DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/27/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Thursday slates always tend to be lighter, and that's certainly the case here. We have six games making up this nightcap, with many West Coast teams taking the field. What I do love about this slate is all the value out there. It's clear that these DFS sites aren't reacting to hot stretches as quickly as they do in the NBA, leaving some of the pricing a bit soft. With that in mind, let's kick things off with a pitcher who has a ridiculous DraftKings price. Pitchers Stephen Strasburg FD - P 10000 DK - SP 8500 Opponent - CIN (Sonny Gray) Park - WSH FD - 38.15 DK - 20.67 As you probably know, DraftKings pricing is usually way stricter than FanDuel. That makes this Strasburg price all the more confusing, sitting $1,500 cheaper over there. We'd argue that he should be $10K on both sites because Stras is always a beast when he's healthy. We're talking about a guy with a 3.20 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for his career while generating a ridiculous 28 percent K rate. He showed some of that form in his first start off the IL, allowing one hit across 5.1 scoreless innings. It's not like Cincinnati is an easy matchup, but they're missing two of their potent lefties in Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas. That only adds to Strasburg's intrigue, with the Washington starter entering this matchup as a -150 favorite. Chris Flexen FD - P 5800 DK - SP 6200 Opponent - TEX (Kolby Allard) Park - SEA FD - 31.56 DK - 17.03 I watched this guy in the KBO last year (yes, I watched KBO during COVID times!), and I was really impressed with some of his stuff. That noble year with the Doosan Bears earned him a contract with the Mariners and then got him into this rotation. He actually had one of the worst starts of the year when he surrendered eight runs to the Padres in his last start but was pretty good before that. In fact, Flex had at least 19 FanDuel points in six of his first seven starts, pitching to a 3.46 ERA in that span. He actually has a 2.18 ERA at home this year, too, which is really no surprise when you see how spacious Safeco Field can be. The best part about using him here is the matchup, though, with Texas ranked 23rd in K...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 5/26/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Tyler Glasnow FD - P 10700 DK - SP 10500 Opponent - KC (Mike Minor) Park - TB FD - 42.21 DK - 23.38 At the top tonight, we are faced with the decision between two elite pitchers and while I will have exposure to both, the system has Glasgow slightly ahead and I agree for multiple reasons. First of all, the Rays are much bigger favorites(-193 to -136) facing a Royals team that is below average and ranks outside the Top 20 in almost all offensive stats both on the season and more recently. The only thing I have against Bauer here is that the Astros strikeout(18%) less than any team in baseball which both lowers his floor and ceiling. Glasnow is coming off a dud vs. the Blue Jays who have had his number but overall he has been very good with a 2.90 ERA/2.87 xFIP to go along with an elite 36% K rate. All in all, he is my top pitcher on this slate. Chris Paddack FD - P 7500 DK - SP 7700 Opponent - MIL (Adrian Houser) Park - MIL FD - 29.72 DK - 15.93 Night in and night out we keep getting pitchers on DraftKings that seem to be underpriced making it very easy to pay up for the elite arms. Tonight, DK is serving up Chris Paddack and to be fair he was inconsistent early on but is starting to heat up making this a nice buy-low opportunity. His last start was easily his best of the season as he went six innings(longest outing) holding the Mariners to just three hits and one earned run while striking out six. He now gets a plus matchup against a below-average Brewers offense that has been much worse against righties with a .285 wOBA, 78 wRC+, and 26% K rate. Paddack is my top SP2 tonight on DraftKings and a nice GPP pivot on FanDuel to get all the bats. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B/2B 5500 Opponent - HOU (Luis Garcia) Park - HOU FD - 12.59 DK - 9.27 Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5600 Opponent - BOS (Nick Pivetta) Park - BOS FD - 13.69 DK - 10.24 First base is most definitely a pay-up spot for me tonight and I likely won't expand outside of these two superstars. Let's start with...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 5/25/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Max Scherzer FD - P 11000 DK - SP 10700 Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - WSH FD - 41.89 DK - 23.36 It is a terrific slate for pitching but I am iffy on paying up for deGrom who returns from the IL so instead I will turn to Mad Max as my top option. He has been elite in the month of May giving up just four total earned runs(1.37 ERA/2.45 xFIP) with an eye-popping 39% K rate. He gets a great shot to keep the good times rolling as a -165 home favorite against the struggling Reds who have dropped six of their last seven scoring just 3.6 runs per game and striking out 25% of the time. Fire up Scherzer in all formats. Clayton Kershaw FD - P 10000 DK - SP 8000 Opponent - HOU (Zack Greinke) Park - HOU FD - 34.18 DK - 18.42 Look. I get the Astros are a Top 3 team against left-handed pitching and in no way is Kershaw a safe play on FanDuel but this DraftKings price is straight up laughable. There have been a few hiccups along the way but overall, he is having a good start to the season with a 3.18 ERA/3.15 xFIP to go along with a 29% K rate. At a minimum, we are looking for a 2x return in cash games(16 pts) on DraftKings and he has provided 20+ DK points in eight of his 10 starts. I hate the matchup but cannot ignore the price making Kershaw easily my top SP2 tonight. