FanDuel MLB DFS Picks: Thursday 5/8/25

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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

Spencer Schwellenbach, Braves ($8,700)

Spencer Schwellenbach is my SP1 on this slate. The matchup is there as he's at home against a Cincinnati Reds squad that is 20th in wOBA (.303) with the seventh-highest K rate (24.4%). After an excellent rookie campaign, Schwellenbach is putting up very similar numbers in 2025, recording a 3.37 SIERA and 13.9% swinging-strike rate. He's easy to love at this modest salary. A word of warning: rain could be an issue tonight in Atlanta.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers ($10,800)

At the top end of the pitcher pool, it's a tough call between Jesus Luzardo ($10,200) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. I lean Yamamoto. In spite of a difficult matchup at the Arizona Diamondbacks, Yamamoto still offers an appealing ceiling thanks to his 2.62 SIERA, 32.0% strikeout rate and 13.8% swinging-strike rate. He's scored at least 27 FanDuel points in every start this season and has posted at least 46 FanDuel points in three of his last four outings.

Jose Soriano, Angels ($7,300)

Jose Soriano catches my eye as the night's lowest-salaried probable starter. His matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays has a lot to do with it as Toronto is 21st in wOBA over the last 14 days (.283). Soriano is pretty good, though, especially for someone at this low of a salary. Through his first 40 frames of the season, he's pitched to a 3.73 SIERA and 10.3% swinging-strike rate. Using him frees up a lot of salary for your bats.

Stacks to Target

Philadelphia Phillies

Players to Target: Kyle Schwarber ($4,400), Bryce Harper ($3,900), Bryson Stott ($3,100) and Trea Turner ($3,000)

The Philadelphia Phillies are taking on righty Ryan Pepiot in homer-happy Tampa. Pepiot is a fine pitcher, but he allows plenty of fly balls (40.5% fly-ball rate), which has led to him permitting 1.88 homers per nine innings this season. The Phils can take advantage, especially Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Bryson Stott has been hitting leadoff versus RHP, and Trea Turner is starting to heat up, smacking four hits -- including a tater -- over the past two games.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Players to Target: Shohei Ohtani ($4,600), Freddie Freeman ($4,200), Mookie Betts ($4,000) and Max Muncy ($2,800)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on the stacking radar nearly every night, and they have the slate's top implied total (5.03) against Brandon Pfaadt. With a 3.56 SIERA and 4.1% walk rate, Pfaadt isn't the kind of pitcher we usually look to pick on, but it's the Dodgers. It takes a lot of salary to get to all of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, but using Schwellenbach or Soriano helps. Max Muncy's salary helps, too, and he still brings pop to the table with the platoon advantage.

Atlanta Braves

Players to Target: Ozzie Albies ($2,800), Marcell Ozuna ($3,400), Austin Riley ($3,300) and Sean Murphy ($3,000)

After the Dodgers and Phillies, it's kind of wide open. While you can make a case for a few offenses, the Atlanta Braves are enticing against Nick Lodolo, and their salaries aren't too bad. Lodolo has some meh numbers so far this year -- a 4.00 SIERA and 17.8% K rate. Ozzie Albies is much better versus lefties, holding a career .386 wOBA in the split. Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Sean Murphy will also own the platoon advantage against Lodolo. Riley is mashing in the split this year, putting up a .402 wOBA.

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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.