We made it to Friday and have another great day of baseball to kick off our weekend! It has been a great week with lots of action, and we will look to keep things going today and start our weekend off right with some more winning MLB DFS lineups!

 

 

 

You will still get some daytime baseball action with Paul Skenes getting the second start of his career against the Chicago Cubs at 2:20 before we turn our attention to tonight’s slate. 

You will have plenty of time to enjoy the early games and still get your lineups perfect before this evening’s 7-game main slate starting at 7:10 PM ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s not waste any more time and get right into today’s playbook and some of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, May 17

MLB Weather Today, 5/17

There is some light rain throughout the day, but it doesn't appear to be anything to worry about.

Some thunderstorms this evening could cause a delay, but I would be surprised if a postponement happens. 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

With 13 games, we have no shortage of options today. There are some great options on both the high end as well as some values across the slate.

There are lots of intriguing pitchers today, with more lower-end pitchers than Aces, giving us plenty of lineups to target for offense, but still some great pitching options to choose from as well. Outside of my favorites I also am a fan of Cole Ragans, Kyle Harrison, John Means, and Andrew Heaney (if you need a cheap dart throw with some upside) today. 

There are many great offensive options today, with some of my favorites including the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Boston Red Sox.

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

 

 

 

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers 

I think there is an argument about who is the most talented pitcher on this slate between Freddy Peralta and Tarik Skubal. Skubal is the cheaper option, and getting a matchup I like better gives him the edge as my favorite pitcher for the day. 

We just saw Skubal strike out 12 Yankees and then another 7 against the Astros. He has gone at least 6 innings in all but one of his starts this season and has only given up more than 2 earned runs once. I don’t see him struggling to shut down the Diamondbacks today while piling up plenty of strikeouts. 

Jesus Luzardo, Miami Marlins

This is a huge discount for Jesus Luzardo as a pitcher. We have seen them come in as high as $9,600 on DraftKings, and today, you can get him for $7,400. He looked great in his first start back from the IL, going 5.2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, and striking out 8 against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

While the Mets are a team that doesn’t strikeout much against lefties, Luzardo has the strikeout stuff to still pile up quite a few against them, and I think with him ramping up, he should have a chance to easily get past that 6-inning mark today and at this price, the upside is just way too high for Luzardo to ignore. 

Christian Scott, New York Mets 

Christian Scott is a highly touted prospect with legit skills as Fangraphs’s 45th ranked prospect and Mets number three prospect. He has had no real struggles in his first two starts in the majors, coming off a quality start against the Atlanta Braves, where he went 6 innings, giving up 3 earned runs and striking out 8. 

He has 6 and 8 strikeouts in each of his first two outings and now gets his easiest matchup yet with the Miami Marlins. I expect the strong start to continue today and will take him while his price remains low because it won’t stay there for long if he continues to pitch this well. 

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

*Note: Will Be Updated As Official Starting Lineups Are Released

Rafael Devers, 3B Boston Red Sox

Rafael Devers is red-hot right now. He has homered in back-to-back games and also has a 1.029 OPS over his last 20 games. 

The Boston Red Sox will face Kyle Gibson today. Gibson has been pitching decently, but I do not trust him at all. He pitches to a lot of contact, and I expect Boston to hit him around today, especially their right-handed bats. Even if I’m not stacking the others, I am trying to get Devers in my lineup. 

Anthony Volpe, SS New York Yankees

Anthony Volpe is really cementing himself as the Yankees leadoff guy for the foreseeable future. He has been thriving in that leadoff spot and crushing the ball as of late. He is currently on a 9-game hitting streak over which he has 3 homers and 2 steals. 

The Yankees have a great matchup today, facing Mike Clevinger in his first start of the season. I don’t see why Volpe wouldn’t keep his hitting streak going today and provide a ton of value at the shortstop position. 

Christian Yelich, OF Milwaukee Brewers

Baseball is just more entertaining when Christian Yelich is hitting well, in my opinion. Christian Yelich has been locked in since coming back from the IL. He went 0-5 in his first game back, but since then, in his last 6 games, he has 10 hits.

Hunter Brown has righted the ship a little bit, making it through 5 innings in his last start, only giving up 1 run and striking out 7, but I still don’t trust him today and think Yelich, as well as some of the other Milwaukee bats, could give him another rough outing today. 

Josh Lowe, OF Tampa Bay Rays

Get in on Josh Lowe while he is this cheap because it isn’t going to last for long. He has hit the ground running after a delayed start to his season. In his first 8 games he has gotten a hit in every game so far, already has hit 2 homers, and has a .957 OPS. 

Chris Bassitt cannot get left-handers out right now and has never been very good at it. This season, lefties have a .995 OPS against him, and 5 of the 6 homers he has given up have been against lefties. Josh Lowe should continue his fast start today, and I won’t be surprised if we get back-to-back homer days from him here. 

 

 

 

Player Pool

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