Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Tuesday, May 6th!

We’re diving into the action with a 12-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel, kicking off at 7:05 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 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: Tuesday, 5/6

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays

  • There is a low chance of rain, but probably not enough to disrupt play.

San Diego Padres vs. New York Yankees 

  • There will be rain in the area, but as of now looks like it will miss the ballpark and they can play uninterrupted. We will need to double check closer to game time to be sure that is the case.

Detroit Tigers vs. Colorado Rockies

  • Easily the riskiest game on the slate. It is almost certainly going to rain, with a delay and/or postponement definitely on the table. 

UPDATE: Tigers vs. Rockies has been POSTPONED due to inclement weather 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

This is an absolutely loaded pitching slate with a bunch of legitimate aces to spend up for. The opportunity cost is high, so keep that in mind if deciding to dabble in the value tier today. 

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates

Paul Skenes is already in the conversation for best pitcher in baseball in just his second big league season. He dealt with a rare bout of wildness last time out, issuing four walks and surrendering three home runs against the Cubs. He gets a pass for that start since the Cubs have been doing that to pretty much everyone.

Skenes still owns a sparkling 2.74 ERA with an elite 4.8 percent walk rate this season. If you want to poke holes in his work to this point, the strikeouts are down at 24.8 percent after being above 33 percent last season. Digging under the hood, I see no reason to be concerned and fully believe this is still an elite strikeout pitcher. The swinging strike rate is nearly identical to last year (12.6% from 13.1%) and he is still generating whiffs at an elite rate with all seven of his pitches.

It is worth noting, the other start in which Skenes struggled this season came against the Cardinals team he faces today. If you want to use that as a reason to fade him, I won't try to talk you out of it. Personally, I will aim to have more exposure than the field, but there are plenty of other options to love on this slate. 

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies 

Wheeler is having yet another dominant season atop the Phillies rotation. Some bad fly ball luck (15.9% HR/FB) has led to an extra HR or two early in the season, but everything else looks to be vintage Wheeler. There is even an argument to be made he is having the best season of his career. The Phillies ace has posted a career-best 32.8 percent strikeout rate and an elite 5.2 percent walk rate. Wheeler has also posted a career-best 14.6 percent swinging strike rate that aligns with the bump in strikeouts. 

The matchup for Wheeler against Tampa Bay gives him the slight edge over Skenes as my top overall pitcher on the slate, but we're splitting hairs if I'm being honest. The Rays have a lower wOBA and ISO than the Cardinals, and they strike out a decent bit more (22.5% vs. 19.7%). 

Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins

Lopez has returned from a brief IL stint and picked up right where he left off, tossing quality starts against the Angels and Guardians. He also threw at least 90 pitches in each of those starts, so there is no question he is fully back. This season, he has posted a dominant 2.25 ERA with 23.2 percent strikeouts and just 3.6 percent walks. 

The matchup against the Orioles may look tough on paper, but so far Baltimore has been one of the most disappointing teams of the season. They rank just 19th in wOBA and 11th in ISO, and they have struck out at the 3rd-highest rate in the league. 

Lopez is likely to be significantly less popular than Skenes, Wheeler and Sale, but the skills aren't too far off. He is an excellent pivot for large-field tournaments.  

Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves 

Chris Sale possesses similarly elite skills to Skenes and Wheeler, who are both priced significantly above him. He also has the best matchup of any of the pitchers priced above him, so it stands to reason that he is the most popular pitcher on the slate. 

Sale owns a 4.84 ERA on the season, but advanced metrics tell us he has pitched far better than his results. His 3.32 xERA and 3.25 xFIP both come in more than 1.5 runs below his ERA. His .383 BABIP is a clear outlier from his career .296 BABIP entering this season. The strikeouts (29.3 percent) and walks (5.7 percent) both remain elite. This is good chalk, and I plan to have more exposure than the field. 

Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals 

Seth Lugo has put together an impressive resume since transitioning back to a starting pitcher a few seasons ago. He is off to another solid start this season, with a 3.07 ERA through 7 starts. Lugo does not have the same strikeout upside as the pitchers above him on this list, but he does get an elite matchup that gives him a different kind of upside. The Royals righty has recorded three straight quality starts and has plenty of win equity as a -235 favorite. The White Sox rank at the bottom of the league in many offensive categories. Lugo can pay off his price tag with average strikeouts and elite run prevention while working deep into the game.  

