he finished 19th at Las Vegas and 14th at Texas, but he didn't actually run well in those races. Even if he does finish in the top 20 on strategy, he won't likely score enough DFS points to be worth starting.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Cole Custer makes his first start at Michigan since 2023 from the 24th starting position on Sunday. Although Custer had one of his most decent runs of the season last week at Nashville, don't expect that to continue at Michigan, a track where he has never finished better than 23rd or had an average running position of better than 17th, even when he was driving for a Stewart-Haas Racing team that had more speed on intermediates and all tracks than the Stewart Haas Factory Team does. The only value Custer could have is if he qualified really badly and backed into a top finish on strategy, but he probably qualified too well to score enough place-differential points to be worth starting for DFS.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 8, 2025
Boston Red Sox shortstop
Trevor Story had his fourth three-hit game of the season in the team's 10-7 win over the division-rival New York Yankees in the Bronx on Saturday. Story went 3-for-5 in the contest with a double, run scored and a season-high five RBI out of the seven-hole in the batting order. It was nice to see from the 32-year-old veteran shortstop in what hasn't been a very productive season to this point at the plate. The two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger came into Saturday's game with just a .217 average (50-for-230) with seven home runs, 26 RBI, 25 runs scored and nine stolen bases in 60 games played. Story has 77 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 246 trips to the plate and is swinging and missing far too often. He's been hitting the ball hard when he does make contact, but he's not lifting the ball like he did back in his heyday.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
June 7, 2025
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher
Garrett Crochet let up six hits and five earned runs over six innings in Saturday's 10-7 win against the New York Yankees. He struck out nine and walked one, improving to 6-4 in 2025. Crochet fell victim to a good Yankees lineup in this one, yielding his most earned runs all season. Still, he fired 67 of 97 pitches for strikes and induced 15 swings-and-misses (eight on his fastball) for an elite 37% CSW. The former first-round pick has been superb all year, and boasts an excellent 2.35 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 110:27 K:BB ratio over his first 14 starts (88 innings). He'll square off against these same New York Yankees late next week when they visit Fenway Park.
--Alex CiullaSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Cleveland Guardians third baseman
Jose Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in his team's 5-3 loss to the Houston Astros. The switch-hitting fantasy superstar also singled, scored twice, and drew two walks. Ramirez drove in teammate
Steven Kwan in the seventh inning with a no-doubter -- his twelfth of the season -- off Astros reliever
Steven Okert to knot the score at 3-3. He'd get a chance to walk it off, but fouled out with a man on first and second in the bottom of the ninth. He's been on quite a streak, notching 12 multi-hit performances over his last 18 games. The 32-year-old is a blistering 31-for-74 over that stretch (.419) with six doubles, three homers, eight RBI, 16 runs scored, and five steals. He currently holds a 1.170 OPS in June after a 1.085 OPS over 101 May at-bats.
--Alex CiullaSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Chicago White Sox pitcher
Adrian Houser allowed six hits and one earned run over six innings in Saturday's 4-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals. He walked one and struck out six to nab his fourth straight quality start. The 32-year-old yielded a solo home run to Royals' first baseman
Vinnie Pasquantino to lead off the second inning, but that would be the only blemish -- and extra-base hit -- against him. Houser has been superb in his four starts this season, working to an impeccable 1.48 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 24 1/3 innings. He'll carry that excellent line and a 2-1 record into his next start -- which should come late next week against the Texas Rangers on the road. He's due for a bit of regression, but it shouldn't hit him too hard (3.46 xERA).
--Alex CiullaSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Seattle Mariners outfielder
Julio Rodriguez (ankle) exited his team's contest against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday after a line drive hit him on an attempted steal. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the news. The 24-year-old was on the move towards third base in the top of the third inning when teammate
Randy Arozarena tattooed a 98.1 MPH line drive that bounced off his right ankle/shin area. He was then helped off the field by two trainers. Rodriguez was clearly in pain and will finish his outing 2-for-2 with two singles, a run scored, and a steal. He'll likely head for some diagnostic imaging. Expect an update on him soon.
