Friday’s MLB DFS 11-game main slate is defined by a number of tricky pitching matchups that we must figure out how to navigate. There are plenty of good arms available such as Clayton Kershaw, Zach Wheeler, and Cristian Javier. But they play the Padres, Red Sox, and Mariners, respectively. On offense, the Braves look to be the best stack with Dean Kremer visiting Atlanta, but their main pieces are among the priciest on the slate.
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MLB DFS Picks and Plays for May 5
Today’s analysis covers the 11-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel at 7:05 PM ET.
Weather Concerns:
- The games in Philadelphia and Citi Field in New York could be impacted by rain showers late in the day. Check local forecasts before first pitch to verify.
Best Hitter’s Parks:
- Angels Stadium
- Citizens Bank Park
- Kauffman Stadium
Best Pitcher’s Parks:
- Busch Stadium
- Petco Park
- Citi Field
DraftKings Top Plays
High-Dollar Pitcher
Corbin Burnes ($9,300) vs. San Francisco Giants – I know Burnes hasn’t had a Cy Young-level season so far, but he is the seventh-highest-priced pitcher on this slate in a great park and in a great matchup. The Giants have the worst strikeout rate in the league as a team at over 27% this season.
Value Pitcher
Jordan Montgomery ($8,600) vs. Detroit Tigers – After a disaster on April 18 against Arizona (-7 fantasy points), Montgomery’s next two starts have been sublime. Both times have resulted in at least six innings, at least six strikeouts, and one total earned run. The Tigers rank 28th in slugging percentage this season and are now in a bad hitter’s park at Busch Field.
High-Dollar Infielder
Matt Olson ($5,400) vs. Dean Kremer – Dean Kremer’s season has been abysmal so far this year with a 6.67 ERA, a low 7.58 strikeout rate, and a FIP of 5.85. He also allows a .390/.429/.627 line to left-handed batters this year. Enter Matt Olson who has a 1.022 OPS against righties this season.
Value Infielder
Josh Jung ($3,800) vs. Tyler Anderson – We are going to pick on Tyler Anderson a lot in this piece today, but for now, let’s just look at what rookie Josh Jung is doing. Despite a 32% strikeout rate, Jung is still slashing .275/.325/.541. The best thing for Jung is Anderson only strikes out six batters per nine innings this year.
High-Dollar Outfielder
Adolis Garcia ($5,700) vs. Tyler Anderson – Now we can spend some time picking on Anderson since we know what a masher Garcia has been this season (31 RBI leads MLB). But Anderson has struggled tremendously against right-handers. He allows a .309/.364/.568 slash to right-handers including five of his six home runs.
Value Outfielder
Brent Rooker ($3,700) vs. Brad Keller – We typically don’t want anything to do with the Oakland offense, but Rooker is just playing on another level right now with a 1.216 OPS and five homers in his last 10 days. Keller, on the other hand, is allowing a 1.58 WHIP this season including 24 walks compared to 24 strikeouts.
Best DraftKings Stack
Texas Rangers vs. Tyler Anderson – Besides Jung and Garcia, there are a number of Rangers batters up and down the salary spectrum that make this a valuable stacking team on Friday. With Seager and Garver on the IL, the Rangers only have three regulars above $4,000 with several key contributors like Ezequiel Duran Robbie Grossman under $3,000. They should jump all over Tyler Anderson early and often.
FanDuel Top Plays
High-Dollar Pitcher
Clayton Kershaw ($11,200) vs. San Diego Padres – At less than $1,000 more expensive than Burnes, Wheeler, or Castillo, we can feel comfortable with Kershaw in a great pitchers’ park and after four straight dominant performances. Kershaw totaled 24 strikeouts compared to just one earned run over his last three starts this season.
Value Pitcher
Bailey Ober ($8,500) vs. Cleveland Guardians – We can’t count on many strikeouts against a disciplined team like the Guardians, but Ober still has other tricks up his sleeve. The talented Twins rookie is inducing a ton of flyballs and weak contact in his two starts and the Guardians have dropped to 24th in team OBP this year.
High-Dollar Infielder
Marcus Semien ($3,800) vs. Tyler Anderson – Semien is a VERY reasonable $3,800 in this pristine matchup against Tyler Anderson tonight. We already have seen how much he struggles against right-handed batters, and now Semien combines his own mega-hot streak with Anderson’s troubles. Semien has over 12 FanDuel points in four of his last six games.
Value Infielder
Ezequiel Duran ($2,500) vs. Tyler Anderson – Duran has simply been one of the hottest hitters on the planet the last two weeks, so why his salary is $2,500 in his matchup is beyond me. Duran has 10 hits including two bombs in his last six games and he added in eight RBI for good measure – all from the bottom third in the order.
High-Dollar Outfielder
Ronald Acuna ($4,600) vs. Dean Kremer – We saw with Matt Olson how abysmal Kremer has been against lefties this season, but he is an equal-opportunity giver when it comes to allowing fantasy points this season. His 6.67 ERA is one of the worst in the league and he has allowed 27 hits and 13 earned runs over his last four starts.
Value Outfielder
Starling Marte ($2,800) vs. Antonio Senzatela – Senzatela is coming straight off the IL into this start, so who knows how long he will last in this road game at Citi Field. Marte continues to produce but his salary never seems to get across $3,000. Marte is also likely to see a lot of the Rockies’ bullpen which allows the eighth-highest ERA and seventh-highest walks per nine innings to batters.
Best FanDuel Stack
Atlanta Braves vs. Dean Kremer – The Rangers, Mets, and Braves are all great stacks on this Friday night, but the Braves seem to keep checking in with reasonable salaries on FanDuel. Acuna, Olson, and Sean Murphy are the expensive guys over $4,000, but there also six regulars at $3,200 and below. Against the rightly Kremer, I do like throwing some darts at all the lefties like Eddie Rosario, Michael Harris, and Sam Hilliard.
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