Happy May 5th, MLB DFS fans! FanDuel and DraftKing have two totally different slates for their main offerings. FanDuel consists of both games before 7:05 p.m. ET but does not include the 9:40 or 10:05 p.m. ET games.

DraftKings kicks off at 7:05 p.m. ET and includes everything on tap after that. Whatever! We don't make those rules, but we can talk about how to play it tonight!

Whether you’re swinging for the fences in GPPs or playing it smart in cash games, let’s have some fun and build lineups that could get us to the top.

 

 

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 our favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

There will also be a daily MLB DFS Show with a variety of hosts ranging from myself, Jon Impemba, Howard Bender, and James Grande. The MLB DFS Show will give you an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate and should give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

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: Monday, 5/5

Nationals vs. Guardians

  • Good chance of a delay, and a PPD is not out of the question.

Yankees vs. Padres

  • Can they play in sprinkles? Are they willing to possibly go through a lengthy delay? Seems like some risk here, but you’ll have to circle back and check the radar closer to lineup lock.

Cubs vs. Giants

  • Temps in the 50s, winds in.

A's vs. Mariners 

  • Winds slightly in around 10 m.p.h.
     
 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Cole Ragans is back! However, there are some other nice GPP options to consider, including some cheap, volatile ones that can help you can all of the bats.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Cole Ragans, Royals…In theory…

I’m hoping Kansas City is intelligent enough to not pitch Cole Ragans if he’s really banged up. He’s the highest-priced arm tonight, but he’s got the best matchup on the board. If there were zero injury concerns, he’d be the best play by default – and probably by a wide margin. Either way, I’m investing.

Matt Boyd, Cubs

We have great pitching weather at Wrigley Field tonight, and Boyd has been excellent. It’s a really fair price. While there aren’t a ton of K’s in the SFG order, the bottom of the lineup is very bad.

Carlos Rodon, Yankees vs. Nick Pivetta, Padres

We’ll have to keep a close eye on the forecast, but I’m OK with both pitchers in this game. I give Rodon a ton of crap (as our guy Grande knows), but he’s been really good this season. The Padres have been pretty miserable vs. LHP this season, as their projected lineup has an abysmal .104 ISO and .269 wOBA dating back to the start of last year. Rodon has typically had a HR issue vs. righties, but he is yielding a small 4.5% barrel rate to RHB this year, and he’s striking out 33% of them. We really need to feel better about the radar, just know there is some risk with pitching these guys delay-wise.

The Yankees are so boom-or-bust offensively. When you zoom out, they have five hitters in the projected lineup who have struck out at least 24% of the time vs. RHP dating back to the beginning of 2024. Pivetta is striking out 29% of hitters this year with a solid whiff rate. My best guess is Cole Ragans commands A TON of ownership, so I’d consider these two very interesting GPP plays. Again, there is risk here.

Ronel Blanco vs. (hopefully) a bunch of righties

You’ll see in my Brewers writeup the stark difference in Blanco’s success when comparing both sides of the plate this year. He’s been ambushed by lefties, but owns a sparkling 31% K rate, .098 ISO and .243 wOBA vs. RHP this year. If he gets a lineup that consists of mostly righties, I’m in.

Tobias Myers (YOLO), Brewers

Listen, we’re talking about an entire 7-inning sample size here…so don’t send the sample size authorities after me. However, it’s worth noting that ALL of Myers’ troubles so far across three appearances have come against lefties. He’s striking out just 7% of lefties, he walked almost half of the lefties he faced so far, and the hard contact has been through the roof. Against righties, he’s been great – a 25% K rate, 5% BB rate and much less hard contact. Again, a tiny, tiny sample size, but he could be a key cog to the slate in a matchup vs. Houston, who has looked a little better lately, and I’m sure the public wants to attack Myers. Yordan Alvarez was put on the IL, so it’s very possible Houston will send out EIGHT righties tonight. 

Myers was at least a respectable MLB arm last season. I think he should fall somewhere in that range of outcomes again by the time 2025 ends. I’m just not ready to write him off as a total gas can just yet, especially if Houston is going to roll out essentially all RHB. Houston ranks outside the top 20 in wRC+ and wOBA vs. RHP this season. However, over the last two weeks, they rank in the top 10. They’ll be without their best hitter tonight, so I’m going to have both sides of this one in large-field GPPs, as Myers is just $5,700 and worth some shares.
 

Ryne Nelson, Mets

Again, I think we’ll be able to learn a lot when the night ends. This is a good hitting environment, and the Mets have been quite solid vs RHP this season, ranking 10th in wRC+ and 15th in ISO. It’s not an easy matchup for Nelson by any means. His numbers are a bit skewed, he pitched against the Cubs twice, who accounted for 9 ERS against him. In 14.2 other innings this season, he’s given up just 2 ERs against all other opponents. He’s clear to throw more pitches than he has been during his relief role, he’s striking out 27% of hitters, and he’s allowing essentially no barrels. His price is really cheap. Again, one I want both sides of, but I think I’ll be at least slightly overweight on Nelson, who has been fantastic this season outside of those two starts, and his advanced metrics (xERA & SIERA) support that. He's a really interesting GPP play at his price.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

A big ballpark upgrade for one team spearheads my list.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Mariners vs. Luis Severino