--Alex CiullaSource: Daniel Kramer
June 7, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander
Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in an impressive start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The Dodgers lost 2-1, but Yamamoto did not factor into the decision. He tossed six innings of scoreless ball with four hits allowed, nine strikeouts, and two walks to record his seventh quality start of the season. It was a nice bounce-back showing for Yamamoto, who surrendered four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 frames in a loss to the New York Yankees last Sunday. After Saturday's spotless showing, Yamamoto holds an elite 2.20 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 25 walks across 73 2/3 innings. He'll face the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Kansas City Royals first baseman
Vinnie Pasquantino was one of the few bright spots for the club in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. Pasquantino went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk to extend his hitting streak to eight games. The 27-year-old has been on a superb run for over a month. Since posting an awful .507 OPS in April, Pasquantino has gone 49-of-136 (.360) with six HRs and 20 RBI in a 34-game span. Overall, he's batting a respectable .277/.332/.434 with 10 homers and 38 RBI across 271 plate appearances. Pasquantino will try to stay on a roll Sunday against White Sox right-hander
Mike Vasil.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder
Christopher Morel turned in his best performance of the season Saturday in an 11-10 loss to the Miami Marlins. Morel went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, four RBI, and an additional run scored. The 25-year-old ended a couple of long droughts along the way. He hadn't homered since April 24, and he hadn't even knocked in a run since April 26. Morel entered the season off back-to-back years with at least 20 homers and 60 RBI, but his playing time has dropped in 2025 as a result of his struggles. He's now hitting .222/.300/.400 with five HRs, 15 RBI, and a career-worst 35.3% strikeout rate across 150 trips to the plate. Saturday's outburst was a much-needed step in the right direction.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
San Francisco Giants right-hander
Logan Webb logged yet another start with double-digit strikeouts in a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Webb didn't factor into the decision, but he tossed six innings of two-run, six-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks before exiting. It was the fourth start of 10 or more strikeouts this year for Webb, who's on track for a career campaign in the K department. The 28-year-old now boasts a tremendous 101:17 K:BB and an excellent 2.58 ERA through 87 1/3 innings. Webb has a tough matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, but he's a must-start for fantasy managers whenever he takes the mound.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Miami Marlins outfielder
Jesus Sanchez was the star of the club's 11-10 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Sanchez finished 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, and five RBI to lead the Marlins' offensive onslaught. With the Marlins down 4-1 in the third, Sanchez stepped to the plate with two men on and crushed a 425-foot bomb off right-hander
Taj Bradley to tie the game. His two-run double in the fifth inning gave the Marlins a 7-6 lead, and they never trailed again after that. Sanchez was the owner of a dreary .610 OPS at the end of April, but his production has taken massive steps forward over the past month-plus. Since the start of May, the 27-year-old has raised his line to .269/.354/.417 with five HRs, 23 RBI, and six steals over 172 plate appearances. He has a difficult matchup Sunday against Rays righty
Drew Rasmussen, who has gone four straight starts without allowing a run.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder
George Springer delivered a go-ahead home run on Saturday in a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. With Toronto trailing 3-2 in the top of the eighth, Springer hit a two-run blast off right-hander
Griffin Jax to give the Jays a lead they wouldn't give back. Springer finished the game 1-for-3 with a walk. The 35-year-old has homered in back-to-back games, five of nine, and is now up to 10 long balls in 232 plate appearances. He's also slashing an easily above-average .251/.367/.487 with 27 RBI, seven steals, and a career-best 14.7 percent walk rate. Springer will go up against Twins righty
Joe Ryan on Sunday.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Houston Astros right-hander
Hunter Brown held the Cleveland Guardians to one run over 5 1/3 innings in a 5-3 victory on Saturday. Brown did not factor into the decision after the Astros blew a lead in the seventh inning, but it was nonetheless another effective start for the 26-year-old. While Brown did walk five hitters, tying his career-worst mark, he also struck out nine and yielded just four hits. Brown lowered his ERA to a stunning 1.82 on Saturday and has also amassed 93 strikeouts against 25 walks in 79 innings. He'll toe the rubber against the Minnesota Twins next Saturday. Brown threw six innings of two-run ball against the Twins in a 5-2 win on April 3.
