Draftkings Best MLB DFS Picks: Orioles vs. Rays 6/16/25
Baltimore Orioles vs. Tampa Bay Rays
June 16, 2025 7:35 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with an American League matchup featuring the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s Orioles vs. Rays matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Ryan Pepiot, Starting Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays $10,600
On Monday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a four-game American League series featuring the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The Tampa Bay Rays arrive at the first game of this four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles playing quality baseball. The Rays have won three of the team’s last four games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 7-5 victory over the New York Mets three days ago.
Similar to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Baltimore Orioles are playing well entering tonight’s contest. More specifically, the Orioles have won four of the team’s last five games played this season, including a 10-1 win over the Detroit Tigers last week.
Now that we have identified how both of these teams are currently playing let’s turn our attention to this evening’s contest. Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot has been a standout performer for the Tampa Bay Rays starting pitching rotation this season. Having stated that, how has the veteran hurler performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s review Pepiot’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot has compiled a 3-6 (won-loss record), a 3.31 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 1.14 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) in 2025. It should also be mentioned that Pepiot has amassed 73 strikeouts while allowing 24 walks in 81.2 innings pitched this season.
Earlier this month, in the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot pitched rather well. Pepiot pitched six quality innings while scattering three hits and two walks in the Rays victory over the Rangers. Additionally, in the Rays win over the Rangers, Pepiot accumulated a robust 22.5 Draftkings points.
In my view, Ryan Pepiot is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in tonight’s MLB game. With that said, I am backing Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot at the captain position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular season contest (Draftkings price noted): Zach Eflin, Starting Pitcher (Baltimore Orioles) $10,800: Gunnar Henderson, Shortstop (Baltimore Orioles) $9,800: Yandy Diaz, First Baseman (Tampa Bay Rays) $7,600.
