MLB DFS Playbook May 14: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: May 14, 2023
Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Playbook for May 14! We have a 9-game slate on DraftKings and a 8-game slate on FanDuel our hands today. We have a 1:35 pm ET start time, so get those lineups made early! Make sure to check out our awesome MLB DFS tools as they are always worth going through before building your lineups as are the Vegas Odds. However, as I am sure you have figured out by now, the new playbook will be a one-stop shop that includes everything from easy-to-read player write-ups and suggestions to MLB Weather Reports to lineup construction tips to our best value plays for DraftKings and FanDuel. You will be given core plays around which to build your lineups, DFS stacks to consider for GPP tournaments and key statistics to help you in your DFS research. Let’s dive in!
MLB DFS Playbook May 14
MLB Weather Updates
None.
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing out:
Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers (blowing out to RF)
Games that appear to have a decent wind blowing in:
Cincinnati Reds vs. Miami Marlins (straight in towards home)
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
This is an average sized slate, so you’ll see some high-rostered players, but also plenty of low-rostered players, which makes for an interesting day. You can eat some chalk, but it can still work out just fine. Max Scherzer is the most expensive pitcher on DK’s slate, but he’s far from the best pitcher on the slate. He is not available on the FD slate, as the Mets/Nationals game is the one game difference between the two slates today.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins
Best Odds for a Win
Max Scherzer (New York Mets -206)
Logan Gilbert (Seattle Mariners -177)
Colin Rea (Milwaukee Brewers -175)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
Keller has been incredible this season and appears to be having a full breakout season as he has a 2.72 ERA with 56 strikeouts across 49.2 innings of work. Another crazy part of that equation is that he has four wins already, which makes him just one win shy of matching his career high win total of five… and it’s still May! The Orioles offense has been far worse at home this season, averaging 4.44 runs per game, compared to 5.71 runs per game on the road.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
Gilbert is the chalk play o the day, but a great play. He has a 3.79 ERA, which isn’t anything special, but that comes with a 0.99 WHIP and 50 strikeouts across 40.1 innings of work. He only has 1 win thus far, which has hurt his fantasy point per game average, but with the Mariners taking on the Detroit Tigers today, there is increased win chances and Gilbert is actually the second biggest favorite on the slate to pick-up a win. The Tigers rank 29th in runs per game this season.
Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins
Varland has looked pretty good through three starts with a 4.32 ERA and 20 strikeouts across 16.2 innings of work. He has scored at least 19 dk points in two of those three starts. I like the high strikeout upside that he possesses, that you won’t really find at such a cheap cost today outside of him. The Cubs have the 4th highest strikeout rate in baseball for the month of May as well.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
5.40 – Atlanta Braves vs. Yusei Kikuchi
5.23 – Milwaukee Brewers vs. Jordan Lyles
5.00 – New York Mets vs. Jake Irvin
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets
Alvarez should be in the lineup for this game as Michael Perez was doing the catching duties for the suspended game. Alvarez is heating up at the dish, hitting .276 with two home runs and three doubles over his last 10 games. Jake Irvin has managed to pitch pretty well thus far, but he isn’t some scary pitcher and he is due for a blowup soon.
Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B, Kansas City Royals
I don’t get Vinnie P. has remained so cheap all season. He is hitting .276 with seven home runs, 13 doubles, and 39 total R/RBI across 41 games. Colin Rea is not a good pitcher and he has a 4.94 ERA through his first six outings (and it jumps to 5.91 at home) with five home runs allowed. I like the Royals today against him and it starts with Pasquantino.
Ozzie Albies, 2B, Atlanta Braves
Albies against lefties is a known situation that we want to attack and today is no different. He has crushed lefties his whole career and this season is no different as he has posted videogame-like numbers against them thus far, slashing .440/.451/.800 against south paws (compared to .175/.232/.350 against righties). He’s also been far better on the road this season, slashing .299/.329/.571 away from Atlanta, compared to .224/.272/.421 at home. Perfect storm for a big day for Albies.
Christian Yelich, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Yelich is on fire right now, averaging 11.7 dk points per game over his last 10 games by hitting .342 with three home runs, three steals, and 17 total R/RBI in that span. He has scored at least 16 dk points in four of his past six games. Today he faces Jordan Lyles, who has a solid 1.26 WHIP, but a terrible 6.20 ERA because he has been tagged for THIRTEEN home runs already. There is a lot of bomb appeal today from the Brewers with Yelich, Rowdy Tellez, and Willy Adames.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Mitch Keller  $10,800 |  Sean Murphy $4,300 |  Vladimir Guerrero $3,800 |  Jonathan India $3,700 |  Christopher Morel $3,200 | Wander Franco $4,200 | Ronald Acuña $4,600 |
 Logan Gilbert $10,100 | Bobby Witt $3,500 | Julio RodrÃguez $3,400 | |||||
| Medium |  Louis Varland $8,400 | MJ Melendez $2,800 | Vinnie Pasquantino $3,300 | Ozzie Albies $3,300 | Austin Riley $2,900 |  Willy Adames $3,000 |  Christian Yelich $3,000 |
 Travis d'Arnaud $2,700 | Rowdy Tellez $3,100 |  Nick Senzel $2,900 | Orlando Arcia $2,900 | Daulton Varsho $3,000 | |||
| Low | Alex Kirilloff $2,500 | Ji Hwan Bae $2,800 | José Caballero $2,400 | Maikel Garcia $2,600 | Michael Harris $2,700 | ||
| Michael Massey $2,500 |  Corey Julks $2,600 |
Stacks
| Brewers | Rowdy Tellez | Christian Yelich | Willy Adames |
 DraftKings | 4200 | 4300 | 4400 |
| Fanduel | 3100 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Royals | Vinnie Pasquantino | Bobby Witt | Nick Pratto | MJ Melendez | Michael Massey |
| DraftKings | 3600 | 4900 | 2700 | 3500 | 2400 |
| Fanduel | 3300 | 3500 | 3300 | 2800 | 2500 |
| Braves | Orlando Arcia | Ozzie Albies | Austin Riley | Travis d'Arnaud | Ronald Acuña | Michael Harris |
| DraftKings | 3600 | 4500 | 5000 | 3900 | 6300 | 3500 |
| Fanduel | 2900 | 3300 | 2900 | 2700 | 4600 | 2700 |
| Mets | Brett Baty | Francisco Alvarez | Brandon Nimmo | Pete Alonso |
| DraftKings | 3200 | 2600 | 4600 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - | - |
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.