The afternoon slate will dominate Thursday's action as there are only five games on the main slate. There isn't any obvious ace pitcher to play, as Jacob deGrom has faced health issues and all the other high priced pitchers have questions of their own. That said, it will be important to get plenty of production out of elite bats, regardless of the slate you play.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/25/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options, and of course, value plays.
You can read our DraftKings and Yahoo DFS lineup picks as well. If you want to contact me, send me a message on Twitter at @danmarcus3.
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Offensive Stacks
Washington Nationals vs. Ariel Miranda
Ariel Miranda has struggled on the road in each of his two major league seasons. He'll walk into Nationals Park tomorrow with the wind blowing out and facing a team that has posted an .887 OPS against lefties on the season. This will be a chalky stack, but for good reason.
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Gio Gonzalez - P, vs. SEA ($8,600)
Gonzalez is a risky proposition, so he is best fit for a tournament play. However, on a slate without any clear aces on the mound, it’s a good day to play the matchups. The Mariners aren’t always a team to use pitchers against, but they are susceptible against left-handed pitchers as they are currently ranked 29th in the league with a .600 OPS against south paws this season. The wind will likely be blowing out of Nationals Park on Thursday and Gonzalez is always difficult to predict, but this matchup is worth playing Thursday.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Tony Wolters - C, @ PHI ($2,600)
Wolters may not be in the lineup due to a day game following a night game, but if he is, he makes for a solid play. Velasquez has struggled against left-handed hitting this season and Wolters has remained steady, if unspectacular.
Brandon Belt- 1B, @ CHC ($3,400)
Belt is having another relatively disappointing year but he has been exceptionally good against right-handed pitchers, posting a .902 OPS to this point in the season. Wrigley Field won’t play exceptionally well for hitters tomorrow, but his matchup is too good to surpass as he draws Eddie Butler. Butler has remained relatively unscathed this season in his surface stats, but he has an xFIP of 5.06 and a K-BB% of 0.
Also Consider: Logan Morrison- 1B, vs. LAA (3,700)
Kolten Wong- 2B, @LAD ($3,000)
Wong hasn’t shown power this season but has hit well against right-handers as illustrated by his 112 wRC+ against them. Meanwhile, Kenta Maeda is slated to return from the DL Thursday, and he has struggled mightily against left-handed hitters throughout his major league career. Add in favorable park factors and the wind blowing out to right field and there is a nice recipe for production from Wong.
Jake Lamb - 3B, @ MIL ($4,100)
Lamb appears to be putting it all together for a breakout campaign and he is now priced that way. Fitting him into a lineup isn’t the easiest thing to do given the $4,100 price tag, but he should prove worth it. Miller Park is exceptionally friendly to left-handed batters and Zach Davies has proven himself susceptible to quality batters.
Brandon Crawford - SS, @ CHC ($2,900)
Crawford is underpriced at $2,900, especially given his matchup against Eddie Butler. Crawford has been hot of late, and it appears he is finally being rewarded for his career-best 38.8% hard contact rate. Play him before the price rises.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Jackie Bradley Jr- OF, vs TEX ($3,300)
Over the past week, Bradley has shown signs of life. He’ll have a great opportunity to keep that going on Thursday as the Red Sox take on Nick Martinez. There isn’t necessarily a platoon matchup to exploit with Martinez, but he has shown he is capable of surrendering runs against batters of either hand. The Red Sox-Rangers matchup has the highest total of the night, and Bradley offers a reasonable price point to get exposure.
Carlos Gonzalez- OF @ PHI ($3,100)
As should have been expected, Gonzalez has gotten hot over the past week. His price hasn’t risen yet and his ownership may stay down because the Rockies are on the road. Velasquez has allowed an .884 OPS to left-handed hitters this season, so Gonzalez and Blackmon are both solid plays on the afternoon slate.
Corey Dickerson- OF vs. LAA ($3,900)
Dickerson should be the chalk play of the main slate, but he’s shown he is worth it with his performances this season. Daniel Wright has allowed plenty of hard contact over the past two seasons, making Dickerson an easy play tonight.
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