DFS MLB Lineups for May 25, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this daily fantasy baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster.
We have just 5 games on the main DFS MLB slate tonight and I’ll be looking to rebound from a pretty brutal night after having a great month of May to date. Chris Sale disappointed, but I was able to only have him in half my lineups. I was on Severino and Morton and all looked well from that standpoint. But man, the hitters were brutal. I had Yankees, Astros, Nationals, and Mariners and that was a wrap! That’s the great thing about MLB DFS, we’re back on the saddle tonight. We’ve got mega chalk on the hill, so I’ll try very hard to have minimal exposure, but if I can’t find any way for it to make sense, I’ll just look to differentiate with my bats. Good luck tonight. – Matt
A quick reminder while playing DFS MLB, don’t forget baseball is a game of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even Clayton Kershaw can get lit up, and Mike Trout can still go 0 for 4. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.
Another thing to remember outside of making sure your player is in the lineup, is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!
5/25/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
DraftKings Moonshot: $3 buy-in, $30k guaranteed (Arcade Mode)
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $100k guaranteed (20 Entry Max)
FanDuel Squeeze: $3 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $366 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Rally: $15 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for May 25, 2017
Jacob deGrom vs. SD ($12.1k DraftKings, $11k FanDuel)
While deGrom is coming off an absolutely dominant start with 9 K’s over 7 scoreless inning against the Angels, he does come with a little bit of risk as he’s pitching with a blister tonight. He’ll still be the chalkiest of chalk, but it’s something to take into consideration. Yet you can’t beat the matchup at spacious Citi Field against a Padres lineup that can’t produce whether home or away with the lowest collective batting average (.219) and third-highest K-Rate (24%) in the Majors this year. Current Pads are just 4-for-32 (.125) in their careers against deGrom, who is stepping in nicely as the ace of a hobbled Mets staff.
Robbie Ray @ MIL ($8.6k DraftKings, $9.2k FanDuel)
The Brewers have a reputation for being tough against lefties, but they face a very good southpaw tonight in Ray, who is sporting a K/9 ratio over 11 for the second consecutive season. He’s posting a .207 BAA while holding righties to a weak 15.5% Line Drive Rate so far this year and will have the advantage of deception while facing most of the Brewers bats for the first time. Milwaukee is dangerous against the platoon, but also sports the third-highest K-Rate (24.9%) when facing LHP this year and Ray is capable of sitting down several batters on strikes tonight.
Dinelson Lamet @ NYM ($6k DraftKings, $6k FanDuel)
Unfortunately for the Mets, they won’t be able to tee off on washed up veteran Jered Weaver. Instead they get a rookie in Dimelson Lamet, who will be making is MLB debut but is a solid prospect with the potential to rack up K’s. Lamet struggled in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League last season, but figured that keeping the ball out of play was the best way to avoid those struggles, as he posted an 11.53 K/9 ratio over 8 starts for El Paso this season. The Mets are posting an above average 20.7% K-Rate over the last 14 days and that primarily right-handed lineup could have trouble against a RHP that posted a 1.96 ERA with a .195 BAA against RHB at the AAA level this season.
Other pitchers to consider: Justin Verlander, Kenta Maeda, Michael Wacha
Best DFS MLB Hitters for May 25, 2017
Paul Goldschmidt @ MIL ($5.5k DraftKings, $4.8k FanDuel)
He’s simply one of the best hitters in baseball and he’s taken advantage of every plus matchup recently by going 2-for-4 in 3 consecutive appearances. Goldy is sporting a .373/.468/.794 slash line while reaching base in each of his last 11 appearances and he faces a struggling young RHP tonight in Zach Davies, who is posting a 5.44 ERA and 5.10 FIP with a 15.1% HR/FB ratio this season. Davies has allowed righties to go 36-for-106 (.371) this year and Goldschmidt has been elite with a .476 wOBA against RHP this season, so he justifies being the top priced option on both DFS sites.
J.D. Martinez @ HOU ($4.6k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
If you thought last night’s matchup looked good for JDM, your mouth will water at the opportunity to play him this evening. He’s somehow a little bit cheaper than he was against a capable pitcher in Charlie Morton and now he’s facing RHP Mike Fiers, who is sporting the highest HR/FB ratio (34%) in the Majors with a 7.72 FIP and 3.43 BB/9 ratio on the season. Martinez is 4-for-9 with a double and HR in his career against Fiers and he’s been on a tear since coming off the DL a couple weeks ago.
Sandy Leon vs. TEX ($3.4k DraftKings, $2.6k FanDuel)
He continues to produce with a .343/.395/.657 slash line over his last 10 appearances as Leon begins to regain the form that made him one of the biggest surprises of the 2016 season. He’ll definitely be worth a look tonight if the rain holds out enough in Boston for baseball to be played, as the Sawks are worth stacking against struggling young RHP Nick Martinez. The Rangers SP managed to limit the Tigers to an unearned run over 5 IP in his last outing, but gave up 16 ER and 7 HR over his previous 4 starts, so he would in for a world of hurt if he starts at hitter-friendly Fenway.
Other hitters to consider: Michael Conforto, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Napoli, Justin Upton, Jonathan Lucroy, Logan Forsythe, Stephen Piscotty
5/25/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Diamondbacks vs Zach Davies
It’s easy for the D’Backs offense to stay hot when they continue to face vulnerable young pitchers and they draw another plus matchup tonight at hitter-friendly Miller Life Park. Davies has posted a rough 6.93 ERA with a .343 BAA and 39.3% Hard Contact Rate over 5 home starts this season and as we mentioned, he’s been more vulnerable against righties, so Chris Owings and Chris Hermann will be worth a look with catcher eligibility. Brandon Drury could move up in the order if Yasmany Tomas (hip) isn’t able to go and while they’re both lefties, Jake Lamb and David Peralta are red hot and carry plenty of upside into this matchup.
Red Sox vs Nick Martinez
This is a pretty big IF, but if the weather is good enough for the Red Sox and Rangers to play tonight, there should be plenty of runs scored with struggling LHP Drew Pomeranz facing off against sophomore RHP Nick Martinez. The Rangers righty has been homer-prone throughout his early career and more vulnerable in RvR matchups, as righties are hitting 24-for-86 (.286) with 4 homers to post a .331 wOBA against him this year. That makes Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez very appealing options with the added boost of a heightened Run Factor at Fenway, while surging lefties Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. aren’t bad choices either.
Other Stacks to consider:
Tigers vs Mike Fiers
Rangers vs. Drew Pomeranz
