The FantasyLabs MLB Player Models house numerous data points to help you construct your MLB DFS rosters.
They house our floor, median, and ceiling projections for each player, but that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find inside. You’ll also find our Trends tool, stacking tool, and more.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your teams for cash games or small-field tournaments.
Let’s dive into some MLB plays that stand out in our Player Models for today’s slate.
Bargain Rating Picks
You might be asking: what is Bargain Rating, and why should I care?
Bargain Rating shows how much of a bargain a player is on one DFS site versus others. If a player is significantly cheaper on one site than the other, they will have a favorable Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more affordable and a poor Bargain Rating on the site where they’re more expensive. It’s a straightforward metric, but targeting players at reduced price tags is almost always a strong strategy in DFS.
Bargain Rating strongly correlates with player value, which you can quickly see with our predictive projected Plus/Minus metric.
Seeing how Plus/Minus helps you project how many points a player is expected to score compared to what their salary implies them to score, this is a good company for Bargain Rating.
MLB DFS DraftKings Bargain Value
Dane Myers ($2,200): Outfielder, Miami Marlins
The young outfielder got the call up on on April 28 to join the Marlins after spending the beginning of the year with AAA Jacksonville. Dane Myers saw big league stints in July and September last season totaling 22 games. He hit .269/.286/.358 in that stretch with one home run and nine RBI.
In 12 plate appearances this season with the Marlins, Myers is batting .455/.500/.636 with a triple and five RBI. He has notched three double-digit DraftKings point totals in his last five games, giving him a strong Plus/Minus rating over that stretch with his price tag.
The Marlins take on left-hander JP Sears for the Athletics today. Sears is 1-2 through six starts with a 4.64 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. This is a good bargain value for Myers with a solid pitching matchup.
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MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks
Pitcher
Tanner Houck ($8,100) at Minnesota Twins
Off to a wonderful start in 2024, Tanner Houck surprisingly sits fourth in the American League with a 1.60 ERA through six starts. He is 3-2 thus far with an impressive 0.92 WHIP and a .299 xwOBA.
The biggest improvement for Houck this season has been his strikeout and walk rates. He has increased his K% from 21.4% in 2023 to 25.6% in 2024 and dropped his BB% from 8.9% to 3.2%. Houck has reached at least nine strikeouts in three of his six starts.
Using PlateIQ, the projected Twins lineup has a .188 ISO and .339 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. They have a relatively low park rating from both sides of the plate tonight and a low home run projection.
Hitter
Aaron Judge ($6,100) vs. Detroit Tigers
Aaron Judge followed up a strong three-game series against Milwaukee where he launched two home runs with a disappointing four-game series against the Orioles this week. He managed just one hit in 13 at-bats in Baltimore.
On the season, Judge’s production is significantly down from the last two campaigns. He is batting .197/.331/.393 with six home runs and 18 RBI and is second in the American League in strikeouts.
Judge still packs one of the highest daily ceilings with his power potential. Despite his overall struggles, he still has four 19+ DraftKings point totals over his last 10 games.
The Yankees face Tigers righty Reese Olson on the mound. Olson has been unlucky in the win column with an 0-4 mark. He has a 3.18 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in five starts this season.
More DraftKings MLB DFS Hitters and Pitchers
One of the great features of being a FantasyLabs Pro member is the option to purchase additional items in the FantasyLabs Marketplace.
A new addition to our MLB projections is THE BAT X from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders. With this purchase, you can use his projections alone or create aggregate projections within our Player Models.
For this example, we created a 50/50 blend with THE BAT X and the FantasyLabs projections to pinpoint some hitters standing out with this blend.
MLB DFS Pitcher
Tanner Bibee ($8,500) vs. Los Angeles Angels
Through his first 31 major league starts over the last two seasons for the Guardians, Tanner Bibee is 12-4 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. He is 2-0 thus far in 2024 with a .253 xBA and .341 wOBA.
Bibee will likely not land in league leaders columns for many major statistics, but he is a consistent producer on the mound. He has an above-average 26.3 K% and allows a slightly above average 38.8% hard hit %.
With at least 24 DraftKings points in each of his last two starts, Bibee looks to improve on his +1.02 average Plus/Minus this season. He faces an Angels squad with a .151 ISO and .348 wOBA against right-handers this season.
Now in beta testing: our MLB DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.
MLB DFS Hitter
Maikel Garcia ($4,600) vs. Texas Rangers
Without an obvious fantasy bonanza game, the Royals/Rangers matchup has one of the highest implied run totals on today’s main state. Maikel Garcia has turned things on at the plate over the last two weeks for Kansas City, with six multi-hit games over his last 12.
Overall, Garcia is batting .226/.274/.379 with four home runs and 20 RBI. He’s added value on the base paths with 20 stolen bases. The model likes Garcia’s +2.67 average Plus/Minus over his last 10 games, as he is a salary value compared to the other highly-rated players today.
The Rangers will start veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen with his 2-1 record and 4.24 ERA. Lorenzen allowed five earned runs and a homer in his last start against the Reds. Garcia is a good value pick for fantasy owners looking to get a piece of this game in their lineups.
Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,400) at Los Angeles Dodgers
Braves fans and fantasy owners are still waiting on Ronald Acuna Jr. to find his rhythm in 2024. Thus far, he is batting .252/.368/.322 with just one home run and seven RBI in 136 plate appearances.
The model still likes Acuna Jr. as its highest rated player, but that projection is largely based on his awesome potential rather than recent returns. Maybe May will be the month he turns things around. He notched two hits and an RBI in his last game on May 1.
His 25 runs scored and 12 stolen bases have kept his fantasy floor from caving in this season. He looks to get some power going tonight against Dodgers righty Gavin Stone. The 25-year-old is 2-1 with a 4.98 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.
