This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
The end of May is right around the corner. There are now seven games on the MLB DFS docket for Wednesday evening, as Mets-White Sox was moved to the afternoon. We have a first pitch of 6:35 p.m. EDT. To try and help you with your decision making, here are my MLB DFS lineup recommendations.
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Pitching
Matthew Boyd, CHC vs. COL ($9,700): Boyd was a surprise late in the 2024 season for the Guardians, posting a 2.72 ERA over eight starts. That earned him a chance with the Cubs, which has panned out. Through 10 starts he's posted a 3.42 ERA. The Rockies are 29th in runs scored, and when you factor in their home park, you can make a strong argument that their offense is worse than Pittsburgh's.
Tyler Mahle, TEX vs. TOR ($8,900): Mahle is slacking, as he just allowed more than two runs for the first time in a start. That's lifted his ERA all the way to 1.80. While his FIP is 3.11, that's still quite good, and let's not overlook his sparkling 0.97 ERA at home. The Blue Jays have hit for average, but have slugged just .372 as a team and are in the bottom five in home runs, so there's not much of a threat for them to rack up runs in bunches.
Top Targets
I do want to point out that Pete Crow-Armstrong ($4,000) needs to be more disciplined at the plate to really take his game to a higher, and more sustainable, level of success. That being said, he has 14 homers and 16 stolen bases and is a legitimate MVP candidate. PCA is still bad against his fellow lefties, but he has a .963 OPS versus righties. Tanner Gordon has made 10 MLB starts and has a 7.52 ERA. Also, in a surprise twist for a Rockie, his road ERA is 10.17.
To this point, Trea Turner ($3,700) has managed to keep his batting average over .300. He only has five home runs, but the shortstop has 14 stolen bases on top of that. Turner also has an .878 OPS at home since joining the Phillies. AJ Smith-Shawver is coming off a brutal start against the Nationals. Also, his fellow righties have hit .308 against him.
Bargain Bats
It's a process, but Jackson Holliday ($2,900) is figuring things out. He has six homers, two triples, and four stolen bases. He still absolutely can't figure out left-handed pitching, but he has an .802 OPS versus righties, and his OPS at home is also over .800. Miles Mikolas' ERA is down to 3.51, but his K/9 rate is also down to 5.44. All that has happened is that he's handling righties well. Lefties have hit .267 against him.
You can count on Rowdy Tellez ($2,600) to have a sub-.300 OBP, but he has left-handed power. This year he has eight home runs through 44 games. He's also slugged .495 against righties. Trevor Williams has a 6.39 ERA, and this is one prime reason I wanted a southpaw. Remarkably, lefties have hit a whopping .379 against Williams on the campaign.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees at Angels (Yusei Kikuchi): Aaron Judge ($5,100), Paul Goldschmidt ($3,500), Anthony Volpe ($3,200)
Kikuchi has a 3.17 ERA through 11 starts, but his FIP is up to 4.34. His walks are way up, so his K/BB rate is down to 1.80. I grant you he's been strong at home thus far, where he has an 1.23 ERA. However, this is his first season with the Angels, and that sample is all of 22 innings. I'm not thinking, "Well clearly this 33-year-old with a career 4.47 ERA was just waiting to find the right ballpark." Kikuchi is a lefty, and since 2023 righties have hit .257 against him. They have also hit all seven homers he's allowed in 2025. The Yankees have a few lefties in the usual lineup. I decided not to get cute and recommend stacking DJ LeMahieu or Oswald Peraza. Just roster Judge and figure the rest out.
As for Judge, he's having possibly the best season of his career, impressive for a guy with a 62-homer season on his resume. He's going to have an OPS over 1.000 again and he has two triples and four stolen bases on top of all the home runs. In terms of pure hitting, nobody in his generation is better. Goldschmidt is having a resurgent season thanks to two things. Namely, he has an OPS over 1.000 against lefties and also on the road. Kikuchi is a lefty and this is a road game for Goldschmidt, so here we are. Volpe has slugged .439, so his overall power is up. He also has six homers and seven swiped bags, and interestingly six of his stolen bases have come against lefties.
Rangers vs. Blue Jays (Eric Lauer): Wyatt Langford ($3,500), Josh Jung ($3,100), Jake Burger ($2,800)
In limited action, Lauer has a 3.31 ERA. However, he has a 4.59 FIP, which tracks given he has a career 4.59 FIP. The lefty has also allowed 1.45 home runs per nine innings in his career. Lauer will follow an opener and may not be in the game long, but while he is, these three righties will have a real opportunity.
Langford has 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases through 46 games. While he's always been viable against righties, he has a career .872 OPS versus lefties. Jung has hit .281 with seven homers and seven doubles, reminiscent of when he had over 20 homers and 20 doubles in 2023. Though he's been much better on the road this year, that feels a bit fluky. Over the prior two seasons he had an OPS over .800 at home. Burger is an underrated source of power. He had 29 home runs last year, and 24 the season prior. This year he has seven homers, but he has a .248 BABIP and he's been a bit unlucky. Burger has been fine against lefties, though, as he's slugged .528 against them.