--Connor ByrneSource: ESPN
June 7, 2025
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher
Nick Martinez bounced back nicely on the mound during Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last start, Martinez gave up five earned runs to the Chicago Cubs. Martinez looked much better on the mound during Saturday's start. He tossed six innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts in the win. The only damage done to Martinez was a solo home run off the bat of
Eugenio Suarez. Martinez will take a 3.70 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 53/16 K/BB ratio into his next start versus the Detroit Tigers.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
Texas Rangers starting pitcher
Jacob deGrom was tough to hit during Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals. The 36-year-old posted his best outing of the season with seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight batters in the win. Another nice performance by deGrom who is looking more like himself as time goes on. He'll take a 2.12 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 74/17 K/BB ratio into his next start against the Minnesota Twins. There is always the concern of injury, but when he's healthy, deGrom is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
San Francisco Giants third baseman
Matt Chapman came up clutch for his team during Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves. This offense couldn't get much going throughout most of his game. Braves' starter
Bryce Elder held the Giants to one run over eight innings of work. Luckily for the Giants, Chapman came alive with a two-run walk-off home run off right-hander
Pierce Johnson in the ninth inning. It's a tough loss for the Braves and Elder who was excellent during his game. Chapman has been about as expected at the plate this season and carries a six-game hitting streak into Sunday's game.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
Pittsburgh Pirates catcher
Henry Davis continued his hot stretch of play during Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Davis entered Friday's game as a replacement when
Endy Rodriguez (elbow) exited the game with an injury. Davis went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI during that contest. He kept the good times rolling on Saturday when he took
Ranger Suarez deep in the seventh inning. It was a go-ahead blast that gave the Pirates back-to-back victories. Davis is hitting .300 with three homers and eight RBI over his last 13 games. His value figures to be on the rise with the Pirates shorthanded at the catcher spot.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher
Bryce Elder looked nearly untouchable on the mound during Saturday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Elder was nearly perfect outside of giving up a solo home run to
Wilmer Flores in the fourth inning. Outside of that, Elder would throw eight innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out 12 batters. It was an excellent performance on the mound and the 12 punchouts were a career-high for Elder. He'll now take a 4.08 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 46/16 K/BB ratio into his next start against the Colorado Rockies. Elder figures to be a popular waiver wire addition with a favorable matchup versus the struggling Rockies offense coming up.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
Cincinnati Reds first baseman
Christian Encarnacion-Strand put together a strong performance at the plate during Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was his first action since landing on the injured list in mid April due to a back issue. He was solid at the plate as he went 2-for-5 which included a three-run home run in the blowout win over the D-Backs. There is plenty of power upside here, assuming Encarnacion-Strand continues to see consistent playing time. He's worth a look in deep leagues and could see his value grow.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
June 7, 2025
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers was at the Pittsburgh Steelers' training facility on Saturday to officially sign his one-year, $13.65 million deal that includes $10 million guaranteed with a maximum value of $19.5 million, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal also includes $5.85 million worth of playing and team-performance incentives. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer and fur-time MVP waited until just before mandatory minicamp next week to erase any doubts that he would play for Pittsburgh in 2025 in what will likely be his final year in the NFL. Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1 with the Jets in 2023 and then disappointed with 3,897 passing yards, 28 TDs and 11 picks in 17 starts last year. Injuries could continue to be an issue for Rodgers, who finished as the QB15 in fantasy. Rodgers will have
DK Metcalf to work with, but not much else in what's expected to be a run-first offense.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN - Adam Schefter
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