Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Thursday, May 8th! 

We have a few early games to enjoy today, but the playbook is dialed in on this evening’s 4-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:05 PM ET. 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.

Tune in to the daily MLB DFS Show at 5 PM ET to get some last-minute advice and answer your questions before the slate begins! 

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: Wednesday, 5/8

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays

  • A low chance of rain today in the Tampa area, but it is not currently forecasted to be over the ballpark. It doesn’t look like it should affect the game.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves

  • A chance of rain that could impact the game. There is some delay risk here that we will need to monitor for impact to starting pitchers, but it will likely be fine. 
 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We have some great top-end starters today, highlighted by Hunter Greene at the very top, but some interesting options all down the slate. Some honorable mentions for me today, outside of my core plays, are Shane Baz, Michael Wacha, and Grant Holmes. 

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

Yamamoto leads the slate with a 32 percent strikeout rate, but he gets a tough matchup against the Diamondbacks. Arizona's offense ranks top five in both wOBA and ISO, and they have been at their best against right-handed pitching. Yamamoto tossed six shutout innings against the Braves his last time out, recording six strikeouts against two walks. The Dodgers ace is the most talented pitcher on the slate, but the matchup and price tag leave him best suited as a GPP pivot today.   

Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies

Luzardo is healthy again and has been absolutely dominant this season. He enters play with a sparkling 1.94 ERA, and he has posted a strong 27.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.5 percent walk rate. The Phillies lefty also gets to face the Rays, who have really struggled against southpaws. The Rays offense ranks just 28th in the league in wOBA and ISO against lefties this season.  

Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays

Bassitt has a long track record of being an above-average MLB starting pitcher, and this season has been no different. The Jays righty is allowing less than three rune per nine innings, with excellent peripheral stats to support the results. His strikeout rate is a healthy 25.7 percent, and he boasts an elite 4.2 percent walk rate. Bassitt's biggest weakness has been left-handed power, as he has allowed just a .072 ISO to righties since last season, while lefties have touched him up for a .182 ISO. The Angels are a below average offense against RH pitching (92 wRC+), but they do rank 6th in ISO. Fortunately for Bassitt, they have done most of their damage with RH bats, as Yoan Moncada poses the only real power threat from the left side. Ultimately, this is a strong matchup for Bassitt against the RH-heavy Angels. 

Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves

Spencer Schwellenbach is too cheap on both sites today for his matchup against the Reds. The young righty appears at first glance to have taken a slight step backwards from his outstanding debut season last year, but there is plenty to like when we look under the hood. Notably, his strikeout rate has fallen from 25.4 percent last season to 21.6 percent this season, but his 13.9 swinging strike rate is actually better than it was last season and suggests he has significant positive regression coming to the raw strikeout numbers. The Reds have struck out at the 8th-highest rate in the league against righties, so we may see that correction begin today. Schwellenbach is going to be the most popular pitcher of the day due to the price tag, and he is the clear top point-per-dollar pitcher on the slate. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

The pitching side of the equation is quite strong today, with no clearly attackable starters on this short slate, but we do have some elite offenses and a couple implied team totals just shy of five runs. 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers Lefties

Shohei Ohtani is the top hitter on most slates he is on, and that is certainly the case today. The Dodgers get a matchup with Diamondbacks righty Brandon Pfaadt, who has seen his strikeout rate dip below 21 percent and is allowing 1.56 HR/9 this season. Pfaadt has been particularly susceptible to left-handed power, as he has allowed a .187 ISO and 9.4 percent barrel rate to lefties since the beginning of last season. Ohtani and his .383 ISO against righties since last season present a huge problem for the D-backs righty. 

Freddie Freeman is also a top tier option today, with his .237 ISO against righties since last season. Max Muncy and Michael Conforto have had their struggles this year, but each of them posted an ISO above .200 against righties last season.   

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper 

Rays starter Ryan Pepiot has some talent, but he has really struggled with hard contact, and he has allowed a 10.3 percent barrel rate and 1.88 HR/9 through seven starts. The ballpark shift with Tropicana Field out of commission this season is doing him no favors. The Phillies are poised to take advantage of these factors with two superstar sluggers, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. 

Austin Riley and Braves Righties 

The Braves are all at least $500 too cheap on FanDuel, so expect them to be extremely popular and plan accordingly if you are playing them on that site today. 

Reds lefty Nick Lodolo is sporting a 3.27 ERA, but there appears to be some luck involved. He has allowed just a .248 BABIP and his strikeout rate is all the way down at 17.8 percent. He is managing contact well, with just a 7.7 percent barrel rate, but the splits are wide as righties have barreled him up at a 9.6 percent clip. The Braves have plenty of RH power to do damage against the Reds lefty. Austin Riley and Sean Murphy each own an ISO above .230 against lefties since last season. Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna have historically had huge success against lefties as well, and their early struggles against them this season are not concerning. 

 

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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