This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We're headed into Memorial Day Weekend (or maybe you are already there on a Friday), and some DFS baseball is a great way to kick things off. And hey, if you get a win, the hot dogs and fireworks are covered. There are 13 MLB games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations!
Pitching
Sean Manaea, SD vs. PIT ($10,000): Manaea has a 3.70 FIP through his first eight starts with the Padres. His home ERA is bad, but Petco Park tends to be kind to pitchers. The Pirates are kind to opposing hurlers as well. They rank 29th in runs scored after ranking last in 2021.
Shane Bieber, CLE at DET ($9,000): Bieber has basically just had one bad start this year. It wasn't his last one, when he only allowed two runs in seven innings and fanned 10 against these same Tigers. I'm expecting more of the same against the worst offense in baseball.
Bailey Ober, MIN vs. KC ($8,000): After a rough first start, Ober has an 1.37 ERA over his last four outings. The Royals, meanwhile, are in the bottom seven in runs scored.
Top Targets
Pete Alonso ($5,400) has elite power, with his career .538 slugging percentage. This year he has 11 homers, but he's also hit .275. The Phillies called up lefty Bailey Falter to start this game, and he has a career 5.12 ERA. Falter may not be in the game long, but that just means the Phillies bullpen has to go into action.
You need a catcher on DraftKings, and Keibert Ruiz ($4,500) has shown an ability to hit so far in his career. He has a .278 average since hitting the majors, and a .282 average this season. Austin Gomber had a 4.60 FIP in his first season as a Rockie, and he has a 4.18 FIP this year.
Bargain Bats
Admittedly, Austin Riley ($4,400) isn't hitting like last year's breakout campaign when he slashed .303/.367/.531 with 33 home runs, but he has slugged .459 and hit nine home runs and stolen two bases. He also has a .961 OPS against lefties. Trevor Rogers is a lefty and has a 4.71 FIP through eight starts.
The Athletics do have a truly brutal lineup, but Seth Brown ($3,000) at least has five homers and four stolen bases. Last season, he managed to hit 20 home runs in 111 games. He absolutely can't hit lefties, but righty Jon Gray will be on the mound to start Friday, and he has a 5.14 ERA.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Chris Flexen ($5,300): Jose Altuve ($5,200), Yordan Alvarez ($5,000), Kyle Tucker ($4,700)
In his first season as a full-time starter, Flexen managed a 3.88 FIP. Well this year he has a 5.49 FIP, in part because he's allowed 1.87 home runs per nine innings. The Astros have a lineup that can take advantage of a homer-prone pitcher, especially if they are a righty like Flexen.
Last season Altuve rebounded from a rough 2020, but this year he's taken it up another level. He's slashed .288/.354/.568 with nine home runs. Alvarez has a career .533 slugging percentage, and since 2020 he has a .909 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Tucker had 30 homers and 14 stolen bases in 2021, but this year he decided to balance the ledger a bit. He's picked up eight home runs and nine swiped bags.
Red Sox vs. Kyle Bradish ($6,000): Rafael Devers ($5,800), Xander Bogaerts ($5,200), J.D. Martinez ($5,000)
Bradish is having, simply put, a bad season as a rookie. He has a 5.74 ERA through five starts, and he's allowed a home run in every single one of his outings. However, though he is a righty, it's his fellow right handers who have feasted on him, averaging .357 versus Bradish.
The lefty Devers has hit 10 homers after having 38 last season, and he has a .974 OPS against righties since 2020. Bogaerts has basically been an elite hitter since his sophomore campaign in 2015. Since then he's slashed .298/.363/.473 and posted four 20-homer seasons. Like Altuve, Martinez rebounded in 2021 and is even better in 2022. So far he has a .380/.430/.599 slash line.
Rockies vs. Aaron Sanchez ($5,200): C.J. Cron ($6,000), Ryan McMahon ($5,400), Connor Joe ($5,300)
The only person who is probably enjoying Sanchez being in the Nationals rotation, save for opposing hitters, is Patrick Corbin, who has somebody to take the spotlight off his poor pitching. Sanchez has a 7.16 ERA through six starts. He's also allowed 1.63 home runs per nine innings.
Cron has great numbers since joining the Rockies, but a lot of that has come at home. However, in the prior three seasons to joining Colorado's club, he hit .251, slashed .485 and hit 59 homers across 278 games. McMahon is a lefty, and he has two 20-homer campaigns to his name. He also has a .798 OPS against righties since 2020. Joe has impressive leadoff hitter skills. Over the last two seasons he has a .283 average and .372 OBP, which helps him score runs.
