Now that I’ve been writing this article for over a month, I’ve realized it’s almost impossible to line up the contests on Saturdays across the two major DFS platforms. FanDuel offers an all-day slate that begins at 2:05 ET and includes all 15 games.
DraftKings doesn’t have a similar slate; instead, it offers smaller slates throughout the day. To talk about everyone, there are some players from the 2:05 p.m. ET slate that includes four games, the 4:10 p.m. ET slate that includes two games and the 5:10 p.m. ET slate that includes nine games.
Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (5/10)
| PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| Cole Ragans | $10,300 | $10,200 |
| Jack Flaherty | $8,800 | $9,400 |
| Ranger Suarez | $7,000 | $8,200 |
- Cole Ragans has a tough matchup against the Red Sox. They are currently eighth in baseball against left-handed pitchers in wRC+ and only strike out 22.4% of the time against left-handed pitchers. However, we are getting a slight discount on Ragans because of the matchup. If you drop the qualification to only 20 innings, he leads baseball in strikeouts per nine innings by a wide margin at 14.38. The way he has pitched, he can get double-digit strikeouts against anyone. He is affordable on FanDuel, especially.
- Another pitcher who has racked up strikeouts this season is Jack Flaherty. Looking at that same leaderboard, he is averaging 10.89 strikeouts per nine innings, which is 12th among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. He gets an easier matchup than Ragans against the Texas Rangers, who are the fourth-worst team in wRC+ against right-handed pitchers at only 87.
- There was not much positive to point to in Ranger Suarez’s first start of the season after returning from a back injury. He surrendered seven earned runs over 3.2 innings. Suarez, though, has typically been a reliable option with a sub-4.00 FIP in each of the last three seasons. He gets a matchup with the Cleveland Guardians, who have struggled against left-handed pitchers. They have struck out 24.5% of the time against left-handed pitching and have a mere 87 wRC+ against them.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
Los Angeles Angels Projected Lineup (5/10)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| SS | Zach Neto | $4,400 | $3,300 |
| 1B | Nolan Schanuel | $3,000 | $2,600 |
| OF | Taylor Ward | $3,300 | $2,800 |
| OF | Jorge Soler | $3,600 | $3,000 |
| C | Logan O’Hoppe | $4,100 | $2,900 |
| 3B | Yoan Moncada | $3,900 | $2,600 |
| C | Travis d’Arnaud | $2,300 | $2,200 |
| 2B/3B/SS (FD) | Luis Rengifo | $2,700 | $2,400 |
| 2B/OF /SS (FD) | Kyren Paris | $3,400 | $2,600 |
- After signing late in the process, Kyle Gibson has gotten off to a very slow start with the Orioles. He has only pitched 7.2 innings but has allowed six home runs. He is also giving up hard-hit balls at a 55% rate. Those numbers inevitably will fall, but today’s matchup with the Angels could be another tough one.
- As you would expect from a 13-year veteran, Gibson has an extensive history against many Angels batters. Let’s start with two affordable options in Yoan Moncada and Travis d’Arnaud. Moncada is 8-for-22 with three doubles in his career against Gibson. While d’Arnaud is 7-for-21 against Gibson, but only has one extra-base hit.
- Jorge Soler and Luis Rengifo are other options in this matchup. Soler only has two hits in his career against Gibson, but both of them went for home runs. Rengifo also has a home run against Gibson.
New York Mets Projected Lineup (5/10)
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| SS | Francisco Lindor | $5,600 | $3,900 |
| OF | Juan Soto | $5,300 | $3,900 |
| 1B | Pete Alonso | $6,000 | $4,100 |
| OF | Brandon Nimmo | $4,200 | $3,200 |
| 3B | Mark Vientos | $3,600 | $3,000 |
| C | Francisco Alvarez | $3,700 | $2,900 |
| 2B/SS (FD) | Luisangel Acuna | $3,400 | $2.500 |
| 2B/OF | Jeff McNeil | $3,500 | $2,700 |
| OF | Tyrone Taylor | $3,100 | $2,500 |
- There isn’t any historical data from Mets batters against Cade Horton, as he is making his first career start today. Horton’s 1.24 ERA in Triple-A looks stellar, but if you look deeper, there are some concerning signs. He is walking over four batters per nine innings and only getting ground balls 31% of the time. Giving up fly balls against the Mets can lead to home runs in droves.
- Let’s start with some of the expensive options. Juan Soto has been on a recent home run binge with three in his previous two games. Pete Alonso is also in play with his 39.4% hard-hit rate.
- If you’re looking to save some money, middle infielders Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuna are cheaper options. McNeil hit his second home run of the season yesterday in only his 12th game. He has leaned into the fly ball approach and is also pulling the ball at his highest rate since 2019.
- Acuna has zero home runs as he puts too many balls on the ground. He has some interesting hard hit data, though, if he starts to elevate the ball better. He has a 37% hard-hit rate, but not a single barrel because of the launch angle. A matchup against a rookie may be the recipe for that to change.
Core Studs
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| 1B | Jonathan Aranda | $4,100 | $3,000 |
| 3B | Manny Machado | $6,000 | $3,900 |
| C | Cal Raleigh | $5,500 | $3,600 |
- Jonathan Aranda is an excellent deal, especially on FanDuel. He is currently fifth in baseball in hard-hit rate at 59%. This is also a home game where his OPS this season is at 1.110.
- There are a lot of Padres who are in play as options at Coors Field. I’ll go with Manny Machado, who is in the top 10th percentile in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate.
- Cal Raleigh is going to cost you a pretty penny, especially on DraftKings. He does get to oppose Bowden Francis, though, who leads baseball in home runs allowed.
Value Plays/Punts
| POS | PLAYER | DraftKings Salary | FanDuel Salary |
| C | Jose Trevino | $3,200 | $2,500 |
| OF | JJ Bleday | $3,500 | $2,700 |
| OF | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | $3,300 | $2,800 |
- If you want to go cheap at catcher, look at Jose Trevino. He has a .959 OPS this season against right-handed pitchers. In his last start, he went 3-for-4 with three doubles.
- JJ Bleday has been the Athletics’ best batter against left-handed pitchers. Today, he opposes left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon. Bleday has a 1.109 OPS against left-handers this season and only a .614 against right-handers.
- Lourdes Gurriel’s season-long numbers still look abysmal with a .213 batting average and a .240 on-base percentage (OBP). Over his last 17 games, though, he has three home runs, a .284 batting average and an .813 OPS.
Saturday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
Trevor Williams (SP – WSH): 5.5 Hits Allowed — Higher
Trevor Williams has struggled to be efficient in games this season, but has thrown over 80 pitches in every game. That should mean the St. Louis Cardinals will get 5-6 innings to get hits off of him. The Cardinals are tied with the Yankees for the lead in batting average.
Jack Flaherty (SP – DET): 4.5 Strikeouts — Higher
I already wrote above about Jack Flaherty’s strikeout rate and plus-matchup. He is getting whiffs at over a 30% rate, which is helping him to strike out over 29% of the batters he faces. The Rangers strike out 21.5% of the time.
Geraldo Perdomo (SS – ARI): 0.5 Total Bases — Higher
Geraldo Perdomo has cleared this number in 10 of his last 12 games. Since the calendar has flipped to May, he has surpassed that mark in seven out of nine games, including the last three. For the season, he now sports a .299 batting average. Today’s opposing starting pitcher is Dustin May, who is giving up over seven hits per nine innings.
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