FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks and Helper: Saturday 5/18/24

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

Zac Gallen ($9,900)

Though Zac Gallen ($9,900) isn't the most reliable ace at the moment, there are plenty of reasons to like him at home on Saturday.

Gallen's 2.86 ERA would lead you to believe his 2024 campaign is going smoothly, "The Milkman" definitely has some concerns. Gallen's 3.58 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) and 3.61 expected ERA (xERA) are a bit higher, and he's given up a 46.6% hard-hit rate.

That, plus a hitter-friendly venue at Chase Field, has the opposing Detroit Tigers' team total at 3.54. That's normally higher than you'd hope, but it's simultaneously the lowest on Saturday's wonky main slate.

Detroit certainly hasn't been a matchup to avoid for righties, though. They've posted the 12th-lowest wRC+ (97) and 6th-highest strikeout rate (24.3%) against them to start the year.

Gallen's 33.9 expected fantasy points, per FanDuel Research's MLB DFS projections, are the most of any pitcher on the main docket at a four-digit salary.

Walker Buehler ($7,700)

On a slate designed for offense, I could absolutely see plenty of FanDuel gamers turning to Walker Buehler ($7,700) at this budget salary.

Buehler is just two games (and 7.1 innings) back from his Tommy John injury, and the results haven't been ideal. He's posted a 6.72 xERA with a low rate of punchouts (16.7%) in the contests, but the raw totals there haven't been more than three earned runs in either start. By a mile, he'll face his easiest foe of the season with a pitch count around 85.

The visiting Cincinnati Reds are one of the league's best matchups for a right-hander. Even playing in GABP, the Reds' .650 OPS in the split is third-worst in baseball, and they sport the second-highest strikeout rate (27.0%) against orthodox pitchers.

Therefore, Buehler could be looking at a breakout outing at Chavez Ravine. His 25.6 projected fantasy points are sixth-most among all starters, and he's especially of service if you want to get to his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates at the dish.

Others to Consider

• Seth Lugo ($10,300)
  • Though never confused for Spencer Strider with an 8.7% swinging-strike rate, Lugo's 3.53 xERA has been a pleasant surprise for the Kansas City Royals, and the visiting Oakland Athletics have the fourth-highest K rate against righties (26.2%).
• Jack Flaherty ($9,300)
  • This is a great salary for Flaherty's 2.28 SIERA and 32.5% strikeout rate, and this matchup isn't super potent. The Arizona Diamondbacks have a mere 90 wRC+ against righties, but they don't punch out much in either split. He definitely has a case with Gallen.

Stacks to Target

Los Angeles Dodgers

There is no doubting baseball's best offense, and they're in a plus spot tonight.

The Dodgers have pummeled right-handed pitching for a .780 OPS (second in MLB), .188 ISO (first), and .342 wOBA (tied for second). On any slate without a high-salaried pitcher to target, there isn't a much safer place to put your coin than the Dodgers' star-studded attack.

Look for them to still get the best of Cincinnati's Graham Ashcraft tonight. Ashcraft can be a tricky sinkerballer to blow up (51.4% groundball rate), but L.A. should exploit where he struggles, including a miniscule 18.1% strikeout rate, 47.2% hard-hit rate, and 1.44 HR/9 ceded to this point. Adding to the argument, Cincy's 4.11 reliever xFIP is 11th-worst in baseball.

It's hard to pass up Shohei Ohtani ($4,600) in this split with an other-worldly 250 wRC+ well into May, but Mookie Betts ($4,400) has a .252 ISO in the split, and Freddie Freeman's ($3,500) .425 wOBA isn't shabby, either.

Working with any of our top options, you can't ignore the Boys in Blue on Saturday.

Los Angeles Angels

I didn't intend to make this section a sweep for L.A., but the Los Angeles Angels have the best spot of any team on the slate. If they were a bit stronger offense, they'd have led the section.

The Angels face the Texas Rangers on Saturday, and Texas is trotting embattled veteran righty Jose Urena. Urena's 4.42 SIERA would actually be his best since 2018, but a miniscule 15.4% strikeout rate and poor .248 expected batting average show some cracks in his foundation. Plus, the Rangers' 4.31 reliever xFIP is sixth-worst in MLB when he departs.

The Halos' order has some strong bats against righties in the heart of the order with Taylor Ward ($3,100), Luis Rengifo ($2,800), Willie Calhoun ($2.800), and Logan O'Hoppe ($2,600) sporting a 110 wRC+ or better in the split.

Value bats aren't incredibly necessary on Saturday, but the Angels' environment is solid.

Others to Consider

• Texas Rangers
  • When sinkerballer Patrick Sandoval is on, he's tough to crack behind a 33.8% hard-hit rate. Texas' 88 wRC+ against lefties is also pretty mid. I'm not into one of the chalkier teams of the night.
• Houston Astros
  • Bryse Wilson is a favorite target of the MLB community (4.84 xERA), and the 'Stros .730 OPS against righties is no joke. Neck and neck with the Dodgers as the top stack of the day.

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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.