MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Sunday, May 26

Sit back, relax, and watch baseball for nearly 12 hours straight today!

There are two games before 1:35 pm ET. However, those games will not be included in the early classic slates. The Blue Jays-Tigers game was already scheduled for 11:35. However, the Dodgers-Reds game had a schedule change and will no longer be a part of the slate. 

Ensure you don't add Dodgers-Reds players in your lineups for the classic slates. 

You'll also want to read about today's weather. There are funky spots everywhere, which you might want to avoid. 

With that said, check out today's MLB playbook below before you get your lineups in on DraftKings and FanDuel as we present our MLB DFS picks for today, May 26th!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, May 26

MLB Weather Today, 5/26

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Boston Red Sox

• Showers will occur mid-afternoon in Boston. Storms will pop up towards the end of the game. However, if the storms come while the game is still being played, it could be a long time before the rain stops.  

Texas Rangers vs. Minnesota Twins

• Expect some light rain in Minnesota in the afternoon. The rain could miss the ballpark entirely, but there's a chance for a late start for this game. 

Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago White Sox

• A late start looks very likely in Chicago. There will be a storm right around game time. However, it's still likely that they'll play after the storm. If there's no delay, everything should still be in line. 

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

I'd probably avoid the Red Sox-Brewers game. While it will likely start on time, it might not have an ending. 

Meanwhile, all the other games will likely start and finish on the slate. 

That said, I really wouldn't mind taking a shot with Michael Wacha as a starter. This way, you can add elite batters to your lineup in a slate where there are already so many great pitchers and not many amazing hitting spots. 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Chris Sale (7.5, -135) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
• Pablo Lopez (6.5, +110) vs. Texas Rangerrs
• Garrett Crochet (6.5, -105) vs. Baltimore Orioles
• Taj Bradley (5.5, -130) vs. Kansas City Royals

Best Odds For A Win

• Chris Sale (-135) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
• Logan Webb (+125) vs. New York Mets
• Pablo Lopez (+145) vs. Texas Rangers
• Tanner Houck (+145) vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

Sale is easily the best pitcher on this early slate. Sale has struck out 31.7% of batters this season. He's also walked just 3.6% and has given up a .082 ISO and wOBA of .234. 

Sale is getting high ground balls and limiting fly balls and line drives throughout the season.

While he's been lights out, the Pirates' projected lineup isn't against lefties. The Pirates have instead hit a .169 ISO and wOBA of .319 against lefties this year. More importantly, the projected lineup has struck out 26.5% of the time. 

There are six batters in the lineup that have struck out at least 23.2% of the time against lefties. Four of the six have also struck out 28.6% of the time or more. 

Don't be surprised if Sale throws a quality start with a high amount of strikeouts against the Pirates.

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners

Bryan Woo is 2-0 with a .57 ERA after facing 57 batters to begin the season. 

Woo has looked incredible since getting back on the Major League mound. He's held opponents to a .019 ISO and wOBA of .129. In addition, he's recorded 27.3% strikeouts and walked just 3.6% of batters. 

It's a small sample size for Woo. Ultimately, he struggled more against lefties last year. However, the Nationals' lefties in today's lineup have only hit a .305 wOBA with 23.4% of strikeouts against righties this season. 

As a projected lineup, the Nationals have hit just a .299 wOBA with more than 23% of strikeouts this season. Therefore, Woo is in line for a potential quality start and a good chunk of strikeouts. 

Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals

Michael Wacha is nothing special as a starting pitcher. 

However, his matchup is really good. 

He's facing a projected Rays lineup that has only hit an ISO of .107 and a wOBA of .266 against righties this year. The Rays have also struck out 25.8% of the time against righties while walking just 7.8% of the time. 

Meanwhile, Wacha has held righties to a .084 ISO and wOBA of .285. Ultimately, he's struggled more against lefties. However, in Tampa Bay's lineup, only one projected lefty exists. 

He might not rack up strikeouts, but a quality start looks to be in order. For his price, you have to consider Wacha. 
 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• Seattle Mariners (4.5, -135) vs. Washington Nationals
• Boston Red Sox (4.5, -130) vs. Milwaukee Brewers
• Atlanta Braves  (4.5, -130) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
• Milwaukee Brewers (4.5, +105) vs. Boston Red Sox

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Dylan Moore, SS, Mitch Garver, C, Cal Raleigh C, Seattle Mariners

I know you can only play one catcher. But I'll highlight both on the Mariners today. 

Ultimately, the Mariners are facing Patrick Corbin of the Nationals. He's a lefty who has allowed a .227 ISO and wOBA of .399 to his first 192 righties. In addition, Corbin has only struck out 12.5% of righties and has allowed nearly 28% of line drives to righties. 

