Our Thursday is all chopped up today. We have four early games. There is one game starting a touch earlier than the rest of the main slate games. DraftKings did what DraftKings does and chopped that off the main slate. It's a good one too. This might be a night to go nuts on FanDuel with six games instead of five.
This article contains my picks for the five-game main slate on Thursday, May 25, 2023, for both DraftKings (lock at 7:05 PM) and the six-game main slate on FanDuel, which locks at 6:40 PM ET.
The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Logan Gilbert, SEA at OAK ($9,00 DK, $10,600 FD)
Logan Gilbert is good. Not exactly great...just...good. He has a 3.81 ERA on the season and a 3.78 ERA in his career. His career numbers against the A's are much the same. He hasn't lost to them in eight starts, but he has only beaten them once. His career ERA at the Coliseum is 3.60. Everything about Gilbert is good...but that's about it. However, good might look like great on this DraftKings slate. Pitching gets ugly very quickly, especially if Logan Webb is a long reliever for the Giants instead of starting the game due to a back issue.
JP Sears, OAK at SEA ($7,300 DK, $8,200 FD)
Hey, Acuna is expensive. Nothing jumps off the page about Sears. In fact, most DFS players would just rip this page out of the book entirely. I'm not. Sears may struggle against some teams (the Angels and Yankees come to mind), but Seattle isn't one of them. Sears is 2-0 with a 0.41 ERA in three career starts and one relief appearance against the Mariners. You don't have to be scared of anyone in this lineup.
Sears hasn't even allowed an extra-base hit to this incarnation of the Mariners! That will likely change at some point, but let's face it...Sears just has their number.
Others to consider: Lucas Giolito ($10,000 FD)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Anthony Rizzo - 1B, BAL at NYY ($4,900 DK, $3,300 FD)
We all knew that Rizzo would get hot eventually, right? It's not like Rizzo has been bad this year, just maybe a little underwhelming in the power department. Five of Rizzo's 11 homers in 2023 have come in the last fortnight. I really love the price on FanDuel, especially since Rizzo is the only current Yankee to homer off of Kyle Gibson.
Owen Miller - 2B, MIL vs. SF($2,700 DK, $2,800 FD)
It's DraftKings that is off the mark on this one. Miller has at least one hit in all but one game this month and three of his four homers on the season have come in the last five games. The Brewers, in need of this kind of power, even went as far as to move Miller into the cleanup slot. I'll bite. Miller should at least get us a few points tonight at a reasonable price.
Austin Riley - 3B, ATL vs. PHI ($4,800 DK, $2,900 FD)
I probably won't go with a full stack against Aaron Nola, but I certainly won't use him either. He has not pitched well against the Braves for the last three years or so. Riley is one of the reasons why. Riley is 18-for-45 (.400) with five doubles and three homers against Nola in his career. Nola struck out ten Cubs last weekend, but he still gave up a homer for the sixth consecutive game. Someone is going deep tonight for the Braves.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Ronald Acuna Jr. - OF, ATL vs. PHI ($6,500 DK, $4,700 FD)
Acuna is one of those guys that has destroyed Aaron Nola. It's not a fluke. We are dealing with a sample size of 46 plate appearances. Acuna has 14 hits and seven walks in that time. Eight of those 14 hits are for extra bases (four doubles and four homers). He pounds Nola and always has. He is worth the pay-up here.
Seiya Suzuki - OF, CHC vs. NYM ($3,900 DK, $3,100 FD)
Suzuki started the season late and struggled with power in April. He hit his fifth homer in the last ten games on Tuesday and is hitting .343 with eight RBI and seven walks in that span. No one is scared of Carlos Carrasco right now. I'll go with Suzuki to keep the hot streak alive.
Michael Conforto - OF, SF at MIL ($3,100 DK, $3,100 FD)
Conforto homered twice and drove in five in the three-game set that just wrapped up in Minneapolis. The Brewers, spade in hand, were seen visiting the starting pitcher graveyard and went and dug up the corpse of Julio Teheran and are allegedly throwing him back on a mound tonight. Teheran hasn't seen major league action since 2021. The Giants aren't great, but I definitely want some exposure and Conforto is the hottest thing in a Giants uniform right now.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
San Francisco Giants vs. Julio Teheran
Teheran has only started one game in 2021 and nine in 2020 since Atlanta cut ties with him. Apparently, a 5.63 ERA at El Paso was enough to get him a call to Milwaukee. The Giants aren't a great team, but they love to platoon several players. They can and will load this lineup with lefties. I see a tough game for Teheran here.
I highlighted Conforto above, but we can add some cheaper pieces to this stack as well. Brandon Crawford is showing signs of life at the plate. Blake Sabol and Lamonte Wade continue to hit and they are both very affordable. Even the struggling Mike Yastrzemski is worth a look at his price. Keep this to the lefties tonight.
Also consider: New York Mets vs. Kyle Hendricks
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