Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for May 18! We have a tiny 4-game slate on our hands tonight. We have a 12:35 pm ET start time, so get those lineups built quickly! Make sure to check out our awesome MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. 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 18

MLB Weather Updates

None.

Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:

None. 

Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:

None.

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

With such a small slate, there are only so many options on the table. And on top of that, we have to really look for ways to be different from the rest of the field, as the obvious plays will all see high exposure in tonight’s contests. Dylan Cease is the clear pitcher at the top today, but he had been struggling mightily prior to his last start. On the bright side, I don’t think there is any clear-cut hitting stack, so that will make things interesting. 

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox

Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

Best Odds for a Win

Eury Perez (Miami Marlins -159)

Tyler Wells (Baltimore Orioles -147)

Dylan Cease (Chicago White Sox -140)

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox

Cease hasn’t looked like the guy that finished 2nd in AL Cy Young voting at all this year. He has a 4.86 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, but he does still have 54 Ks across 46.1 innings. He pitched well in his last outing against the Astros, tossing six shutout innings with five punch-outs.  The Guardians offense is bad and a good matchup for Cease as they rank 28th in runs per game this season, averaging just 3.50 runs per contest. 

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

Perez looked good in his MLB debut, giving up two runs across 4.2 innings pitched, but racking up seven strikeouts. Perez is a top prospect for a reason and his stuff is really good. The biggest issue here is that the Nationals have the lowest strikeout rate in the entire league this season, but they don’t score a lot of runs either, coming in at 25th in the league per game. 

Trevor Williams, Washington Nationals

Williams has not been that bad this year, pitching to a 4.23 ERA. He lacks strikeouts (27 across 38.1 innings), which hurts his upside and on a normal slate he probably wouldn’t be an option for me for that reason, but this is a 4-game slate and things get a bit weirder. He faces the Marlins who have the 13th highest strikeout rate in the league this season, but the HIGHEST strikeout rate on today’s slate. On top of that, they rank 29th in runs per game this year. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals

4.95 – Baltimore Orioles vs. Tyler Anderson

4.65 – New York Mets vs. Taj Bradley

4.46 – Miami Marlins vs. Trevor Williams

4.44 – Chicago White Sox vs. Logan Allen

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Mark Vientos, 1B/3B/SS, New York Mets

Vientos was on the cover of my value plays article last night and he came through with a two-run home run to score 16 dk points. He is still the minimum price on DK (cheap on FD as well) and if he is in lineup (Fire Buck if he’s not!), he makes for a good play against Taj Bradley, who had really been struggling at AAA prior to getting called back up for today’s start. 

Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

Franco swiped two bags last night and is now hitting .288 on the year with seven home runs and 14 stolen bases. He is averaging 10.2 dk points per game which is the highest of any hitter on today’s slate that has played at least 5 games. He faces a very mid-tier pitcher in Tylor Megill today, so I expect another strong performance by Franco. UPDATE: He is not playing today. 

Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Trout swatted a home run last night and he is now hitting .275 on the year with nine home runs and 51 total R/RBI across 41 games of action. He has been far better on the road this season with a .961 OPS and 9.2 dk ppg average, compared to a .762 OPS and 8.4 dk ppg average at home. He has always hit righties extremely well and I would not be surprised if he goes yard for a second straight game. 

Mickey Moniak, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Let’s go right back to another Angles player ad Moniak has come out of the gates very hot, going 5-11 with two home runs, two stolen bases, and five runs scored through his first three starts. He is very cheap (min. price on FD) and he is hitting leadoff today for Los Angeles, so it’s very easy to like him in this spot. I think he keeps the momentum going today, and I like a top of the order Angels stack with him, Trout, and Ohtani. 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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