We have a nice eight-game afternoon slate on tap today! There are some really nice options across the board, so finding the right values will be crucial! Let’s dive in!
Both Sites
Starlin Castro , 2B/3B WAS ($2,300 FD / $3,200 DK) – Castro is way too cheap on both sites today. He has been amazing against lefties this season, slashing .407/.429/.481 against them through 27 at-bats and has a .301/.348/.438 slash against southpaws for his career. On top of that, he’s been much better at home this season, slashing .278/.298/.426 across 15 games at home, compared to .227/.255/.250 through 11 games on the road. Smyly has an 8.05 ERA, 8.47 FIP, and 4.3 HR/9 through 19.0 innings pitched. Righties are slashing .283/.353/.633 against him so far this season and have already hit six long balls against him. This is pretty easy play to plug into your lineups and save some money while getting nice upside.
Kevin Pillar , OF NYM ($2,700 FD / $2,400 DK) – Pillar is taking full advantage of being the Mets everyday centerfielder while Nimmo is on IL. Over the last four games (when he became the fill-in starter) he has gone 8-16 (.500) with two home runs, five RBI, and four runs scored. His price is starting to creep up, but he’s still close to the minimum on DK and a better play over there, but still a fine play on FD as well. He has hit fourth and fifth in the Mets lineup the last two games, which is of course is beneficial in comparison to where he had been hitting (seventh or eighth). Gant has pretty even splits against him, so the fact that this is a righty vs. righty matchup isn’t a downgrade for Pillar as a play today.
DraftKings
Michael Pineda , SP MIN ($7,500) – Pineda has been very good this season; pitching to a 2.30 ERA, 2-1 record, a 0.92 WHIP, and an 8.9 K/9. The Twins are massive favorites with the moneyline sitting at -196, meaning Vegas really likes their chances of winning today, which also means Pineda has a pretty good chance of grabbing a win. Today he gets to face the Rangers and they have the third highest strikeout rate in baseball at 27.4-percent and they have the highest strikeout rate in baseball against right-handed pitchers with a mark of 29.8-percent. He is a pretty safe play today, but also has a lot of upside and at this price tag, I expect him to see a pretty decent ownership percentage.
Andrew Benintendi , OF KC ($3,000) – Benintendi is very hot right now, hitting .425 (17-40) with three home runs, two steals, and 10 runs scored over his last 11 games, bringing his average for the year up to .287. He has already stolen five bags and he’s running at a career high rate. McKenzie has not been good this year, pitching to a 6.27 ERA, 6.37 FIP, 1.71 WHIP, and 2.4 HR/9 through his first five outings (18.2 innings). Lefties have really done the damage against McKenzie too, slashing .300/.462/.633 against him this season, compared to righties who have posted a mark of just .139/.304/.306, which isn’t all that surprising considering they also had far more success him last season as well, hitting for nearly an .080 point higher average and a near doubled SLG percentage.
FanDuel
Teoscar Hernández , OF TOR ($2,800) – Hernandez has returned off IL in a hot way, hitting .292 (7-24) with a home run, three runs scored, and seven RBI over six games since making his return. He has major reverse splits so far this season, slashing .267/.283/.400 against righties with both of his home runs and all of his RBI, compared to .125/.222/.125 thus far against lefties. Which works out even better because Fiers also has reverse splits against him in his career with righties slashing .258/.317/.453 against him while averaging a home run once every 21.9 at-bats, compared to lefties who have slashed .247/.305/.411 and averaged a home run just once every 27.2 at-bats. Hernandez has a major price difference between DK and FD today and we need to take advantage of it on FD.
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.