Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Friday, May 16th! 

We have another great slate of games in store for this Friday to start the weekend strong. We have a large 12-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:05 PM ET. These large slates provide endless options to build your lineups. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Check out the MLB DFS Show to get an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate to give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

Tune into the MLB DFS Livestream at 5 PM ET to watch us break down today’s slate, give you last-minute advice, and answer any questions before locking in those lineups!

 

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting.

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB Weather: Friday, 5/16

Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles

  • Quite a bit of rain and thunder this evening, likely a delayed start and a small chance at postponement. 

New York Mets vs. New York Yankees

  • Some light rain leading up to game time could cause a delay, but there shouldn’t be any risk of postponement. 
 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

This slate has a ton of pitching talent. While I don’t really have any arguments against the three guys priced over $10,000, I don’t find myself paying those high prices for them because I think cheaper options are just as good (if not better) than those top options. This slate is stacked with pitching, though, and outside of the core plays, I can see arguments for all of Garrett Crochet, Nathan Eovaldi, Carlos Rodon, Logan Webb, Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Dustin May, and Taj Bradley as potential options today. 

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals

Cole Ragans has looked so good so far this season. Don’t let the 4.20 ERA fool you. It comes with a 2.31 xERA and a 2.22 FIP, so the ERA does not accurately represent how he has been pitching. It also comes with a league-leading (minimum 40 innings pitched) 38% strikeout rate. He has at least 8 strikeouts in 6 of his 8 starts and double-digit strikeouts in 4. 

Even if he were the top-priced pitcher, Cole Ragans would be my top option today (yes, even above Garrett Crochet). So I will say thank you for the discount and lock him into every lineup today. 

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

Joe Ryan had an excellent season last year, posting a 3.60 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with a 27% strikeout rate through 135 innings. He has been even better this year with a 2.74 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 30% strikeout rate, and a sub-3% walk rate. 

He has given up one run or less in 6 of 8 starts this season and has 7 or more strikeouts in 4 of his last 5. I expect another dominant outing from him today and while I prefer the even cheaper Ragans a bit more, I still think this discount is great for someone who can match the other top-priced pitchers as well.

Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

Sure, Chris Sale hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was last season when he won the Cy Young and the triple crown, but it is still Chris Sale, and this feels like too much of a discount for how good he still is. His biggest struggle has been giving up too many hits with a 1.41 WHIP so far this season. 

He is still holding an over 30% strikeout rate, though. While returning to pitch in Boston isn’t the easiest place to go, he has had plenty of success there, and I think he can shut down his old team in Boston today. 

MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals

MacKenzie Gore might have the most risk of any of the core plays today, but he is also the cheapest and has just as much upside as anyone else on this slate. His strikeout rate is second only to Cole Ragans in the majors (min. 40 innings). 

He has struggled a bit with the homers in his last few starts, and his higher walk rate makes him a bit more volatile than some of the other aces on the mound today, but the stuff is undeniable. There have only been 5 starts with at least 13 strikeouts this season, and 2 of them belong to MacKenzie Gore. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks have one of the best offenses in baseball, and they face the terrible pitching of the Colorado Rockies today. They don’t get the giant price jump like they would if they were playing in Colorado, but they probably should just for facing the Rockies' pitching and being in a good offensive environment in Arizona. 

Take your pick of who you want today. I don’t think you can go wrong with this offense, whether you want a player or two or a full 5-man stack.    

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers continue to play great baseball. This team is consistently producing right now, and one that you can get in on for pretty cheap. They face Bowden Francis in Toronto today, and he has not been pitching well this season. 

You can take the top 4 options on this offense in Gleyber Torres, Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Kerry Carpenter for less than $4,700 per player. They also provide good, cheaper options in Javier Baez, Colt Keith, Trey Sweeney, and Zach McKinstry, all of which are hitting well and are less than $4,000 today. 

San Diego Padres

The Seattle Mariners' pitching has been decimated by injuries so far this season, leaving them in a situation where they must spot-start Jhonathan Diaz today. Jhonathan Diaz has a 5.87 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 30.2 innings in AAA this season, so I don’t have faith that he is going to be able to handle this San Diego offense. 

Some more expensive studs, like Fernando Tatis, Jackson Merrill, and Manny Machado, may be a little harder to piece a lineup together with if you try a 5-man stack with them, but I think you will regret not finding a way to get some of this offense in your lineup today. 

 

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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