Hayden Wesneski, Houston Astros 

This might be a little too cute on a slate that is loaded with premium options at the top of the salary range, but I like this spot for Hayden Wesneski. The Brewers have been a below average offense (90 wRC+) that lacks power, as they rank just 27th in ISO. The Astros righty has had his biggest struggles with right-handed power, and the Brewers just don't have a lot of it. Jackson Chourio is the Brewers only right-handed batter that has an ISO above .160 against RH pitching this season. Wesneski has otherwise solid skills (23.0 K%, 3.5 BB%), so if he is able to keep the ball in the yard he should have solid success. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

A massive slate means we have just as many good hitting options as pitching options. Let's dive in. 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Coors Field…Maybe…But Probably Not

UPDATE: Tigers vs. Rockies has been POSTPONED due to inclement weather

There are a couple factors working against Coors Field being the elite hitting environment we know and love today. First and foremost, the weather is looking pretty brutal even if they are able to play. Temperatures are in the 40s and it is almost certainly going to rain. Second, we have two of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball squaring off. Neither Jackson Jobe nor Chase Dollander look like elite MLB pitchers yet, so that alone would not scare me off this spot. These are two elite talents that each feature triple-digit fastballs, but Jobe has really struggled with his command and Dollander looks like he might susceptible to hard contact (especially from lefties) at this point in his very young career. IF the weather was better this would be the top spot on the slate for offense even with two talented arms going, but as it stands, it may not even be playable. 

Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Friends

The Braves are in a good spot against Reds lefty Andrew Abbott, who has flashed elite strikeouts but is also walking over 15 percent of batters. Abbott has allowed a .221 ISO and 10.5 percent barrel rate to righties dating back to last season. Abbott has largely survived his wildness and posted a 2.84 ERA through four starts, but there should be some regression coming. His 10.5 percent swinging strike rate suggests the strikeouts are not real, and his 86 percent strand rate is very likely unsustainable. 

Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have been elite against lefties throughout their careers. Sean Murphy is also back to his lefty mashing ways after dealing with injuries the past couple seasons, and Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson are elite no matter which hand the pitcher is throwing with. Braves can be played in a full stack or by themselves thanks to elite power.  
 

Byron Buxton and His Cheap 'Mates

The Twins are expected to get Royce Lewis back today, which lengthens the lineup and puts a full stack in play against Cade Povich. The Orioles lefty has a strike out rate under 19 percent and has surrendered an 11.3 percent barrel rate. Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Carlos Correa each own an ISO of at least .233 against righties since last season. Jeffers and Correa have struggled this season, but they should snap out if it eventually. Lewis hits home runs in bunches any time he is healthy, so make use of him while you can. A slew of struggling, yet cheap righties round out the lineup if you are looking to correlate some value pieces. 
 

Bobby Witt and His Cheap 'Mates

The Royals still rank near the bottom of the league in many offensive categories, but they are starting to show signs of life and a series against the White Sox pitching staff may be just what they need to fully break out. They get a matchup against rookie right-hander Sean Burke, who has not looked MLB ready through 33.1 innings. Burke owns a 4.91 ERA and is striking out just 17 percent of batters. He has allowed a 15.2 percent barrel rate and .215 ISO. 

Bobby Witt is the obvious top choice, but the stack around is all priced vary friendly. Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia would be my next favorite options to round out the correlation. 

Los Angeles Angels vs. Jose Urena (and Eric Lauer?) 

The Blue Jays have announced Jose Urena as their starting pitcher tonight. He has worked just 12.1 innings between the Mets and their Triple-A squad this season, so don't expect any length from him. The Jays also recently added Eric Lauer (of former Brewers fame) to the roster, and he makes sense as a bulk reliever in this spot. Neither of these pitchers can be considered MLB caliber at this point in their careers. Zach Neto, Jorge Soler and Logan O'Hoppe would be my first look for Angels, and they are each very fairly priced. 
 

Chicago Cubs vs. Justin Verlander 

The Cubs lead MLB in runs scored by a significant margin, and they rank in the top three in wOBA, wRC+ and ISO. This is an elite offense, and they get a matchup against the declining skills of Justin Verlander. Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong all own a barrel rate of at least 13 percent and an ISO of at least .283 against RH pitching this season. Ian Happ owns a 12 percent barrel rate and .190 ISO versus righties since last season. He homered yesterday and is riding a 7-game hit streak. The Cubs would be my top offense on the board were it not for their pricing. The plus side is that pricing should keep them relatively low-owned. 

 

Check Out Today's MLB DFS Livestream at 5pm ET

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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