Wednesday, May 25, has split-slate action with a featured five-game main slate with a first pitch at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.
DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (5/25)
Top MLB DFS Stack of the Day: New York Yankees vs. RHP Tyler Wells — 4.6 implied runs
The Yankees will, once again, be popular with just 10 teams on the main slate and potential precipitation issues in Atlanta and Chicago could thin out the player pool further. Tyler Wells came over to the Orioles as a Rule-5 draft pick out of the Twins organization. Wells needed Tommy John surgery and did not pitch in 2019 or 2020. Last year, Baltimore used him as a reliever where he was a bright spot in an otherwise beleaguered bullpen. Working hard to become a starter, Wells has been scrappy, though his strikeouts have fallen off dramatically now that he is throwing more pitches per appearance.
DraftKings has made things interesting boosting the salaries of Aaron Judge ($6,200), D.J. LeMahieu ($5,300) and Anthony Rizzo ($5,100). Giancarlo Stanton ($5,900) left the game early last night with a strained calf and is unlikely to play. LeMahieu received a cortisone injection in his left wrist and may sit out for a second game. That will open the door for Aaron Hicks ($3,000) to get a boost in the order and likely open up a spot for Estevan Florial ($2,100). This duo will naturally decrease the average salary cap impact for a four- or five-man stack, which brings us full circle to New York being a popular team.
Late Slate: Texas Rangers at LHP Reid Detmers — 3.8 implied runs
On the late slate, full stacks going against Rich Hill, Glenn Otto and Cal Quantrill will be popular. Looking at a deep cut, we can look to target specific hitters against rookie Reid Detmers. The 10th overall selection of the 2020 MLB Draft already has a no-hitter to his credit, however, he has just 55.1 innings in The Show and 62.0 innings in the low minors. He definitely would be welcomed in most MLB rotations, but he is going to have some bumps along the way as the Angles have chosen to let him learn on the job.
The Rangers core four is consolidated at the top of the lineup, which will increase their potential synergy. Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia and catcher Mitch Garver all have above average power against southpaws. Corey Seager has a .199 ISO over his last 199 same-handed matchups and so far, Detmers has allowed a .235 ISO to fellow lefties across 55 matchups. This quartet can be used as one-offs on the main slate, or by choosing two or three as a contrarian mini-stack.
Early Slate: Los Angeles Dodgers at RHP Erick Fedde — 3.8 implied runs
Once more unto the breach, dear friends. The loaded Dodgers lineup gets one last crack at the weak Washington pitching staff with Erick Fedde taking the mound this afternoon. Though it will be cooler in Nationals Park with game-time temperatures in the mid-60s, Los Angeles should stay on its collective heater.
Cody Bellinger was out of the lineup on Tuesday with an illness, though, even if he returns, another regular is likely to get a day off before the Dodgers head out to Arizona this afternoon for their next series. That means we should get Edwin Rios in the lineup and he has been an excellent source of discounted power with a .216 ISO in his last 100 plate appearances against right-handed hurlers. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy will be the top two targets, though one of them is likely to get a rest day. Former National Trea Turner showed out last night with a home run and he should be nestled in the No. 3 spot again today. After that, feel free to sprinkle in Justin Turner, Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor and Will Smith based on positional need and salary cap constraints.
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Best MLB DFS Pitchers Today
Top MLB DFS Target: RHP Cristian Javier vs. Cleveland Guardians — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,300 | FanDuel $8,200
This season Cristian Javier has been in a swing-man role with four starts and four multi-inning appearances out of the bullpen. Last Friday, he had a strong showing against the Rangers allowing just one run across six innings with a season-high nine strikeouts. In this outing, he threw 91 pitches and he had 84 in the one before that so he should be ready for a full workload. The Guardians are mediocre at best and if Javier is able to neutralized Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, he should make his supporters happy.
Early MLB DFS Target: LHP Robbie Ray vs. Oakland Athletics — 3.1 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $8,000 | FanDuel $9,300
Oh joy, Robbie Ray is a standout option today. Fortunately, the field will be flocking to roster him, which gives us some interesting decisions. We can follow along with the crowd, which will provide cover if he has a good outing and we successfully differentiate our lineups elsewhere. On the flipside, we should also create a few rosters without him and with a couple of Oakland bats to position ourselves to take advantage if he has one of his episodes where he spontaneously combusts on the mound.
This season, Ray has had mixed results allowing eight home runs, including one in each of his last four outings — but also recording at least five strikeouts in seven-of-nine starts with 27 coming in his last three appearances. Sean Murphy and Chad Pinder would be the A’s worthy of a look and they can even be used in the same lineup as Ray in the hopes they are the ones who end up with the inevitable home run.
Additional Opportunities:
On the early slate, Aaron Ashby is an interesting option in the MLB player props market. Today he will be starting in San Diego and he has an over/under on his strikeout prop of 3.5 while the Awesemo player projections have him with a very respectable 5.4 for this matchup. That gives him a 75% probability of reaching the over. The wrinkle is that Ashby has been working out of the bullpen most recently, but he does have four or more strikeouts on five occasions this season with three in two others. Today he should be in line for 70-to-75 pitches and he has thrown more than 80 in two starts.
Other Pitching Options:
- Yu Darvish vs. Milwaukee Brewers (early)
- Lucas Giolito vs. Boston Red Sox (main, weather risk)
- John Patrick “JP” Sears vs. Baltimore Orioles (main, 64, 65 and 59 pitches in his last three starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre)
One-Off Hitters:
- Brandon Nimmo at RHP Jakob Junis (early)
- Luke Voit vs. LHP Aaron Ashby (early)
- Austin Hays at LHP JP Sears (main)
- Yasmani Grandal vs. LHP Rich Hill (main)
- Jared Walsh vs. RHP Glenn Otto (late)
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes
Atlanta is looking at scattered showers today, so this will be a situation worth monitoring. In the Midwest, Chicago, Cincinnati and Minnesota all have varying degrees of risk that is hard to quantify this early in the day.
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