Today is one of those days when it is impossible to line up the DFS slates across DraftKings and FanDuel. We’re going to go with the early slate on DraftKings and then the all-day slate of FanDuel.
On DraftKings, we’re looking at a seven-game slate that begins at 12:10 p.m. ET. For FanDuel, it’s an 11:05 a.m. ET start and includes games throughout the day.
Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (5/3)
- Hunter Brown is considerably more than the second-most expensive starting pitcher option on both sites. It makes sense given his performance and the matchup against the Chicago White Sox. Brown has given up only one earned run over his last 25 innings. He is taking on a White Sox team ranked in the bottom 10 in the league for runs scored.
- There were two rough starts earlier in April for Jordan Hicks, but he has seemingly righted the ship in his last few starts. While his ERA sits at 6.12, he only has a 3.68 FIP. He also gets the easiest matchup in all of baseball, which is Colorado on the road. The Rockies have scored the fewest runs in all of baseball.
- This is not the best day to go with a cheaper starting pitcher option. If you choose to go that route, an affordable and appealing option is Padres righty Randy Vasquez versus the Pirates. They are another bottom-10 team in runs scored and also in OPS against right-handed pitching.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
Red Sox Projected Lineup (5/3)
Today is one of those days when it is impossible to line up the DFS slates across DraftKings and FanDuel. We’re going to go with the early slate on DraftKings and then the all-day slate of FanDuel.
On DraftKings, we’re looking at a seven-game slate that begins at 12:10 p.m. ET. For FanDuel, it’s an 11:05 a.m. ET start and includes games throughout the day.
Saturday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (5/3)
- Hunter Brown is considerably more than the second-most expensive starting pitcher option on both sites. It makes sense given his performance and the matchup against the Chicago White Sox. Brown has given up only one earned run over his last 25 innings. He is taking on a White Sox team ranked in the bottom 10 in the league for runs scored.
- There were two rough starts earlier in April for Jordan Hicks, but he has seemingly righted the ship in his last few starts. While his ERA sits at 6.12, he only has a 3.68 FIP. He also gets the easiest matchup in all of baseball, which is Colorado on the road. The Rockies have scored the fewest runs in all of baseball.
- This is not the best day to go with a cheaper starting pitcher option. If you choose to go that route, an affordable and appealing option is Padres righty Randy Vasquez versus the Pirates. They are another bottom-10 team in runs scored and also in OPS against right-handed pitching.
Suggested Lineup Stacks
Red Sox Projected Lineup (5/3)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| OF |
Jarren Duran |
$5,700 |
$3,600 |
| 3B |
Rafael Devers |
$5,200 |
$3,400 |
| 2B (DK)/3B |
Alex Bregman |
$5,500 |
$3,900 |
| SS |
Trevor Story |
$4,800 |
$3,400 |
| OF |
Wilyer Abreu |
$5,400 |
$3,300 |
| 2B/OF (FD) |
Kristian Campbell |
$4,700 |
$3,300 |
| 1B/3B (DK) 2B/SS/3B (FD) |
Romy Gonzalez |
$3,500 |
$2,600 |
| C |
Connor Wong |
$3,100 |
$2,300 |
| OF/2B/SS (FD) |
Ceddanne Rafaela |
$3,600 |
$2,800 |
- The Red Sox are a team on a roll. Today, they get to take on Bailey Ober and the Minnesota Twins.
- Ober has always struggled with too many flyballs. Now, his ground ball rate is the lowest it has ever been at only 31.1%. That means Red Sox hitters should have plenty of opportunities to do damage at Fenway Park. Baseball Savant’s park factors have Fenway Park as the second-best offensive park behind Coors Field over the last three years.
- With the way he is playing, Alex Bregman has to be considered for any lineup. He is on a roll with home runs in three of his last four games. His hard-hit rates and exit velocities have spiked in his first season in Boston.
- Other players to consider are Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Wilyer Abreu. Duran only has two home runs, but he is also hitting the ball harder than ever. Devers has had a streaky start, but he is second in all of baseball in hard-hit rate behind only Oneil Cruz. Abreu is a platoon batter, but he has been much better this season on the road than at home.
