This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Welcome to May! Although, with it being a Monday, this isn't the biggest welcome MLB could have given up to a new month. There are six games on the slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later. Let's start the month off right with these DFS recommendations.
Pitching
Drew Smyly, CHC at WAS ($9,300): After a tough first start to the season, Smyly has been pitching with gusto. Over his last four outings he has an 1.53 ERA. Last year the lefty had a 3.47 ERA, so while that is better than expected, it doesn't feel massively fluky. The Nationals are in the bottom five in runs scored, and I anticipate that remaining the case. This matchup should help Smyly to continue to improve his numbers after his disastrous first start.
Domingo German, NYY vs. CLE ($8,400): Finding a second pitcher to recommend was difficult, I won't lie. This is almost entirely about the matchup. The Guardians are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and they aren't a lineup with a lot of power. That was also true in 2022 when they finished near the bottom of the league in home runs. Additionally, Cleveland's top hitters are mostly lefties, and since 2021 left handers have only batted .216 against German.
Top Target
The flip side of a bad night for pitchers is that finding matchups to target for hitters was easier. I start here with Freddie Freeman ($3,500). For him, hitting .292 with a .377 OBP and four homers (and four stolen bases!) qualifies as a slow beginning to the season. Maybe he needs more matchups with righties, as since 2021 he has a .943 OPS versus right-handed pitchers. Taijuan Walker is expected to start, even though he is dealing with a forearm issue, and he has a 5.25 FIP in his first five starts with the Phillies.
Bargain Bat
Nick Senzel ($3,000) has had trouble living up to the promise he showed as a rookie. However, this year he's slashed .278/361/.426 with two home runs and two stolen bases. He's also started the year with an OPS over 1.000 against lefties, though the sample size is not robust. Blake Snell is off to a brutal start to the season, the kind of the underlying numbers and visuals that make you think something could actually be wrong here. He has a 6.27 FIP, and his home runs and walks allowed are way up. Snell is walking 16.5 percent of the batters he faces, and India has the patience to take advantage of that.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays at Red Sox (Corey Kluber): Vladimir Guerrero ($4,300), George Springer ($3,100), Daulton Varsho ($3,000)
The next start where Kluber doesn't allow a home run will be his first of 2023. His strikeout rate dropped in 2022 and he allowed a ton of contact. Kluber's strikeout rate has remained steady, in a bad way, but he's given up several homers already and as a result he has a 6.75 ERA that his 6.73 validates. Toronto has a lineup that can really take advantage of a pitcher like that.
In terms of power in the Blue Jays lineup, the first name you think of is Guerrero. Even last year when his power dipped, Vladito still hit 32 homers. He has five homers so far in 2023, but also has posted a .309 average, a reminder that Guerrero isn't an all-or-nothing swinger. Springer is admittedly off to a struggling start, but his career .844 OPS is encouraging, as is the fact he hit 25 homers and stole 14 bases just last season. Even though Springer isn't hitting like he usually does, he's still picked up three home runs and five swiped bags. The lefty Varsho is also off to a slow start, but he has two homers and four stolen bases. Maybe he doesn't just need a righty on the mound, but a trip to Boston. Varsho has severely struggled at home, but he has a .720 OPS on the road and has hit both his homers there.
Padres vs. Reds (Luke Weaver): Xander Bogaerts ($3,900), Fernando Tatis ($3,700) Juan Soto ($3,400)
Snell has surprisingly struggled, but there are no surprises about Weaver's numbers. He has a career 4.87 ERA and is a 29-year-old who started the season in Triple-A, so I assume even the Reds knew there wasn't much upside here. Pressed into the rotation, though, Weaver has a 7.71 ERA through two starts. This is a guy who had a 6.56 ERA in 2022 while pitching in relief. As long as Weaver is getting starts, he is worth targeting for a stack.
Slow starts have hampered the Padres so far, but Bogaerts has not been a part of that problem. No, in his first season with San Diego he's slashed .308/.400/.514 with six homers. He hasn't had a batting average lower than .295 since 2018. We know Bogaerts can hit. Tatis did not play in 2022 for multiple reasons, and he only just got back on the field in MLB. Obviously, some scuffles were to be expected, but he's hit in eight straight games and has two homers. Let's not forget that he has a career .956 OPS and when we last saw him he hit 42 home runs and stole 25 bases in 130 games. If you only saw Soto's numbers against righties this year, you would not realize he was off to a rough start. There is no surprise there, given that he has an 1.000 OPS versus righties since 2021.
