Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Starting pitcher rankings, advice for May 16 – Sporting News

Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings, strategy, and advice for Monday’s MLB slate.

There are nine games on the schedule today, and with no true “aces” among the probable starters, finding the right pitcher won’t be easy. One strategy is to play the splits and gamble on someone like Jon Niese against the Braves or John Lamb against the Indians (i.e. teams that struggle against lefties). You could also go for strikeout upside with someone like Jose Berrios against the free-swinging Tigers.

MORE FANTASY: Prospect rankings | Waiver wire

Of course, you could also just go for the guys you think are the best pitchers (duh). It will still cost you a little bit of money, but getting J.A. Happ or Adam Conley is sort of the best of both worlds — at least on FanDuel, where they’re the fifth and sixth most expensive pitchers, respectively. Happ is the second most expensive pitcher on DraftKings, but Conley settles in as the sixth most expensive hurler.

Let’s take a look at the full starting pitcher rankings and picks. As usual, we’ll also have daily fantasy baseball hitter picks and the DFS Playbook from Fantasy Alarm to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!

Daily fantasy baseball picks

Splurge: Kenta Maeda, LAD vs. LAA. The scouting report might be out on Maeda, as he’s allowed 10 runs in his past three starts, but he’s still arguably one of the top two pitchers going today. He actually has more strikeout potential than Jordan Zimmermann, who’s the highest priced SP on FanDuel and fourth highest priced on DK, and, while still relatively expensive, Maeda is cheaper ($8,800 on FD; $9,700 on DK). A matchup against the Angels isn’t scaring anyone, especially with Matt Shoemaker on the mound for the Halos.

Sell: Drew Smyly, TB at TOR. Smyly has major strikeout upside, but his biggest problem this year has been giving up homers. So, why would you pay top dollar for him against the Blue Jays in Toronto? And, sure, the Jays aren’t hitting as well against lefties as they did last year, but that actually worries us more. With lefty-killers like Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista and others, they’re going to start smoking southpaws soon enough.

MORE DFS: Hitter picks | Playbook PRO | Play FanDuel

Save: Derek Holland, TEX at OAK. Holland allowed just eight earned runs in his first five starts, but over his past two, he’s been hammered for 15. However, those starts were against the Blue Jays and White Sox, respectively, so a matchup against the lowly A’s in cavernous Oakland Alameda Coliseum (aka O.co Coliseum) should help him get back on track. At $7,200 on FD and just $6,400 on DK, Holland provides a lot of upside for a cheap price. It’s also worth noting that the Rangers, who rank seventh in OPS vs. LHPs, will face rookie southpaw Sean Manaea, who’s sporting an 11.37 ERA in three starts. 

Editor’s note: Play one-day fantasy baseball leagues for real money at FanDuel! Claim your free entry and deposit bonus here.

Daily fantasy baseball rankings

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