MLB DFS Playbook May 1: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: May 01, 2023
Hello and welcome to the first MLB DFS Playbook for the month of May! We have a 6-game slate on our hands today, so a fairly small slate. We have a 7:05 pm ET start time, so plenty of time to read over the playbook today! Make sure to check out our awesome MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook May 1
MLB Weather Updates
None.
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox (blowing out to LCF)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
None.
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
This slate is interesting to me. It is pretty small and lacks any elite pitching, as Luis Garcia and Domingo German are the top priced pitchers, neither of which is all that great. I don’t even like the team with the second highest implied run total (San Diego Padres) as they have a huge shift in elevation from playing in Mexico to being back in San Diego (I also do not like the Giants offense today for that reason). On the bright side, we don’t have any weather concerns to worry about.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
Best Odds for a Win
Blake Snell (San Diego Padres -232)
Luis Garcia (Houston Astros -187)
Tony Gonsolin (Los Angeles Dodgers -165)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Garcia has been incredible in his last two starts, scoring 36 and 28.5 dk points against two of the best offenses in baseball in the Blue Jays and Rays. He totaled 13 shutout innings with 16 Ks and a pair of wins in those two outings. As mentioned earlier, I think the Giants and Padres offenses will be disappointments today as they readjust to normal altitudes.
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
Gore has pitched extremely well this season with a 3.00 ERA, a 3-1 record, and 35 strikeouts across 27 innings of work. I love the strikeout rate and high strikeouts is the way to winning tournaments. The Cubs have been more prone to strikeouts against lefties with a 23.7-percent rate, compared to a 20.2-percent rate against righties.
The dart throw of dart throws. I don’t see hardly anyone rostering him, but I actually think there is a lot to like here. Again, the shift in altitudes can be a weird thing on that initial first day back, so I could see the Padres dragging a bit, especially after having a wild weekend in Mexico where the ball was flying out with so much ease. Weaver has been great strikeout rate wise too, with 16 Ks across 11.2 innings of work thus far. GPP ONLY.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
5.45 – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Corey Kluber
5.02 – San Diego Padres vs. Luke Weaver
4.74 – Houston Astros vs. Ross Stripling
4.72 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Taijuan Walker
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Freeman is having another strong season, hitting .292 with four home runs, four steals, and 21 runs scored. Today he faces Taijuan Walker, who has not been very good thus far with a 4.97 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. The Dodgers have one of the higher implied runs totals on the slate and I could see them doing some damage here, headlined by Freeman.
Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Whit has been very good this year in what is looking like a bounce back campaign for the veteran as he is hitting .320 with four steals and 20 total R/RBI across 21 games of action. He is averaging 8.8 dk points per game over his last 10 games and hitting .400 in that span. He is cheap and I like the Blue Jays in this spot against Corey Kluber today.
Nick Senzel, 3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds
Senzel is scorching at the dish right now, scoring 15, 26, 22, 7, and 19 dk points over his last five games with two home runs, a steal, 8 RBI, and 8 runs scored in that span. Blake Snell hasn’t been very good this season, so it’s not a scary matchup for Senzel, who is extremely cheap today and makes for a great value play.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros
Alvarez is having another remarkable season; hitting .272 with six home runs and 27 RBI already across 22 games of action (also has 14 runs scored). Today he faces Ross Stripling, who has been terrible this season with a 6.89 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. The Astros let me down recently, but I like the idea of once again going to them as a stack today in this spot.
Player Pool
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Stacks
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