May has arrive, which means Major League Baseball weather is here! A Saturday main slate is primed with a perfect matchup for Zac Gallen in Arizona, and at an affordable price on DraftKings and FanDuel. Later this evening, Blake Snell and the Padres welcome the NL West rival San Francisco Giants to Petco Park in their second meeting this season. On a six-game slate of pitching options scattered across the mid-tier price range, Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool and daily fantasy baseball point projections are here to steer us in the right directions.
Be sure to check the Awesemo MLB DFS page to find more of our experts’ daily fantasy baseball advice.
Top Daily Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers | May 1
Zac Gallen: ARI vs. COL — DraftKings $8,900; FanDuel $9,000
Zac Gallen comes into Saturday’s main slate at a frugal asking price against a mediocre Rockies lineup. Averaging 22.8 DraftKings and 36 FanDuel points in five starts, Gallen has matched last season’s 10.25 K/9 and 28.2% strikeout rate, while his home runs are down and walk rate is up slightly. Yet facing this Colorado team at home could make for a top fantasy pitching performance on Saturday, particularly according to Awesemo’s MLB DFS projections.
Awesemo’s daily fantasy baseball projections forecast Gallen for 19.91 DraftKings and 34.44 FanDuel points against the Rockies, correlating to a 29.2% top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 12.6% top pitcher on FanDuel. At a slight discount on both sites, Gallen remains a 7.3% top value on FanDuel while a 21% top-two value on DraftKings. Gallen’s MLB DFS ownership projections of 35.5% DraftKings and 16.4% on FanDuel make him a popular pitching candidate on both sites without tipping the scale with public investments.
The right-handed Gallen is due to face five lefties and four right-handed hitters. Facing lefties last season, Gallen slung 8.13 K/9 and a 22.8% strikeout rate, .215 average against, 0.79 HR/9, 1.11 WHIP, 8.8% walk rate, and 3.74 FIP. While the heart of the Rockies order may pave speedbumps with C.J. Cron hitting .259 ISO off righties over the past season, Gallen should have few issues with Colorado’s batting order, striking-out 24% collectively with a 74 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers since 2020. With the main slate’s best projections available at a fair cost, Gallen is an excellent pitching option on Saturday.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value B
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value B
Latest MLB DFS Content
- MLB DFS: Stokastic’s Tom Kennedy With TWO DraftKings MLB Wins in One Night | How the Sims Helped Him Out
- How to Use Stokastic’s MLB DFS Sims Tool to Maximize Your ROI
- MLB DFS Picks, Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks: Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber Stand Out (April 29)
- MLB DFS Punt Plays For DraftKings and FanDuel (April 29)
- Today’s Top MLB DFS Pitcher Pivots: Ryan Pepiot and More (April 29)
- Stokastic DFS on Youtube
Blake Snell: SD vs. SF — DraftKings $9,500; FanDuel $8,800
San Diego assigns lefty Blake Snell to the mound against the San Francisco Giants. Snell’s averaging 14.4 DraftKings and 25.4 FanDuel points in five starts, with one poor performance weighing down a solid fantasy resume. Last season’s 11.34 K/9 and 31% strikeout rates ring true this season, striking batters out at a higher rate while struggling a bit with his walks. A Saturday night date with the Giants could turn into a rebound fantasy performance for Snell at a discounted rate.
Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool projects Snell with 27.2% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 11.5% top-pitcher on FanDuel, the second-best projected option for the main slate. Snell’s rare discount lands him as a 15% top-two value on DraftKings and 7.5% top value on FanDuel. MLB DFS ownership projections anticipate Snell to be a hot commodity at 41.3% on DraftKings and 27.7% on FanDuel.
Snell’s scheduled to face seven right-handed Giants hitters. Facing righty hitters last season, Snell tossed 10.65 K/9 and a 27.6% strikeout rate, 1.35 WHIP, .232 average against, with 1.79 HR/9. Righty Evan Longoria (fifth) is smashing a .352 ISO against left-handed pitchers through last season, while leadoff hitter Austin Slater has earned a 1.06 OPS against the split. San Francisco has collectively notched a 20.8% strikeout rate and 20.4% HR/FB rate against lefty pitchers through last year. Snell’s home run rate is down while striking-out above 33% of batters, and his discount on Saturday’s shorter slate could pay off greatly.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value B
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value B
[JOINMLB+]
Eduardo Rodriguez: BOS at TEX — DraftKings $8,700; FanDuel $9,500
Eduardo Rodriguez draws a favorable assignment for Boston against the Rangers in Texas on Saturday evening. In 2019 Rodriguez slung for 9.43 K/9 and a 24.8% strikeout rate, .251 average against, and 1.33 WHIP, and improving on those totals this season. Rodriguez has returned from absence in 2020 to the tune of 22.4 DraftKings and 38 FanDuel points on average across four starts and looks to add to the admirable totals with a favorable opponent.
Awesemo Top Pitchers Tool projects Rodriguez a 24.2% likelihood of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings, and an 11.2% projection of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. Rodriguez remains a top-two value of 18.2% on DraftKings and 5.2% top value on FanDuel. Daily fantasy baseball ownership projections align Rodriguez as a popular option given a fantastic matchup, with 42.3% on DraftKings and 22.7% on FanDuel.
The Rangers are due to roll out four lefties and five right-handed hitters against Rodriguez. Favorably against righties he’s thrown for 9.2 K/9 and a 24.4% strikeout rate, .250 average against, and 3.57 FIP with 0.84 HR/9. The Rangers against lefty pitchers have seen Kryptonite, striking-out 25.9% of the time and securing a league-low 76 wRC+ against left-handed pitching through 2020. It doesn’t get too much better than this for Rodriguez, while despite significant ownership stands as a top option on both sites.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value A
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value A
To find the best daily fantasy baseball picks to pair with the top starting pitchers, check out EMac’s Spotlight Hitters & Top Stacks article, as well as our MLB DFS picks cheat sheets.
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
[MLBPAGE]
