Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Saturday, May 24th!

We’re diving into the action with an 8-game main slate on DraftKings and 7-game main slate on FanDuel, kicking off at 4:05 PM ET. With a packed day of baseball ahead, our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether you’re hunting for GPP glory or locking in cash game success, we’ve got tailored insights to help you conquer today’s matchups. Let’s dive 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 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: Saturday, 5/24

New York Yankees vs Colorado Rockies

  • Chance of rain and thunderstorms this afternoon that could lead to a delay or postponement.

Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox

  • Chance of rain throughout the day that could lead to a potential delay.
 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We have an interesting main slate in terms of pitching today.  There is a good mix of pitchers with upside and others with hit or miss history against their respective opponents.  

High-end options include Bryan Woo, Andrew Abbott and Max Fried.  Pay down options include Jack Leiter, Jonathan Cannon and Kyle Harrison.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners - DraftKings $8,700 | FanDuel $10,400

It is looking like 2025 will be a breakout season for Bryan Woo.  He enters Saturday with 2.65 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 55 Ks in 57.2 IP.

He enters this matchup against the Houston Astros with good history but limited against their hitters in the past.  He had one start against the Astros during the 2024 season.  He put up 32 FanDuel Points and 20.4 DraftKings points.  Look for Woo to continue his strong start to the season on Saturday.

Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds - DraftKings $8,600 | FanDuel $9,400

Abbott has been impressive in his 7 starts since returning from the IL.  He enters Saturday with 1.80 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 43 Ks in 35 IP.

Abbott enters this matchup against the Chicago Cubs with limited history against their hitters in the past.  He had one start against the Cubs during the 2024 season.  He put up 33 FanDuel Points and 17.9 DraftKings points.  Abbott has some solid upside, but comes with some risk going against a red hot Cubs lineup.

Max Fried, New York Yankees - DraftKings $8,300 | FanDuel $11,000

It is rare to recommend a pitcher at Coors Field.  However, Max Fried comes with significant upside.  He enters Saturday with 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 60 Ks in 62.2 IP.  

He faces a Colorado Rockies lineup that he has fared well against in the past.  He had one start against the Rockies during the 2024 season.  He put up 30 FanDuel Points and 15.3 DraftKings points.  Look for Fried to continue his dominant start to the season on Saturday.  

Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers - DraftKings $7,400 | FanDuel $8,400

Leiter has shown flashes in his 2 most recent starts.  He enters Saturday with 4.25 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 27 Ks in 36 IP.  

Leiter enters this matchup against the Chicago White Sox with limited history against their hitters in the past.  He had one start against the White Sox during the 2024 season.  He put up 18 FanDuel Points and 8.2 DraftKings points.  Look for Leiter to be a value option with some upside if he can limit the walks.

Kyle Harrison, San Francisco Giants - DraftKings $6,100 | FanDuel $6,400

Harrison enters the San Francisco Giants rotation in place of injured Justin Verlander.  He may have a pitch count since he has been pitching out of the bullpen since being recalled from AAA.  He enters Saturday with 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 7 Ks in 5.1 IP.  

He faces a Washington Nationals lineup that he has decent but limited history against in the past.  This includes two starts against them in 2024.  He put up 20.5 and 9.5 DraftKings points and 37 and 17 FanDuel points in those starts.  Look for some upside out of Harrison at a paydown price! 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

It is a good slate for hitters as we have a good mix of past history in terms of hitters vs pitcher and inexperienced starters.  Feel free to mix and match today across multiple lineups.  

San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles should be the front runners in terms of top teams to stack.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants - DraftKings $4,400 | FanDuel $3,000

Chapman has had a hit or miss start to the 2025 season.  However, he has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 games.  He has 2 multi games and 1 HR during that time span.

Chapman is 3 for 3 with 1 HR against Jake Irvin, the expected starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals.  Look for a strong performance out of Matt Chapman and the Giants lineup on Saturday.

Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs - DraftKings $4,700 | FanDuel $3,200

Swanson has been heating up as of late.  He is currently on a 8 game hitting streak.  He also has 3 multi hit games and 2 HRs during this stretch.

Swanson is 3 for 5 with 1 HR against Reds expected starting pitcher Andrew Abbott.  He looks like a solid one-of play for Saturday’s slate!  Please note, I mentioned Andrew Abbott above as an interesting upside play at pitcher.  However, I would not recommend playing both Abbott and Swanson in the same lineup, but would like some exposure to both.

Will Benson, Cincinnati Reds - DraftKings $3,500 | FanDuel $3,000

Benson has been on a tear since being recalled from AAA. He has at least one hit in 7 of his last 8 games.  He has 3 multi hit games and 5 HRs during this time span.  

He has fared well against Cubs expected starting pitcher Colin Rea in the past.  He is 5 for 10 with 1 HR against Rea in his career.  Look for another strong performance out of Benson on Saturday!

Rhys Hoskins, Milwaukee Brewers - DraftKings $4,200 | FanDuel $2,900

Hoskins is one of my favorite values for Saturday’s slate.  He has at least one hit in 6 of his 7 last games.  This includes 3 multi hit games and 2 HRs during that stretch.  

Hoskins has good history in the past against expected Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller.  He is 6 for 9 against Keller in his career.  Look for Hoskins to continue his success on Saturday!

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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