Dylan Moore is a fun look at 2B or SS. He's hit a .325 ISO and wOBA of .416 against lefties this season. Furthermore, he's struck out only 16.3% of the time and has walked 14.3% of the time against lefties. 

Meanwhile, Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh will hit behind Moore. Both are catchers, but Garver will likely DH in today's game. 

That said, Garver has hit a .256 ISO and wOBA of .357 against lefties, and Raleigh has nailed a .375 ISO and wOBA of .335. Both have insane power potential against Corbin. Ultimately, Garver gets on base more, but Raleigh has more potential to hit a home run. 

Adam Duvall, OF, Atlanta Braves

Adam Duvall might bat towards the end of Atlanta's lineup. But that doesn't concern me. 

Duvall will get the start with lefty Martin Perez on the mound. Duvall, a righty, has hit a .227 ISO and wOBA of .393 against his first 55 lefties this season. He's also walked more than he's struck out, with only 14.5% of strikeouts and 16.4% of walks. 

Meanwhile, Perez has allowed a .169 ISO and wOBA of .363 to his first 189 righties. The veteran lefty has allowed 31.4% of line drives to righties this season. 

Other righties you'll want to consider in today's lineup for the Braves are Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, and Travis d'Arnaud. 

Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B, Kansas City Royals

ALERT: MASSEY IS OUT OF THE LINEUP.

While the Royals face Taj Bradley, the right-hander still struggles against left-handed hitters this season.

Yes, Bradley has struck out 33% of his first 39 lefties. He's also walked none of those 39 batters. 

However, Bradley has also allowed a .263 ISO and wOBA of .324 with 32% of line drives to lefties this season. 

Still, while Bradley's strikeout numbers are scary, Vinnie Pasquantino has only struck out 12.6% of the time against righties this year. 

Pasquantino has also hit a .188 ISO and wOBA of .317. Beyond that, he's walked 12.6% of the time against righties.

Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins

The Texas Rangers will likely roll with a bullpen game. We might see Jack Leiter or Gerson Garabito. We might even get some action from Yerry Rodriguez and Jonathan Hernandez. 

Either way, today doesn't look promising for the Rangers' pitching staff. 

Max Kepler will likely lead the charge. He's a lefty who has hit a .235 ISO and wOBA of .388 against righties. Essentially, all of the names I listed above are right-handed pitchers, so I'm confident that no matter who is on the mound for Texas, Kepler will have success. 

Ultimately, he's struck out only 16.3% of the time and has walked over 10% of the time against righties. He's also minimized ground balls to 28.6% against righties and has hit 35.7% of fly balls. 

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Chris Sale $11,000	Ryan Jeffers $3,400	Pete Alonso $3,600	Marcus Semien $3,600	Matt Chapman $3,600	Bobby Witt $4,100	Marcell Ozuna $4,200
			Matt Olson $3,400	Ozzie Albies $3,400	Isaac Paredes $3,400	Corey Seager $3,800	Ronald Acuña $4,000
							Adolis García $3,600
Medium	Bryan Woo $8,700	Salvador Perez $3,300	Vinnie Pasquantino $3,000	Michael Massey $3,000	Jordan Westburg $3,300	Carlos Correa $3,300	Max Kepler $3,300
		Cal Raleigh $3,200	Ryan Mountcastle $3,000			Dylan Moore $3,300	Jorge Soler $3,300
		Adley Rutschman $3,200					Brandon Nimmo $3,200
		Travis d'Arnaud $3,000					Anthony Santander $3,100
Low	Michael Wacha $8,100	Mitch Garver $2,700	Alex Kirilloff $2,700	Jorge Mateo $2,800	$0	Paul DeJong $2,800	Adam Duvall $2,800
				Edouard Julien $2,800		J.P. Crawford $2,700	Heliot Ramos $2,800
						Marco Luciano $2,300	Evan Carter $2,700
							Luis Matos $2,700
							Corey Julks $2,600
							Leody Taveras $2,600

Stacks

Royals	Vinnie Pasquantino	Bobby Witt	Salvador Perez	Michael Massey
DraftKings	4800	6400	5600	4200
Fanduel	3000	4100	3300	3000

Braves	Ozzie Albies	Adam Duvall	Marcell Ozuna	Travis d'Arnaud	Matt Olson	Ronald Acuña
DraftKings	5400	3300	5800	4000	5300	6100
Fanduel	3400	2800	4200	3000	3400	4000

Twins	Ryan Jeffers	Alex Kirilloff	Carlos Correa	Max Kepler	Edouard Julien
DraftKings	4900	3600	4200	4800	4500
Fanduel	3400	2700	3300	3300	2800