You can’t complain with a little afternoon baseball action! The main slate treats us to some earlier contests, so get your cup of coffee, or two, or whatever your preferred morning beverage is, and start crunching the numbers for your DFS lineups for the day. There’s some good value across the board, but you’ll find some bats below, and even an arm, that can help you fit some of the top-tier studs into your lineup. Without further ado, grab your coffee, put on your thinking cap and let’s head down to the Value Vault!
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Alex Kirilloff , OF MIN ($2,000 DK/$2,000 FD) — If you’re a sucker for prospects, you’ll likely find yourself playing Kirilloff at a cheap price in this contest against the Pirates. Sure, he’s hitless this year, including this entire series against Pittsburgh, but you can’t ignore the price for a highly-touted prospect in a matchup against a right-hander with nine big league innings under his belt. Crowe has a 12.00 ERA at the big league level with a whopping 5.00 HR/9. Also, lefties against Crowe have fared well, posting a 1.000 slugging percentage and .643 wOBA. The entire Minnesota lineup should succeed, including Kirilloff.
Rougned Odor , 2B NYY ($2,700 DK/ $2,200 FD) - I don’t feel great about this one, but Triston McKenzie’s struggles this year against left-handed hitters have been well-documented. Odor hasn’t exactly set the world on fire against lefties this year, but McKenzie has allowed a .400 batting average and 1.250 OPS to lefties. He’s posted double-digit fantasy points on DraftKings in three straight games, and in four of his last six.
DraftKings
Jameson Taillon , SP NYY ($8,300) - The Cleveland Indians have the seventh-highest strikeout rate against righties this year and only the Yankees have posted a lower batting average against the right-handed variety than the Indians. Now, Cleveland does have a rather high hard contact rate against righties and a big fly ball rate. I don’t love that against Taillon, considering home runs have been a problem for the former Pirate, but he should perform quite well, coming off his best start of his 2021 season. If he keeps the pitch count down, he should strike out over a batter per inning in this one, and notch a win, as I expect the Yankees to put some runs on the board. You’ll likely look elsewhere on FanDuel where you only need one starter, but he’s a nice value as your second starter on DraftKings.
FanDuel
Bobby Dalbec, 1B BOS ($2,100) — You never know what you’ll get with Dalbec in DFS, considering it could be a couple of round trippers or a couple trips back to the dugout with strike three on the board. There’s a chance of rain throughout the majority of this contest, so keep that in mind, but otherwise, fire up Dalbec across the board. He’s hitting .455 against lefties this year, and Seattle’s starter, Nick Margevicius , has allowed an .840 OPS to right-handed hitters. Dalbec has two multi-hit outings in his last four games and he’s 5-for-11 in that span. Christian Arroyo is a fine play on the Boston side as well.
Tommy Edman , 2B STL ($2,800) - It hasn’t been the best of starts to the year for Luis Castillo , so I’m okay with targeting him here. Edman is hitting .269 off righties this year, and Castillo is susceptible to lefties. Furthermore, Edman won’t strikeout, and is 5-for-13 in his career off the Cincinnati righty. Edman has cooled off a bit of late but has still hit safely in seven of his last ten games and is averaging over nine FanDuel points per contest against the Reds in this series.
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.