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We have a nice medium-sized slate of games to work with on the main slate tonight, and there won't be a shortage of pitching options. Corbin Burnes, Pablo Lopez, Logan Webb, Sean Manaea, and Max Fried make up the upper echelon of starting pitchers on the board tonight, while there are also value pieces to consider in Marco Gonzales, Kyle Freeland, Jordan Lyles, Matt Wisler, and Tyler Anderson. One important site-specific note is that FanDuel is not including the second game of the Dodgers-Cubs doubleheader, while that game is included on the DraftKings slate. There won't be a Coors Field factor to worry about tonight, and there aren't any inflated implied totals that stand out as the Rockies-Diamondbacks and Nationals-Angels games lead the slate at an 8.5-run projection. Let's just get to it, shall we?
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for Fanduel and DraftKings on 5/7/2022, with the main slate locking at 7:05 ET. The lineup will range from some elite players to mid-priced options, and value plays.
You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter @RING_DFS and ask away!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Corbin Burnes - P, MIL vs. ATL ($10,300 DK, $10,900 FD)
You should definitely be looking to pay the premium and get to Burnes tonight. He has the highest upside on the slate, and it's not particularly close as only Lopez and Webb have any shot at reaching a higher ceiling than the Brewers' ace. Burnes has dominated in four straight outings after a shaky debut, posting at least 28.8 DK points in each start while racking up 9.75 strikeouts per game in that span. The Braves roll out a difficult lineup to navigate, but Burnes is matchup-proof and there's actually a ton of strikeouts to be had as Atlanta has struck out at the fifth-highest rate vs. RHP's so far this season. The Braves hold a low 3.6-run implied total and Burnes is my top pitching target on tonight's slate.
Logan Webb - P, SFG vs. STL ($9,60 DK, $9,200 FD)
I have listed SP2 and value pitching options below, but I don't like any of them as much as I like Webb tonight. Webb holds a weak 15.9% K% this season, but that number figures to normalize over time as he has a career average of 22.9% K% and he posted a 26.5% K% just last season. The Cardinals strike out at the second-lowest rate in the league against RHP, so we shouldn't be expecting Webb to rack up a ton of punchouts tonight. What we can expect is a solid outing with at least a handful of K's as the Cardinals hold an embarrassing .105 ISO (fourth-lowest in the league), 5.7% barrel rate (lowest), 33.4% Hard Hit rate (lowest), 87 MPH average exit velocity (lowest), and a .328 xwOBACON (lowest). Webb got hit around in his last outing, but he should revert back to form against the light-hitting Cardinals tonight.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Marco Gonzales ($6,800), Jordan Lyles ($7,000), Kyle Freeland ($7,100), Sean Manaea ($9,500), Max Fried ($9,700)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Max Fried ($8,900), Sean Manaea ($9,300), Kyle Freeland ($6,400), Tyler Anderson ($7,800), Jordan Lyles ($5,000), Matt Wisler ($4,000), Marco Gonzales ($6,800)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Christian Walker - 1B, ARI vs. COL ($3,500 DK, $2,400 FD)
Freeland has been mediocre to bad ever since his near-Cy Young season back in 2018 (Yes, that happened. He went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA over 33 starts). This year, he holds an attackable 4.85 ERA (4.34 xERA) with a 1.42 WHIP and poor metrics pretty much everywhere outside of his low walk rate. Walker, as you may have heard, is mashing baseballs this season. He has six homers to go along with a 94th-percentile barrel rate and xSLG rate, while his average exit velocity and hard-hit rates also rank in the upper tier in all of baseball. He has gone deep in two of his last five outings and he has a great shot to get back to doing damage tonight, at a very palatable price point.
Nick Madrigal - 2B, CHC vs. LAD ($2,100 DK)
Madrigal isn't available on the FanDuel slate, but he's a great value piece to get to over on DraftKings at a near-minimum salary. He projects to lead off tonight, which is always a huge plus as it means he's going to project for more at-bats than he would at the bottom of the order. He's also on a bit of a tear, hitting 4-for-9 over his last three games. Madrigal isn't going to blow anyones socks off with his power, but all we need from him is to get on base and maybe make something happen once he does.