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 4600 Opponent - SEA (Logan Gilbert) Park - OAK FD - 11.18 DK - 8.28 As of writing this, Oakland is outside the Top 5 in implied runs but easily one of my favorite teams to target in all formats. It starts with the matchup against struggling rookie Logan Gilbert who has given up nine hits and seven earned runs through his first two starts(6.2 IP). For Olson, he checks off almost all boxes starting with recent play as he comes in red-hot with hits in seven of his last eight games including two doubles and four home runs. To be honest, he has played great all season with a .388 wOBA/156 wRC+, and best of all he comes at a buy-low price as the 11th and...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/21/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Trevor Bauer FD - P 11800 DK - SP 11900 Opponent - SF (Alex Wood) Park - SF FD - 44.15 DK - 24.29 First of all, I get the Giants put up a silly 19 runs yesterday but Bauer easily has the best matchup of the top tier starting pitchers tonight. On the season, the Giants actually went into that game sitting at exactly the league average in terms of wRC+(100) but what stands out the most is the 26% K rate on the season(6th most). For Bauer, he has been terrific in his first season with the Dodgers holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in eight straight and enters the night with a 2.20 ERA/3.08 xFIP and an elite 35% K rate. All things considered, Bauer is my to pitcher in all formats. Mike Minor FD - P 7600 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - DET (Jose Urena) Park - KC FD - 30.75 DK - 16.05 To fit Bauer on DraftKings at nearly $12K, we are going to need to find some value and Minor stands out for a couple of reasons. The Royals open as pretty big -150 favorites giving Minor some nice win equity and he has qualified for a win(5+ innings) in five of his last six starts. He has not been consistent at all but is coming off a great start limiting the White Sox to two hits and now gets an elite matchup vs. the Tigers who rank dead last vs. lefties in wOBA(.251), wRC+(58), and K rate(34%). He is my top value SP2 on DraftKings tonight. Also Consider: Stephen Strasburg(WAS) who is coming off the IL but did throw 75 pitches in his rehab start so there is a chance he goes 90+ pitches and is cheap on DraftKings making for big PTS/$ upside Catcher/First Base C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 3800 Opponent - ARI (Riley Smith) Park - COL FD - 13.27 DK - 10 I am not prioritizing the Rockies at home in Coors as I have in previous seasons with their well-documented struggles but C.J. Cron is one name that jumps off the page. While almost the entire team is overpriced due to the "Coors factor", C.J. Cron has fallen under the radar since his return from the IL. in two games back, he has gone 3 for 7 with a double while...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/20/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! This might end up being the smallest slate I write about all season. We have a four-game day slate and a four-game night ledger on this traveling Thursday card, and we're going to focus on the night slate beginning at 7ET. That means we have only eight teams in action and one of the smallest player pools you'll see. That's on full display when you see the lackluster pitching options, but that also means there are some fun bats to stack as well. With that in mind, let's kick things off with Vince Velasquez. Pitchers Vince Velasquez FD - P 7900 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - MIA (Sandy Alcantara) Park - PHI FD - 32.89 DK - 17.59 The fact that Velasquez is our top pitcher says a lot about this slate, but I've always been partial to this guy. He had that one 16-K game against the Padres a few years back, and I've been going back to the well ever since. It hasn't always worked, but it has lately. VV has a 2.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 rate over his last five starts. He's done that despite a few tough matchups, and this is certainly far from one of those. The Marlins currently rank 27th in K rate and dead-last in xwOBA. That's no surprise when you see that they're missing Starling Marte, making Velasquez one of the best plays on the board. Drew Smyly FD - P 7300 DK - SP 8400 Opponent - PIT (Wil Crowe) Park - ATL FD - 38.07 DK - 20.57 Smyly has been giving me frowns for a while now, but this dude has shown some serious potential in the past and at times this season. In his first four seasons, Smyly pitched to a 3.24 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, which is right on par with what he did in the shortened season last year. A couple of injury-riddled years killed his career numbers, and inconsistencies are the only thing holding him back this year. He's actually got at least 37 FanDuel points in three of his six starts which is an absurd number from a guy this cheap. The best part of this play is the matchup, though, with Pittsburgh ranked 24th in OBP, 29th in wOBA, and dead-last in wOBACON. Catcher/First Base Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 5200 Opponent - PIT (Wil Crowe) Park - ATL...