It's Thursday, May 19th, and we have another full day of baseball games. DraftKings' main slate begins at 12:35, as does Yahoo's, while FanDuel is considering the 12:35 slate their “early slate”. That's what we're providing content for and what this MLB DFS playbook is centered around. We don't have many weather issues at all, but if that changes at all head over to the MLB Weather Center. To see who's in and who's out of the lineup, take a look at our MLB Lineups page. That lineup page is also equipped with things like MLB BvP, lefty/righty splits, and how players fare on the road and at their home ballpark. Before locking your lineups in, take a look at the MLB Projections, powered by FanJections, and the MLB DFS Lineup Generator as well.
When it comes to the slate, I'm most comfortable spending up at pitcher than trusting any of the value options. Chris Bassitt and Yu Darvish are going to be in a lot of my lineups despite the fact that they're in tough spots too. My top stacks include the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Kansas City Royals.
On Yahoo! Fantasy, Zac Gallen stands out on the mound as well. I'd definitely take a shot on Framber Valdez in tournaments and Marcus Stroman is an interesting value coming off the COVID-IL. I like the Seattle Marines and Houston Astros stacks as well as teams mentioned above.
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DK | Position | Top Tier | Mid-Tier | Value-Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP | Chris Bassitt | Yu Darvish | Jordan Montgomery |
| C | J.T. Realmuto | MJ Melendez | Kyle Higashioka |
| 1B | Pete Alonso | José Abreu | Gavin Sheets |
| 2B | Whit Merrifield | Gleyber Torres | Jeff McNeil |
| 3B | Manny Machado | Yoán Moncada | Emmanuel Rivera |
| SS | Tim Anderson | Bobby Witt | Ramón Urías |
| OF | Aaron Judge | Luis Robert | AJ Pollock |
FD | Position | Top Tier | Mid-Tier | Value-Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP | Chris Bassitt | Jordan Montgomery | Tyler Mahle |
| 1B | Pete Alonso | Eric Hosmer | José Abreu |
| 2B | Whit Merrifield | Andrés Giménez | Jeff McNeil |
| 3B | Manny Machado | Yoán Moncada | Hunter Dozier |
| SS | Tim Anderson | Bobby Witt | Gleyber Torres |
| OF | Aaron Judge | Luis Robert | AJ Pollock |
Y!DFS | Position | Top Tier | Mid-Tier | Value-Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP | Zac Gallen | Jordan Montgomery | Marcus Stroman |
| C | Tyler Stephenson | MJ Melendez | Kyle Higashioka |
| 1B | Yuli Gurriel | Pete Alonso | José Abreu |
| 2B | Jose Altuve | Whit Merrifield | Jeff McNeil |
| 3B | Manny Machado | Mike Moustakas | Emmanuel Rivera |
| SS | Tim Anderson | Bobby Witt | Francisco Lindor |
| OF | Aaron Judge | Luis Robert | AJ Pollock |
Player News
Nick Gonzales had a triple and a game-winning sac fly as the Pirates edged the Phillies 5-4 on Friday.
The game-ending sac fly to left with the bases loaded in the ninth wasn’t especially close to being a walkoff grand slam in PNC Park, but it would have been a homer in 12 stadiums, according to Statcast. Gonzales has hit sixth, fourth and now second in three games since coming off the injured list. It’s quite a show of faith for a guy with a career .687 OPS who just hit .194/.211/.250 during a nine-game rehab assignment, but it’s not like he’s displacing Willie Stargell.
Bailey Falter gave up four runs over 3 2/3 innings Friday against the Phillies.
Falter had a brilliant May, posting a 0.76 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, but June failed to start on a similar note. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two in the 65-pitch outing. The Pirates offense picked him up, so he’s still without a loss since April. The club is now 7-6 in Falter’s outings, compared to 5-8 when Paul Skenes pitches. Falter will face the Marlins next time out.
David Bednar was credited with a win after striking out the side in a tie game in the ninth Friday against the Phillies.
Bednar fanned JT Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott in a 4-4 game before the Pirates walked it off. Incredibly enough, it’s the first time since May 7, 2022 that Bednar has struck out all three batters he’s faced. He’s now turned in six straight scoreless outings.
Jordan Romano took his third loss in relief after giving up a run in a tie game Friday versus the Pirates.
Not much to be done about this. Romano gave up 68- and 75-mph singles before Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was just looking to sacrifice, dropped down one of the greatest bunts you’ll ever see; it simply hugged the third-bast line before dying inches away from foul territory. Romano was able to strike out Oneil Cruz afterwards, but Nick Gonzales ended the game with a sac fly. Romano also took a loss on Wednesday, but we can’t see this hurting his standing in the Philadelphia pen.
Trea Turner went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a steal versus the Pirates on Friday.
Turner’s steal was his 17th in 61 games, leaving him just two shy of his total in 121 games last season. He’s batting .333 with five homers, 15 RBI and seven steals in his last 17 games.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 3-for-5 with a homer, four RBI and two steals as the Yankees bested the Red Sox 9-6 on Friday.
That makes nine homers and nine steals in 34 games for Chisholm, who started the scoring with a three-run homer off the top of the wall in center during the first. He would have been a solid bet to go 30-30 had he been able to start 140 games this season. Alas, he already sat out 28 due to his strained oblique, and there’s a pretty good chance he’ll miss additional time at some point.