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Zach's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Thursday, 5/01/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Happy Thursday Rotoballers! This Thursday brings another split schedule with a great chance to get in a doubleheader of DFS fantasy baseball action. The first set of games starts at 12:35 p.m. ET with seven games in the afternoon, and then the evening wave starts at 6:45 p.m. ET and includes four games under the lights.
On FanDuel, there is an all-day slate along with the two split slates. However you choose to play this Thursday, this post has you covered with options from both early and late contests. As the day goes on, be sure to keep a close eye on the weather, especially in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Cleveland. Also, be sure to check starting lineups as they are released to be sure that players in your lineup aren't getting midweek rest days in these "getaway" contests before series shift for the weekend.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/01/2025, with each pick marked EARLY for the afternoon slate or NIGHT for the later slate. The early slate locks at 12:35 p.m. EDT and the night slate at 6:45 p.m. EDT. The lineup picks listed below include a variety of elite players, mid-priced options, and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is always essential.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
The afternoon is stacked with aces, but the nighttime slate is a little thin on pitching. Here are a few plays that stand out whichever slate you decide to play:
Paul Skenes - PIT - SP ($9.7K DK; $10.4K FD) EARLY
Skenes is in a tough matchup on Thursday afternoon against the Cubs, but he showed in his last start how masterful he can be even in the toughest of matchups. On the road against the Dodgers, he threw 6 1/3 shutout innings with a season-high nine strikeouts, just five hits allowed, 55.3 FanDuel points, and 33.3 DraftKings points.
His stuff was absolutely amazing in that outing as he totaled 37 called or swinging strikes.
An Overlay of all 9 of Paul Skenes' Strikeouts vs. the Dodgers.
4 Fastballs
1 Sinker
1 Sweeper
1 Curveball
1 Changeup
1 Splinker pic.twitter.com/uq0G4Emv1q— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 26, 2025
He has a 2.39 ERA, 1.75 FIP, 0.80 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings this season. His ceiling is incredibly high at home against Chicago, and as long as the weather holds off, he is a great choice to anchor your early or all-day lineups.
Matthew Liberatore - STL - SP ($7.7K DK; $9K FD) EARLY
Liberatore is a solid second arm to consider in the afternoon as the Cardinals close out their four-game set with the Reds. Cincinnati managed just one run against the Cards' pitching staff in Wednesday's doubleheader, and Liberatore will try to keep their bats silent for Thursday afternoon's matchup as well.
Liberatore is 2-2 on the season with a 3.19 ERA, 1.89 FIP, and 0.97 WHIP. His advanced metrics indicate that he has been a little unlucky to have an ERA that high, although it remains very manageable. He has 28 strikeouts in 31 innings but has only allowed a 5.5 percent barrel rate.
In his last three starts, Liberatore allowed just a total of three runs to the Brewers, Mets, and Phillies. He went at least six innings in each of those tough matchups and averaged 19.8 DraftKings points per contest. He's typically a stronger start when he's pitching at home, but even on the road, the 25-year-old lefty brings enough potential to be a solid play Thursday afternoon.
Casey Mize - DET - SP ($8.7K DK; $9.8K FD) NIGHT
Mize has had a fantastic start to the season, and he looks ready to finally live up to the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft back in 2018. Mize rose to the majors quickly but needed Tommy John surgery and was shut down by a hamstring injury last year. After a healthy offseason, though, Mize has more velocity and an improved splitter this year.
He is 4-1 in his first five starts with a 2.12 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. He doesn't have an elite strikeout rate, but he has done a great job limiting damage and giving his team a chance to win games. He has allowed zero or one run in four of his five starts, earning at least 19 DraftKings points in each of those four outings.
On Thursday night, he gets a good matchup against the Angels, who have scored just 30 runs over their last 12 games (2.5 runs per game) with an MLB-high 30.7 percent strikeout rate over that span and a team batting average of just .183.
Justin Verlander - SF - SP ($8.5K DK; $7.9K FD) NIGHT
Verlander is especially affordable on FanDuel, but even on DraftKings, he's a great option to build around in the final game of the day as his Giants host the Rockies at Oracle Park. Despite going 0-2 in his first six starts with the Giants, Verlander has shown positive signs in his last two outings.