- Note that there is no Triston Casas listed above. He left yesterday’s game early after a collision at first base with what was deemed a significant knee injury.
New York Mets Projected Lineup (5/3)
| POS |
PLAYER |
DraftKings Salary |
FanDuel Salary |
| SS |
Francisco Lindor |
$5,400 |
$3,700 |
| OF |
Juan Soto |
$5,300 |
$3,700 |
| 1B |
Pete Alonso |
$5,600 |
$4,400 |
| OF |
Jesse Winker |
$3,400 |
$2,700 |
| 3B/1B (FD) |
Mark Vientos |
$3,500 |
$3,000 |
| OF |
Brandon Nimmo |
$4,200 |
$3,000 |
| C |
Francisco Alvarez |
$3,800 |
$2,800 |
| 2B/OF |
Jeff McNeil |
$3,200 |
$2,700 |
| 2B/SS (FD) |
Luisangel Acuna |
$3,600 |
$2,400 |
- The New York Mets are a top-10 scoring team this season. They also take on Erick Fedde today, which should be a good matchup for their hitters.
- Fedde’s strikeout rate has plummeted to only 12.5%. The Mets have struck out the fourth-fewest times in baseball, so you know they are going to be putting plenty of balls in play. They also have the players to do damage when they connect.
- Multiple batters on the Mets have high career batting averages against Fedde, but without showing much power. Jeff McNeil has seven hits in 16 at-bats against Fedde, but only one is an extra-base hit. Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo all also have six hits against Fedde in their careers. Lindor and Alonso each have multiple extra-base hits, but they are a pricey proposition.
Core Studs
- It took Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a while to find his power stroke. Through the first 25 games, he had only one home run. He has since hit three home runs in his last seven games. He did get two more hits yesterday against the Guardians, but none were home runs.
- Unlike Guerrero, who was off to a cold start, Daulton Varsho was off to an injured start. It was only a few days ago that he was activated. He has started three games and hit home runs in two of them. After sitting out yesterday, you have to expect he’ll be back in the middle third of the lineup today.
- Manny Machado only has two home runs this season, but he does have 10 doubles. While he is a fine option against any pitcher, he is even better against left-handed pitchers with a nearly .850 career OPS. Today’s starter is left-hander Bailey Falter.
Value Plays/Punts
- Carlos Santana is a switch-hitter who has consistently been better in his career as a left-handed batter. Today, he gets that opportunity against Kevin Gausman. Santana is 7-for-21 against Gausman in his career with five extra-base hits.
- The second Cleveland Guardian in this section is Nolan Jones. He is cheap due to surface number struggles. If you look a bit deeper, he ranks in the top 10 in the league in average exit velocity and hard-hit%.
- Ty France has quietly gotten off to a quality start to his season with three home runs and a .274 batting average. Did you know he also has an expected batting average of .303? Or that he cut his strikeout rate to only 13.3%? It’s not that he has stopped hitting for power, though, as he has the highest average exit velocity of his career.
Saturday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props
Davis Martin has a 14.9% strikeout rate. He has reached five strikeouts in only two of his six starts this season. He was also under this mark in his last four starts last season. That means he has gone under 4.5 strikeouts in eight of his last 10 starts. The Houston Astros as a team have a strikeout rate of only 21.8%.
Zach McKinstry: 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI – Higher
What if I told you Zach McKinstry has gone over 1.5 combined hits + runs + RBI in nine straight games? Hard to believe from the baseline we have come to expect from him, but it’s true. His opponent today is Kyle Hendricks and his 6.65 ERA.
This is a combination of the matchup and the talent of the pitcher. Let’s start with the matchup. The Angels are striking out at the second-highest rate of any team in Major League Baseball (26.7%). Meanwhile, Jack Flaherty generates strikeouts 28.8% of the time. He has only gone over this number in three of his six starts, but I expect him to do so again in today’s matchup.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
