FanDuel MLB DFS Picks: Monday 5/5/25

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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.

Top MLB DFS Picks

Pitcher Breakdown

Cole Ragans ($9,600)

Cole Ragans has the third-highest salary on the slate, but he's easily my favorite pitcher. The southpaw's salary has dipped following two rough outings, but he had rattled off 60, 52, and 42 FanDuel points (FDP) the three starts prior. Ragans has a much lower skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) than his actual ERA (2.41 versus 4.40), and he's running a career-best 35.9% strikeout rate. That'll play in a home date with the Chicago White Sox -- a team with the sixth-lowest wRC+ (70) against left-handed pitchers.

Our MLB DFS projections peg Ragans for a slate-high 36.1 FDP -- 5.0 more than the next-closest pitcher.

Jake Irvin ($8,100)

The wheels fell off for Jake Irvin in his last start. After a three-game stretch that saw him notch 49, 50, and 35 FDP, Irving was rocked for 6 runs last week. But he went six innings for the fifth straight game, and the SIERA (4.11) still indicates he's someone we can look at in the right matchups.

The Cleveland Guardians are a lackluster 19th in wRC+ (96) against righties, and they sit in the middle of the pack in strikeout rate (22%). We've seen Irvin produce when he's not against the league heavyweights, and the salary is low enough for me to get back on board tonight.

Miles Mikolas ($6,900)

There are warts in Miles Mikolas' profile, for sure. His ERA (4.66) isn't anything to write home about, and he's posted a career-worst 13.4% strikeout rate through six starts. But he's done a good job forcing soft contact and is coming off his best fantasy showing of the year, tossing a 5 1/3 scoreless innings at the notoriously hitter-friendly Great America Ball Park. Mikolas has posted 34 and 28 FDP the last two starts, and that's the sort of outcome we're hoping for with a $6,900 pitcher against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh ranks 29th in wRC+ (79) against right-handed pitchers, and they're dead-last in ISO (.111) for that split. Mikolas shoved against the Pirates last season, giving up just 2 runs and 6 hits across 13 innings in two starts. He recorded 43 and 28 FDP in those two outings. That's enough for him to come in as my favorite value arm for today's slate.

Ben Casparius ($6,000)

I'll be off Ben Casparius in single-entry, but at $6,000 he's worth some exposure in larger-field tournaments. The righty is coming off a 32-FDP showing across a season-high 3 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh -- the third time in his last four outings LA's brought him out for the third inning. He's turned in a 2.71 SIERA and 27.1% strikeout rate across 11 innings, so there's real upside if he gets a longer leash against the Miami Marlins.

Miami is 23rd in wRC+ (91) and has the ninth-highest strikeout rate (23%) against RHP, offering Casparius the potential for another solid showing. At this salary, he opens up a ton of options if you want to load up on high-salary bats.

Stacks to Target

Dodgers

Players to Target: Shohei Ohtani ($4,600), Mookie Betts ($4,200), Freddie Freeman ($4,000), Teoscar Hernandez ($3,800), Will Smith ($3,100), Andy Pages ($3,000).

Over his last four starts, Sandy Alcantara has given up 21 hits, 20 runs, and 13 walks over 16 1/3 innings, raising his season-long SIERA to 5.21. The most recent of those mishaps came against the same Los Angeles Dodgers lineup he'll face tonight. They finished with 15 runs in that one.

LA has the highest implied total (5.4 runs) on the slate, so they're the clear top stack. Shohei Ohtani (30.9 FDP), Mookie Betts (16.2), Freddie Freeman (24.4), and Teoscar Hernandez (38.4) all feasted in this matchup last week, but don't sleep on Andy Pages or Will Smith -- both of whom have wOBAs north of .350 against right-handed pitchers.

Royals

Players to Target: Bobby Witt Jr. ($3,900), Maikel Garcia ($3,100), Vinnie Pasquantino ($2,900), Salvador Perez ($2,800), Jonathan India ($2,600).

The Kansas City Royals have been disappointing on offense to this point, but they just mashed a franchise-record 7 home runs and now face the lowly White Sox. Granted, Chicago righty Shane Smith has pitched to a 2.23 ERA through six starts, but his SIERA is up at 4.32 and I'm not scared of this bullpen.

Maikel Garcia (.873 OPS vs. RHP) and Bobby Witt (.854) are the building blocks for this stack. From there, I'm surrounding those two with top-of-the-order bats like Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Jonathan India.

Cardinals

Players to Target: Lars Nootbaar ($3,300), Brendan Donovan ($3,200), Nolan Arenado ($3,000), Victor Scott ($2,900), Masyn Winn ($2,800).

The St. Louis Cardinals have quietly averaged the eighth-most runs per game (4.89) at home this season, so I'm bullish on them today against Carmen Mlodzinski (6.58 ERA, 1.81 WHIP) and the Pirates.

A St. Louis stack is pretty simple. Brendan Donovan (.919 OPS vs RHP), Masyn Winn (.899), Victor Scott II (.836), and Lars Nootbaar (.835) have all mashed against righties.

Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman are both north of an .850 OPS in that split at home.

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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.