Welcome to the DFS MLB Optimal Lineups for Thursday, May 17!

As I said in the write-up that precedes the DFS Playbook, the pitching tonight is pretty trashy and I'm all about paying down this evening. Every starter on the slate has at least one glaring red flag and most of them have multiple warts. The question remains, how far down do we want to go? I like Luke Weaver 's spot on FanDuel and he allows you to get some pretty sweet bats into your lineups, especially for GPP stacks which may be a little pricey. Over on DK, I still find myself drawn to Chris Archer , but then Weaver and Chad Kuhl interest me as well. I wouldn't mind using Jon Lester , but the weather in Atlanta is giving me a bit of a headache.

**NOTE: Both Cole Hamels and Mike Soroka have been scratched. Doug Fister and Max Fried will fill in respectively.

As for the bats, most of what you see in these lineups can be found in the Playbook. There may be a few pay-downs here and there or there may be someone included if I want to stack, so just because you don't see someone in the Playbook, don't freak out. They may be in the Hitting Coach or the Stacks article or the Lineup Generator pointed me in their direction becuase I needed some salary relief.

Some last minute GPP thoughts: I'm still on the Orioles against David Price , but with Doug Fister replacing Cole Hamels , the White Sox 2 through 5 in the order intrigues me. I'm also digging some Braves mini-stacks for righties against Jon Lester or whomever from the bullpen. The Cubs stack against Max Fried is going to be too chalky for me. And finally, I like Max Moroff as a nice budget saver.