He has a 4.99 ERA and 4.12 FIP on the season, but a 2.25 ERA and 3.08 FIP in his last two starts against the Angels and Rangers. The 42-year-old earned a quality start in each of those outings by going six innings and allowing a total of three runs while racking up 11 total strikeouts. Even at 42 years old, he still has plenty of punchout potential.
Justin Verlander dials it up to 97 for his 6th K 🔥 pic.twitter.com/b0Nu9u8YL1
— MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2025
The Rockies still hold a slight lead over the Angels for the highest K percentage on the season and are tied with the White Sox for the worst team batting average in the MLB. They have a team wRC+ of just 63, which is the lowest of any team in MLB. Verlander would be worth considering even if this game were at Coors Field, but since it's in San Francisco, he should be set to dominate this lineup and has a good shot at his first win of the season.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
The infield offers plenty of pay-up power and some sneaky value on both the early and late slates. Here’s who to target:
Elly De La Cruz - CIN - SS ($6K DK; $3.9K FD) EARLY
Even with his team struggling on Wednesday, De La Cruz continued to mash. He's hitting .281 with a .343 wOBA on the season, but he has been much better than that lately, hitting .352 with a .398 wOBA during his current 14-game hitting streak. He has added 10 stolen bases over that span as well, with a 39.5 percent hard-hit rate.
His splits have been very balanced so far this season, showing a slight increase in power against lefties, such as Liberatore, but a slightly better average against righties. He also has favorable splits at Great American Ball Park, where he and the Reds will try to salvage a split of their four-game series Thursday afternoon.
Edouard Julien - MIN - 2B ($3.1K DK; $2.6K FD) EARLY
Julien is a great way to get an affordable infield bat at the top of a lineup that has good upside on Thursday afternoon. The Twins face Ben Lively, who has a 4.40 ERA and 4.77 FIP while giving up 30 hits and 15 runs in 30 2/3 innings. He has allowed lefties to hit .302 with four homers and a .427 wOBA against him this season, and the Twins are typically lefty-heavy.
Julien has been hitting leadoff against right-handed starting pitchers, and he has scored six runs in his last six starts with a double, a home run, and a .371 wOBA. Julien is affordable, given his relatively unimpressive season-long numbers, but his recent form and this matchup offer him lots of value potential on Thursday.
Rafael Devers - BOS - 3B ($4.7K DK; $3.4K FD) NIGHT
Remember when Devers couldn't hit anything to start the season? He has been out to make up for that slow start and has been red hot on Boston's current road trip. In his last five games, he is 8-for-22 (.364) with three doubles, three home runs, and a 33.3 percent barrel rate.
Devers has only gone 7-for-38 in his career against opposing starter Jose Berrios, but five of those seven hits have been for extra bases, including a pair of home runs. He'll look to stay hot on Thursday night in Toronto and is still relatively affordable after his early-season slide.
Bo Bichette - TOR - SS ($4.3K DK; $2.7K FD) NIGHT
Bichette is a better value on FanDuel than on DraftKings but can be a good shortstop play on either site on the night slate, when he'll face Tanner Houck of the Red Sox, who has been very inconsistent in the early part of the season. Houck has been a great matchup to attack on the road, where he has an 11.65 ERA, 6.90 FIP, and a 2.24 WHIP while allowing opponents to hit .395 with a .475 wOBA.
Bichette picked up two more hits on Wednesday in the Blue Jays' comeback win and has multiple hits in five of his last 12 games while going 15-for-51 (.294) with three doubles and three stolen bases. His power numbers are down this year, but he has done a good job getting on base and getting the Blue Jays' offense rolling from the leadoff spot.
Also Consider: Masyn Winn - STL - SS ($3.2K DK; $2.5K FD), Bryson Stott - PHI - 2B/SS FanDuel Only ($4.6K DK; 3.1K FD), CJ Abrams - WAS - SS ($5K DK; $3.2K FD)
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
The outfield has elite studs and extreme value plays to round out your lineups for any of Thursday's different slates. Here’s the breakdown:
Oneil Cruz - PIT - OF/SS (FanDuel Only) ($5.8K DK; $3.6K FD) EARLY
Cruz has been an advanced metric darling throughout his climb to MLB, consistently creating Statcast highlights in the minors and during his first few seasons. He battled a few injuries before this season, but is now healthy and is realizing his potential while hitting leadoff for the Pirates daily.
