MLB DFS Playbook May 12: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: May 12, 2023
We made it to Friday! As a reward for it being Friday, we have a great 13-game slate of baseball today. Compared to yesterday’s 3 game slates to build off, there are all sorts of pitchers and hitters to target when building your MLB DFS lineups. This 13-game slate kicks off on both DraftKings and FanDuel at 7:05 PM EST. There are two of the best pitchers in baseball right now taking the mound today, with Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves taking on the Toronto Blue Jays and Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees taking on a tough opponent in the Tampa Bay Rays. There are quite a few other quality pitchers taking the mound as well outside of those two aces. Taijuan Walker and Austin Gomber get the hefty task of pitching in Coors today, which means both the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies hitters are in play getting to hit at Coors. As we are well into May, hot streaks are turning into strong starts, and with the weather warming up, we are quickly approaching the end of the exciting start of baseball and nearing the dog days of summer. There is no shortage of exciting arms and hitters to target today and 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 Playbook May 12
MLB Weather Updates
Chicago Cubs vs Minnesota Twins: Possible rain showers could cause delays but should be light enough to play through.
Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox: The chance of rain showers could cause a late start or delays.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Colorado Rockies: Wind blowing in 10-15 MPH but shouldn’t be enough to shy you away from hitters in Coors.
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
The top-priced pitchers are top-priced for a reason. Gerrit Cole and Spencer Strider are no question the best pitchers on the slate, but they are facing difficult matchups in the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, respectively. There are some other good pitchers that are being underpriced in the middle tier that are my favorites to play today, with my favorite two highlighted down below. As far as offense goes, the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies can both be targeted getting to hit in Coors against non-ace pitchers. Beyond those two teams, some of my favorite offenses to target for today's DFS lineups are the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and the Boston Red Sox. However, with so many games on this slate, there are plenty more teams that have viable hitters to go after when building your lineup today.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Spencer Strider vs Toronto Blue Jays
MacKenzie Gore vs New York Mets
Best Odds for a Win
Corbin Burnes vs Kansas City Royals
Martin Perez vs Oakland Athletics
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
This is only his second start of the season as J.P. France takes on the Chicago White Sox today. I wasn’t particularly excited about him, or even knew much about him, before his debut recently. However, France looked like he could handle being a major league starter in his debut against the Seattle Mariners. He had a solid 4-pitch mix of fastball, cutter, slider, and curveball that all seemed to be working for him. He went 5 innings without giving up a run while only conceding 3 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts. The Chicago White Sox have been a pedestrian offense so far this season, and I believe in what the rookie showed against Seattle enough to go after him again today at a reasonably cheap price.
Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians
In his third major league start, the strikeouts went away for Logan Allen, only getting 3 against the Minnesota Twins. In his first two starts against the Boston Red Sox and Miami Marlins, he put up 8 strikeouts. Despite only 3 strikeouts, he still went 5.2 innings and only gave up 2 runs. Today he is facing the Los Angeles Angels, which aren’t necessarily an easy offense, but they certainly aren’t an offense I am actively avoiding either. I think we may see the strikeouts bounce back and really trust the Cleveland Guardians with pitchers in general. At a very low price today, I see Logan Allen as one of the best value plays taking the mound.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
Philadelphia Phillies vs Austin Gomber
Colorado Rockies vs Taijuan Walker
Boston Red Sox vs Adam Wainwright
San Francisco Giants vs Ryne Nelson
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Triston Casas, 1B Boston Red Sox
Tristan Casas has not exactly been the power-hitting first baseman that the Red Sox are hoping he will be this season. He is only batting .167, though he does still have 5 home runs so far. Over his last 6 games, he has 6 hits, including 2 home runs, and I think we may finally be seeing Casas starting to click at the plate and turning into the hitter everyone is expecting in Boston. Today he faces the 104-year-old Adam Wainwright with the St. Louis Cardinals (okay, he is only 41, but that is pretty old for a pitcher). This is only Wainwright’s second start of the season, and I don’t have high hopes for the 41-year-old taking on the Boston Red Sox. This should be a good opportunity for Casas to continue his improvements at the plate.
Andres Gimenez, 2B Cleveland Guardians
Andres Gimenez is one of the rare lefties who hit lefties better. This usually results in him being undervalued when he is in a lefty-lefty matchup. Today he is facing Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Angels, who has not been pitching very well. With Gimenez slashing .289/.386/.421 against left-handed pitching this season which is still not quite as good as his career numbers against them, I trust Gimenez to take advantage of this matchup. Gimenez is far too cheap for the quality of hitter that he is a second base, and I am willing to take advantage of the low price in a great matchup for him today.
I am back with your regularly scheduled update on how good Josh Jung is against left-handed pitching. Apparently, not everyone has gotten the memo because he continues to be ridiculously cheap even when facing a mediocre lefty like he is today in Ken Waldichuk of the Oakland Athletics. Josh Jung continues to be an absolute monster against left-handed pitching, with a 1.166 OPS against them this season. The Texas Rangers are a fantastic stack against them today and I think there are a few third basemen that you should even consider outside of Josh Jung with his price in this matchup.
Randal Grichuk, OF Colorado Rockies
Randal Grichuk got a late start to the season after beginning on the IL, but since returning has been hitting the ball fantastically, even with most of it happening outside of Coors. Today he gets to hit in Coors and is coming at a discount still after his late start to the season. In his first 9 games of the season, Grichuk is slashing .361/.425/.528, and five of those games have been outside of Coors. Getting to face Taijuan Walker, who has a 2.08 HR/9 on the season in Colorado, is a great spot for Grichuk to continue his fast start to the season, and he should easily return his value at a low price tag.
Check out today's MLB DFS Podcast!
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