The Mariners pretty much get a park upgrade for every road game, but the park bump for bats today is a big one, as Sutter Health Park ranks second in park factor for hitting – a gigantic jump. The Mariners rank first in wRC+ and fifth in ISO vs. RHP this season – and that’s with their home games at T-Mobile park, which ranks dead last in park factors for hitters Luis Severino definitely isn’t the worst pitcher on the slate, but he’s average at best, and he’s striking out less than 20% of hitters with a SIERA and xERA in the 4.00 or higher range. However, I’m not surprised that he has an ERA north of 5.00 at home and a minuscule road ERA south of 1.00. Of course, these are probably both unsustainable, but the park clearly matters. In terms of price, there is only one Mariner bat higher than $5K, so they’re really affordable. Don’t be afraid to stack Seattle, even if a few less-than-household names are filling out your 5-man – you could get some generous ownership on a few of them.

Mets vs. Ryne Nelson

There are some matchups I’ll be targeting both sides of in my multi-enter pool, and this is one of them. The Mets project well, and that’s partially because opposing spot-starter Ryne Nelson hasn’t been great historically. The Mets also rank top 10 in both wRC+ and ISO vs. RHP this year, and they’re on the road (possible extra AB) in a good hitting environment indoors – Chase Field ranks third in park factor for bats.
 

Lefties on FanDuel: Dodgers and Guardians

Sandy Alcantara wasn’t faring well before his matchup with the Dodgers one turn ago, and he was annihilated for 7 ERs. Lefties own an obnoxious .229 ISO, .377 wOBA, and 14% barrel rate against him, while Sandy is striking them out just 14% of the time. He is totally bamboozled by the left side of the plate so far in 2025, also walking a ridiculous 19% of them. Although he isn’t striking out many RHB, he has been much better against them, so I’d prioritize the left-handed hitters, and I think they’re one of my favorite plays of the day.

Another pitcher who has been puzzled by LHB is Jake Irivn, who is yielding a .264 ISO, .367 wOBA, and a 15% barrel rate against them this year. It’s not shocking, as lefties also gave him trouble in 2024, but not to this extent. This squarely puts Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo in play, and the rest of the left-handed value pieces are intriguing.
 

Lefties on DraftKings: The Brew Crew

Looks like I have a theme going on here tonight. Ronel Blanco has a career 4.37 FIP, and I think he’s been fairly lucky and a bit overrated. An average MLB pitcher, but nothing more, IMO. If he could clean up his issues vs. lefties, he could jump up a serious tier in my book. However, this season, he’s striking out a putrid 9% of them while walking 15% of lefties. He’s yielding a massive .302 ISO and a pretty bad fly-ball rate to them. That certainly checks a lot of boxes when you’re looking for a mini stack or one-offs to play. Brice Turang has a .316 wOBA vs. RHP dating back to the beginning of last season and can rack up points with stolen bases. Christian Yelich has a .203 ISO/.381 wOBA vs RHP during the same time frame, while Jake Bauers can provide some salary relief while bringing a decent .167 ISO and projected-lineup-leading 57% hard-hit rate vs. RHP to the table. Another game where I want some of both sides if MIL rolls out ~5 RHB or more, as Blanco has been very good against them.
 

Somethings’ gotta’ give: HOU vs. Tobias Myers

Pretty much ALL of Tobias Myers’ issues in this young season have been against lefties. Of course, we’re talking about just 7 innings pitched, but vs. righties, he’s struck out 25% of them, walked just 5% of them, and limited hard contact. Again, a possible meaningless sample size, but he was decent last season for Milwaukee. The kicker is that Houston may only roll out ONE lefty against him this evening. That being said, he might just find himself in a total mess again, and MIL may be forced to use some long arms. In terms of multi-entering, I just might have a little less Houston than I anticipated when I woke up this morning before diving in.

Kyle Tucker & PCA vs. Landen Roupp

Hitting conditions aren’t good in Chicago, and I think Roupp is an up-and-coming decent real-life pitcher. That being said, the Cubs still have a respectable team total over 4, which puts them in the large-field GPP conversation. If I’m picking for two bats in intriguing spots vs. Roupp, it’s Tucker and PCA. Roupp is throwing ~40% of sinkers to left-handed hitters. We’re talking about a fairly small sample size of BBE (batted-ball events) here, but Tucker has an unbelievable (and unsustainable) .500 ISO, .577 wOBA, and 17% barrel rate vs. that right-handed pitch dating back to the start of last season (36 BBEs). PCA has also hit that pitch extremely well, but we know as long as he gets on base, he can rack up points with steals. I’m thinking both of these guys will be *relatively* low-owned tonight, so I’m interested in a high-powered offense that may go overlooked for once. It’s warranted, due to a decent IRL pitcher and good pitching weather, but talent might come through for the Cubbies tonight.

Don't Forget The A's

Our good friend Grande has a nice GPP nugget of info here – Bryce Miller on the road vs. left-handed hitters since 2023: 2 HR/9, 5.67 xFIP, 29% GB rate (woof), 52% FB rate (double woof). Of course, another small sample size, but as much as the M's offense is victimized by T-Mobile Park, you could take the opposite stance for their pitchers. I don't mind Miller as a pitcher, but I'm willing to take some shots on the A's, who are suddenly extremely talented and playing in the baby ballpark they currently call home. This puts Soderstrom, Butler, and Bleday firmly in the GPP mix.
 

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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