Cruz has eight home runs and 12 stolen bases on the season, with three of those home runs coming in his last eight games when he went 10-for-33 (.303) with an 81.8 percent hard-hit rate and a 31.8 percent barrel rate. Almost everything Cruz hits is smashed right now, and Colin Rea and his "pitch-to-contact" approach could be in big trouble Thursday afternoon.
Average exit velocity leaders in 2025:
Oneil Cruz - 96.5
Rafael Devers - 95.8
Gunnar Henderson - 95.8
Aaron Judge - 95.5
Shohei Ohtani - 95.5
Pete Alonso - 95.3Some of the league’s best are absolutely tattooing baseballs🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SaTbQsJWAm
— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) April 30, 2025
Trevor Larnach - MIN - OF ($3.8K DK; $2.9K FD) EARLY
Larnach is another lefty to target for the Twins against Lively. He is 11-for-35 (.324) over his last nine games and has locked down the cleanup spot with three home runs and nine RBI over that span. He has a .436 wOBA over that stretch as well and has averaged 10.7 DraftKings points per game over that span.
Especially given Lively's splits against lefties, Larnach is a good way to get some power in your lineup at a very affordable salary in this afternoon's matchup in Cleveland.
James Wood - WAS - OF ($5.2K DK; $3.3K FD) NIGHT
Speaking of left-handed power, James Wood is a big-time bat to consider in the later slate, as he looks to continue his strong start to his sophomore season. Wood is hitting .250 with nine home runs, a .293 ISO, and a .407 xwOBA in his 31 games this season. He has also added three stolen bases, while increasing his walk rate and decreasing his strikeout rate.
Over his last nine games, he is 10-for-34 (.294) with four doubles, two home runs, and an average of 9.8 DraftKings points per game. He has been able to move out of the leadoff spot with the return of CJ Abrams, which gives him more RBI potential. He faces Phillies righty Taijuan Walker on Thursday, as the Nationals try to avoid being swept in Philly before heading to Cincinnati for the weekend.
Daulton Varsho - TOR - OF ($3.8K DK; $2.5K FD) NIGHT
Varsho just returned from injury and is already having an impact on the Blue Jays' lineup in addition to his adventures in the outfield.
DAULTON VARSHO...
WHERE THE EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS 😳 pic.twitter.com/WlJgQ9gnI4
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 30, 2025
At the plate, Varsho went 0-for-3 with a walk in his season debut on Tuesday and hit a critical home run on Wednesday night while going 2-for-4 with another walk on his way to 21 DraftKings points.
Last year, Varsho had 18 homers and a .304 wOBA in his 136 games for the Blue Jays, and the lefty has good value potential against Houck and the Red Sox on Thursday night at his very affordable salary.
Also Consider: Jackson Chourio - MIL - OF ($5.4K DK; $3.7K FD) Kevin Pillar - TEX - OF ($3K DK; $2.6K FD), Jarren Duran - BOS - OF ($5.3K DK; $3.5K FD), Heliot Ramos - SF - OF ($3.8K DK; 2.9K FD)
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Stacking is key for GPPs, especially with DK’s deeper lineups and FD’s scoring rewarding power. Here are my top stacks for each slate:
EARLY: Minnesota Twins (vs. Ben Lively - CLE)
Lively has been a great matchup for lefties, which is why I highlighted both Larnach and Julien as good values above. Since they have started slowly, the Twins are a very affordable stack to consider as well. To add some thump to the stack, Byron Buxton ($4.8K DK; $3.8K FD) and Carlos Correa ($3.5K DK; $2.7K FD) can be added to the mix while Brooks Lee ($3.1DK; $2.4K FD) can be worked in as another salary saver with good upside and lots of positional flexibility on FanDuel.
NIGHT: Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Tanner Houck - BOS)
With Houck's road struggles, the Blue Jays are a good stack, especially with the Red Sox using their best relievers last night in Toronto's comeback extra-inning win. Bichette and Varsho are solid places to start the stack, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($4.8K; $2.9K FD) and George Springer ($4.5K DK; $2.9K FD) can bring good power potential with Addison Barger ($2.2K DK; $2.1K FD) as a viable punt play with upside as well.
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