Ketel Marte - 2B/OF, ARI vs. COL ($4,100 DK, $2,900 FD)
(See Walker, Christian for reasons to stack up against Freeland). Don't look now, but Marte is starting to heat up in a serious way after an ice-cold start to the season at the dish. He has at least 7 DK points in six consecutive outings coming into tonight, a stretch that has included three doubles, a triple, and a homer as well as four games with double-digit DK points. He's hitting the ball hard and comes into tonight's game on a roll, so I'm going to keep riding the Marte Train against the gettable Freeland in Chase Field.
Hunter Dozier - 3B/OF, KCR vs. BAL ($3,600 DK, $2,700 FD) | Better on FanDuel
I desperately want to get to hitters against the infamous Jordan Lyles, but the Royals are just such a weak-hitting team. Dozier and Perez stand out as the big boppers to target, though Dozier is the one I'm interested in as Perez is priced way up on DraftKings. Dozier has hit three homers this season and holds a high hard-hit rate (42.6%), barrel rate (14.8%), and xSLG (.492). Lyles is posting awful advanced metrics across the board and has allowed four homers across his five starts, including three taters to the Yankees on 4/26.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Carson Kelly ($2,200), Mike Zunino ($2,200) Salvador Perez ($2,900), Jared Walsh ($3,000), Trey Mancini ($2,700), Yandy Diaz ($2,900), Garrett Cooper ($2,500), Roughned Odor ($2,900), Ramon Urias ($2,100), Bobby Witt Jr. ($2,700), Mauricio Dubon ($2,000), Josh Rojas ($2,000)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Miguel Rojas ($2,800), Nick Ahmed ($3,500), Bobby Witt Jr. ($3,200), Ryan Mountcastle ($3,300), Jared Walsh ($4,200), Garrett Cooper ($3,300), Shohei Ohtani ($5,700)
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Jesse Winker - OF, SEA vs. TBR ($3,800 DK, $2,600 FD) | Better on FanDuel
You wouldn't know it by his .609 OPS and just one homer, but Winker is ranking among the league's best in terms of xwOBA (.397) and xBA (.323). Simply put, he has been getting unlucky with his batted balls in play to this point. That's starting to turn around, though, as he has at least 12 DK points in three of his last six with three doubles and a bomb during that span. Rasmussen completely shut down the Mariners back on 4/27, but I don't see him replicating that success this time around.
Mike Trout - OF, LAA vs. WAS ($6,000 DK, $4,200) | Better on FanDuel
You're generally not going to be making the wrong decision when rostering Mike Trout in daily fantasy contests. When he's facing an inexperienced hurler who has likely pitched above his skillset to this point, we should have even more interest. Josiah Gray has been really solid through five starts on the surface, but he's giving up a very high 12.9% barrel rate and has shown some vulnerabilities in his starts against the Mets and Marlins (four earned runs and a home run allowed in each). Trout and company will be happy to exploit a pitcher who's allowing a lot of barrels.
Austin Slater - OF, SFG vs. STL ($2,900 DK, $2,400 FD)
Slater is very cheap and he'll be leading off against an underachieving pitcher in Steven Matz tonight. Matz holds a 4.56 ERA (4.73 xERA) and has allowed a lot of hard hits and barrels in his five starts. Slater is unlikely to take him deep, but he holds a solid .766 OPS with two steals to this point and can be a valuable piece at this dirt-cheap salary.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Sam Hilliard ($2,000), Andrew Benintendi ($2,600), Darin Ruf ($2,400), Randy Arozarena ($2,700), Nelson Cruz ($2,600), Andrew McCutchen ($2,800), Edward Olivares ($2,400)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Edward Olivares ($2,900), Mauricio Dubon ($2,200), Andrew McCutchen ($3,300), Anthony Santander ($3,000), Trey Mancini ($3,200), Austin Hays (43,200), Juan Soto ($5,200)
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies (Kyle Freeland, LHP)
As stated in the Walker and Marte write-ups, Freeland is a pitcher we want to attack. There's a lot of value in stacking up the D-Backs as they're all very cheap, so they could pay off very handsomely in this spot and allow you to pay up at pitcher.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs (Daniel Norris, LHP)
Los Angeles Angels vs. Washington Nationals (Michael Lorenzen, RHP)
Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Zach Davies, RHP)
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