Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Wednesday, May 14th! 

We have a few early games to enjoy today, but the playbook is dialed in on this evening’s 9-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:07 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: Tuesday, 5/14

New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Rain in the area, but it looks it will miss the ballpark and the game should play without issues. 

Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago White Sox 

  • Rain likely holds off until after the game and they play with no trouble. 

Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals

  • Low chance of rain that is likely not strong enough to stop play even if it does pop-up over the ballpark. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

The top end of the salary range is interesting tonight, as the best and most expensive pitcher on the slate is in a difficult matchup. There are a few elite matchups we can target if not spending all the way up to the top option. 

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers ace is coming off his worst start of the season against a tough Diamondbacks offense, where he allowed five runs and tallied just four strikeouts. He is the most talented pitcher on the slate by a significant margin, but he gets another tough matchup today. Against right-handed pitching, the A's rank 10th in ISO, 11th in wOBA, and they have struck out just 19.2 percent of the time. Yamamoto can win in any matchup, but I don't love playing him into ownership as the highest priced pitcher in a difficult spot. 

Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays

Bassitt has put together an outstanding season so far, with a strong 3.35 ERA and all the peripherals to match. He has so far posted a career-best 25.0 percent strikeout rate and 4.1 percent walk rate. The Rays have been a little better than average against right-handed pitching, with a 109 wRC+ and a 23.2 percent strikeout rate. Bassitt makes for a fine tournament pivot off of Clay Holmes or Nick Lodolo, who both project to be more popular given their elite matchups. 

Clay Holmes, New York Mets

The move into the rotation has gone as well as anyone in the Mets organization could have hoped. Through eight starts, Holmes has posted a 2.74 ERA, 24.7 percent strikeout rate, and 53.0 percent groundball rate. He has tossed at least six innings in each of his last two starts and shut down an elite Cubs offense his last time out. Holmes gets a much easier test tonight against the Pirates, who own the 2nd-lowest wRC+ (77) in the league against right-pitching. Holmes is my top pitcher of the slate when factoring in the matchup. 

Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds

The Reds lefty has gotten strong results (3.23 ERA) through eight starts, but I am not completely sold. The strikeouts are all the way down at 19.3 percent, but he has posted an elite 3.6 percent walk rate. There could be some regression in the cards for the southpaw, as he has allowed just a .255 BABIP and 8.8 percent HR/FB rate. He will have a difficult time maintaining those well above average rates pitching his home games in Great American Ballpark. For context, Lodolo owned a .323 BABIP and 15.3 percent HR/FB rate in his career entering this season. On the positive side, he gets a matchup against the White Sox, who are unlikely to cause him any problems tonight. Against lefties this season, the Sox own just a 64 wRC+ and they have struck out 24.6 percent of the time. 

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs

Taillon has had mixed results this season for the Cubs, with a 4.53 ERA through eight starts. The typically elite control is still there (5.0 percent walk rate), as are the below average strikeouts (19.3 percent). Taillon was touched up for six runs last time out against the Mets, but he had not allowed more than two runs in an outing over his previous four starts. There are plenty of positive factors working for the Cubs righty today, including the weather and the matchup. Light winds are expected to blowing in from centerfield at Wrigley, with temperatures around 60 degrees for his matchup with the Marlins. Against righties this season, Miami owns a below average 93 wRC+ and a 23.5 percent strikeout rate. 

Colton Gordon, Houston Astros

Gordon was added to the Houston 40-man roster in the offseason and will make his MLB debut tonight against Kansas City. The lefty carried some massive strikeout numbers in the lower levels of the minors, but they have tapered off since he has reached Triple-A. He owns a still solid 25.3 percent strikeout rate rate at Sugar Land this season, and his walk rates have been pristine throughout his climb up the Astros system. Gordon is not an overpowering pitcher by any means, averaging just a hair over 91 MPH on his fastball, but he does feature a six-pitch mix. The $7,000 price tag in plus matchup is enticing on this slate, especially as an SP2 option on DK. Kansas City has been atrocious versus lefties this season, with a 61 wRC+ and the lowest ISO (.062) in the league. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

With a rather weak pitching slate on tap, there are sure to be a ton of great offenses to target. Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

New York Mets vs. Bailey Falter

The Mets rank 5th in ISO and 4th in wOBA against left-handed pitching this season, and they happen to get a matchup against a low-strikeout, fly-ball lefty. Bailey Falter owns just a 17.9 percent strikeout rate and righties have barreled him at 9.3 percent this season. The .166 ISO he has allowed to righties since last season would likely be even higher if his home ballpark wasn't great at suppressing RH power. Since the beginning of last season, the top three hitters in the Mets lineup (Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, Pete Alonso) all own a barrel rate of at least 10.9 percent and an ISO of at least .232 against southpaws. Luisangel Acuna and Luis Torrens have also been excellent against lefties in much smaller samples.   

Atlanta Braves vs. Mitchell Parker 

The Braves have struggled against lefties to begin the season, but they led the league in ISO against them last season and return largely the same offense. Things have already begun turning around for them and they get a matchup against the very low strikeouts of Mitchell Parker. The Nationals lefty ha managed to strike out just 13.3 percent of batters and 12.0 percent of righties this season, and he owns a completely unsustainable .250 BABIP and 1.7 percent HR/FB rate so far this year. Parker has allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts without allowing a single home run. This is a great spot for the Braves, especially if Parker's extreme home run luck runs out. Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson, and Sean Murphy all own a barrel rate of at least 11.6 percent against lefties since last season. Ozzie Albies has a long track record of success against lefties even if he has struggled this season, and Eli White is too cheap with his move up to the leadoff spot.

Texas Rangers vs. Antonio Senzatela

The Rangers are still underpriced and get an elite matchup against Antonio Senzatela and a bad Rockies bullpen. The Rockies righty has been torched for a 5.77 ERA and 1.85 HR/9, and he has only struck out 10.3 percent of the batters he has faced. The Rangers have four batters (Adolis Garcia, Joc Pederson, Josh Jung, Jake Burger) who own least a 10.9 percent barrel rate against righties since last season. Evan Carter posted a .214 ISO against righties in a limited sample last season, and Josh Smith and Wyatt Langford are both above a .210 ISO this season. 

San Diego Padres vs. Kyle Hendricks 

The Padres find themselves in a great spot against the declining skill of Kyle Hendricks. The Angels righty has allowed a 5.30 ERA, 1.51 HR/9 and a 9.1 percent barrel rate, while striking out just 14.2 percent of batters. The typically elite control has disappeared as well, as Hendricks has also walked 10.1 percent of batters. Fernando Tatis, Jackson Merril, and Manny Machado are all elite options. Merrill had registered five straight multi-hit games since coming off the IL before taking an 0-for-4 last night. Gavin Sheets has also been excellent against righties this season with a .219 ISO. 

Cincinnati Reds vs. Davis Martin 

Davis Martin has been better than many expected this season with a 4.01 ERA, but there has been a lot of loud contact underneath the surface. Martin has allowed a 47.5 percent hard-hit rate and a 9.9 percent barrel rate, while managing to strike out just 15.2 percent of batters. He has done a decent job keeping the ball on the ground and therefore has only surrendered 1.05 HR/9, but this is a dangerous spot for him in one of the best home run parks in the league. Elly De La Cruz is one of the top hitters on the slate. The Reds have struggled as an offense overall, but they do rank 8th in ISO against righties this season. 

 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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