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 main 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
Eloy Jimenez ($3,200): Outfielder, Chicago White Sox
Since returning to the White Sox lineup two games ago, Eloy Jimenez has reached base safely on five of nine plate appearances and tacked on four RBI and a pair of runs scored. His appendectomy on May 6 appears to be safely in the rearview mirror.
Jimenez is batting .262/.333/.427 overall on the season and .417/.481/.833 in six May games. He has seven double-digit DraftKings results in the last eight games he made the lineup card.
He faces Tyler Anderson and the Angels today. Anderson is 2-0 with a 4.81 ERA in nine starts.
Jake Bauers ($2,000): Outfielder, New York Yankees
With his best performance of the season last night, Jake Bauers may have earned himself a little more playing time in the Yankees’ outfield as a spot starter. He went 3-4 with two doubles and a home run to earn the Yankees a road win in Seattle yesterday.
The 27-year-old has received sporadic playing time since joining the Yankees on April 29. Overall, he is batting .220/.322/.460 in 59 plate appearances on the season. Aaron Boone has a few outfield options, but if Bauers gets the start again tonight against right-hander Logan Gilbert, he has another chance at delivering a bargain value for fantasy players.
Gilbert is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA on the year in 10 starts. Bauers is an interesting flyer in a Yankees lineup with some firepower.
MLB DFS Ceiling Projection Picks
Pitcher
Shane McClanahan ($11,400 DraftKings, $11,200 FanDuel) at Chicago Cubs
With by far the highest ceiling projection on the slate, Shane McClanahan looks to continue his stellar 2023 campaign tonight against the Cubs.
At 8-0, McClanahan carries a minuscule 1.97 ERA and 1,13 WHIP through 11 starts. He is a front-runner for the American League Cy Young and sits seventh in the league with 75 strikeouts on the season.
He has also produced for fantasy owners with a +4.65 Plus/Minus over his last 10 starts. In all but two starts this season, he has eclipsed the 20-point DraftKings threshold and is capable of a boom performance tonight against a Cubs team with one of the lower implied run totals on the slate.
Hitter
Mookie Betts ($5,500 DraftKings, $3,900 FanDuel) vs. Washington Nationals
It has been hit or miss at the plate this season for Mookie Betts. He is batting a career-low .245 on the season, but his elevated walk rate has kept his OBP respectable at .356.
Betts still brings high day-to-day upside with 11 home runs on the season. He has turned on the power in May, batting .255/.362/.551 with seven home runs. He has nine 15+ point DraftKings totals in the month and a +1.73 Plus/Minus over his last 10 games.
Betts has a strong matchup against Nationals’ righty Jake Irvin. Irvin is 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in five starts this season.
More 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.
In addition to our in-house MLB projections, THE BAT X from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders is available in our marketplace. 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 that are standing out with this blend.
Pitcher
Zac Gallen ($10,700 DraftKings, $10,700 FanDuel) vs. Colorado Rockies
At 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA, Zac Gallen has elevated himself into the National League Cy Young conversation this season. He is near the league lead with 75 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP.
His numbers have come back to earth a bit this month after throwing 27 straight scoreless innings in his last four April starts. In May, Gallen is 2-1 with a. 4.03 ERA and has allowed at least two earned runs in all but one start.
Gallen notched four straight 30+ DraftKings point games in April, but has yet to hit that threshold since. Vegas thinks tonight could be another ceiling performance as the Rockies have one of the lowest implied run totals on the slate.
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Hitters
Justin Turner ($3,700 DraftKings, $2,900 FanDuel) vs. Cincinnati Reds
In his first season with the Red Sox, Justin Turner is batting .265/.356/.413. Though his overall numbers are down from his peak years of 2017-2020, Turner can still find some pop at the plate with some consistency.
Over his last 10 games, Turner has a +1.25 Plus/Minus with four double-digit DraftKings point totals and the same number of multi-hit games.
The Red Sox have a solid matchup at Fenway today against Ben Lively and the Cincinnati Reds. Lively is making his third start of the season and has a 6-12 overall record in the majors in parts of four seasons. Boston is near the highest implied run total on the slate.
Get a piece of the high run total with Turner at a bargain salary tag.
Ronald Acuna Jr. ($6,400 DraftKings, $4,600 FanDuel) at Oakland Athletics
Yes, Ronald Acuna Jr. has come back to earth a bit, but he still holds the highest ceiling and projected points on the slate.
Even with a -3.48 Plus/Minus over his last 10 games, Acuna Jr. is batting .327/.408/.561 on the season with 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases. He is near league leaders in all major batting categories, including his .453 xwOBA and low 13.9 strikeout rate.
The Braves should have plenty of offensive potential tonight in Oakland against JP Sears. The 27-year-old is looking for his first win of the season at 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 10 starts. This is a good spot for Acuna Jr. to get back on track with a high leverage rate.
