Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Thursday, May 1st! 

It's another getaway day for many teams, so we have an earlier slate today with a 7-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel, starting at 12:35 AM ET. Day games always have plenty of extra craziness, but 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 our favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Check out today's MLB DFS Show for an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate!

No MLB DFS live stream today with the early slate, but we will be back tomorrow!

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: Thursday, 5/1

  • MIL vs. CWS
  • MIN vs. CLE
  • STL vs. CIN

All 3 of these games have potential rain to keep an eye on. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

It is Paul Skenes day! He does indeed lead my core plays, but there are some other intriguing arms today from the top to the bottom.

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates

Paul Skenes is the best pitcher in all of baseball right now. He should probably be over $10,000 and I have a hard time making any case to not have him in every single lineup you make. He just threw 6.1 scoreless innings against the Dodgers in Los Angeles with 9 strikeouts. The Cubs offense is good, but it doesn’t matter he is going to dominate everyone he faces. 

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays

Shane Baz has looked really good so far this season with an over 31% strikeout rate and a sub-1 WHIP. Pitching at home is obviously a more challenging ask for the Rays this season, but Baz has been good enough not to worry about it too much. The Royals' offense has also looked terrible with the second-worst OPS against right-handed pitchers this season. 

Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals

Matthew Liberatore is a good cheaper option today as someone with a pretty good floor. The strikeout rate hasn’t been crazy, but also not terrible, at 23.1%. This is plenty good enough when paired with a 1.7% walk rate, a 3.19 ERA, and a 0.97 WHIP. He also has 6 or more strikeouts in 3 of his 5 starts, so it isn’t like a decent strikeout game isn’t in the cards. Cincinnati is always a tough place to pitch, but I think the price takes that into account enough, and I think he should return solid value today. 

Colin Rea, Milwaukee Brewers

There is just no reason Colin Rea should be this cheap. He should be right in the middle of the pack in pitcher options today, not at the bottom. He has a 25% strikeout rate, 0.96 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP in his first 18.2 innings this season. He isn’t going to continue to put numbers up quite that good, but he just threw 5 scoreless against the Phillies with 7 strikeouts and got the win, so there is no reason you shouldn’t be excited about what he can do against the Pirates in Pittsburgh at this price. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

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

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Kyle Manzardo, 1B Cleveland Guardians

Kyle Manzardo has hits in 9 of his last 10 games, including 4 homers and a 1.017 OPS. I don’t trust Simeon Woods Richardson at all. His results have been fine so far, but not great, and I think there's a chance things could get even worse for him today. The Guardians are one of my favorite stacks today, and Kyle Manzardo should probably be in your lineup even if he is your only Guardian. 

Junior Caminero, 3B Tampa Bay Rays

Junior Caminero is on a 6-game hitting streak, including just having a 3-hit game with a homer and a double. He is hitting the ball incredibly hard, and is starting to get it off the ground a little bit more. Tampa Bay’s home park is a great place to hit this season, and Seth Lugo hasn’t looked sharp so far this season. The Rays should be able to put up some run,s and I think you are getting a steal of a price on Caminero in this spot.

Masyn Winn, SS St. Louis Cardinals

I'm not just picking Masyn Winn because he hit 2 homers yesterday, although that does help boost my confidence in him. Masyn Winn is a quality hitter who will continue to improve as he gets older. He has incredible plate skills and is a guy who could become a high batting average guy. We saw some more power yesterday, and continuing to hit in Cincinnati means he may be able to take advantage of that park and provide more power today. 

Wyatt Langford, OF Texas Rangers

Wyatt Langford has been incredible so far since he came back on April 20th from his short stint off the field with an injury. He has since slashed .419/.486/.742 with 2 homers, 4 doubles, and three separate 3-hit games. I am a fan of Jeffrey Springs, but he just hasn’t had it yet; he isn’t getting strikeouts and has a 6.04 ERA with a 1.62 WHIP. Langford absolutely crushes lefties, and I think he will do some damage today. 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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