FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks and Helper: Monday 5/27/24

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Our daily fantasy helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.

Be sure to also incorporate numberFire's great tools into your research process, including daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, and batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups.

Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Note: All MLB odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

MLB DFS Picks

Pitchers to Target

Michael King, Padres ($9,900)

Going by our projections, Michael King is the clear SP1 on this main slate, which starts at 4:10 p.m. ET. We project King for 38.5 FanDuel points. No other pitcher is above 34.0.

King owns a 3.93 SIERA and 25.5% strikeout rate through his first 61 innings of 2024. He's gone over 106 pitches twice this season, so the workload is there. The upside is nice, too, as he's pieced together a pair of games with double-digit strikeouts, going for 50-plus FanDuel points in both of those outings.

He could tap into that upside today in a friendly date with the Miami Marlins, a team that is 27th in wOBA versus righties (.293). Miami's 3.33 implied total is a slate-low clip.

Charlie Morton, Braves ($9,700)

Charlie Morton is an interesting pivot off King, assuming King is the chalk play today for those who prioritize going after a top-shelf arm.

Morton is at home versus the Washington Nationals. Washington's offense has been better than expected for most of this season, but they're still just 22nd in wOBA against righties (.299).

Despite being in his age-40 campaign, Morton is still cooking. He's pitched to a 3.86 SIERA and 24.8% K rate. Washington's 3.85 implied total is the slate's second-lowest, so oddsmakers are expecting Morton to have a lot of success against the Nats.

Early draft percentage projections around the industry have King being quite a bit more popular than Morton. That makes the Atlanta Braves' veteran an appealing target in my eyes. Just check the weather in Atlanta prior to locking in Morton.

Others to Consider

Blake Snell, Padres ($7,400) -- It's weird to see Snell at a $7,400 salary, but his play thus far warrants it. Despite his early struggles and a difficult matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies, Snell has elite ability when he's on. Plus, two of the Phils' best bats are lefties. Snell is absolutely worth a look at this value salary.
Justin Steele, Cubs ($7,700) -- Steele is another value pitcher I've got my eyes on, and I prefer him to Snell. Steele has been good when he's been able to pitch this season (3.84 SIERA), although his strikeout numbers (21.3% K rate) haven't been what they were a year ago. After throwing 93 pitches last time out, Steele's workload is likely close to 100%, and while the Milwaukee Brewers are a tough foe, the Brewers carry the eighth-highest strikeout rate (23.9%) versus southpaws.

Stacks to Target

Coors Field

Two of the top three implied totals for this holiday slate come from the Coors Field clash between the Colorado Rockies (4.90) and Cleveland Guardians (5.60).

Cleveland is facing Austin Gomber, a left-hander. Jose Ramirez ($4,600) is an obvious top option while David Fry ($3,800), Tyler Freeman ($3,400) and Josh Naylor ($4,000) are also superb plays. Gabriel Arias ($2,900) is a handy puzzle piece as he can be deployed at all of OF, SS, 2B and 3B. The Guardians' 5.60 implied total is the slate's top mark.

As for the Rox, they'll see Xzavion Curry. Colorado's offense mostly stinks, but this is a great spot for them as Curry has a mere 15.4% strikeout rate over his career. Righties (.358 wOBA) have been the big issue, so I'll be focusing my Rockies stacks on Kris Bryant ($2,800), Ezequiel Tovar ($3,600) and Brendan Rodgers ($3,000), although lefties Charlie Blackmon ($3,300) and Ryan McMahon ($3,800) are awfully appealing, as well.

Atlanta Braves

Even though Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered an unfortunate season-ending injury on Sunday, the Atlanta Braves (4.85 implied total) are still plenty stackable against southpaw Mitchell Parker. And I think there's a chance the Acuna injury may keep some people away from stacking Atlanta today.

We'll have to see what the Braves do with the top of their lineup sans Acuna, but my guess is that Orlando Arcia ($3,000) gets bumped up to either leadoff or second, with Ozzie Albies ($3,500) in the other slot. Albies has an excellent track record against left-handers, and it's been more of the same this year as he's got a .372 wOBA in the split.

Marcell Ozuna ($4,200) is mauling lefties to the tune of a .475 wOBA and 41.2% hard-hit rate. He's an elite play. Matt Olson ($3,400) is plenty viable in a lefty-lefty matchup, posting a .337 wOBA in the split, and overall, he's been unlucky so far in 2024, with a .367 expected wOBA compared to a .326 actual wOBA.

Adam Duvall ($2,800) is a quality value play who usually fares well with the platoon advantage. Michael Harris II ($3,000) could get moved up the order without Acuna, but I think there's a better chance of that happening when the Braves take on righties.

Others to Consider

Cincinnati Reds -- Cincy gets a home date with Lance Lynn and has the slate's top non-Coors implied total (4.90). Lynn isn't terrible, but his homer problem (1.93 jacks per nine since the start of 2023) makes him prone to a blowup at Great American Ball Park.
Los Angeles Dodgers -- A meh 4.60 implied total, potential rain issues in New York and the Dodgers' offense faceplanting in Cincinnati the last two days may keep LA's popularity in check for today. Whenever I can get the Dodgers at potentially modest draft percentages, I'm in. Tylor Megill is a solid pitcher, but the Dodgers are capable of a big day against anyone. Shohei Ohtani ($4,500) is our model's number-one bat.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.