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Zach's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Thursday, 5/15/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Happy Thursday Rotoballers! Major League Baseball has a lighter schedule lined up with many teams traveling before their weekend series begins on Friday. On DraftKings, the four afternoon games are the early slate, and the two games scheduled for after 8:00 p.m. ET are on a separate slate. On FanDuel, the main slate starts at 12:15 p.m. ET and is the first four games of the day while the two night games are only on the All Day slate.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/15/2025, and I'll focus most of my picks from the slate starting at 12:15 p.m. EDT with a few late picks mixed in. The lineup picks will showcase elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. I've indicated EARLY after picks from the first four games and NIGHT for the players on the two-game evening slate.
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 12 starting pitchers taking the mound represent a nice blend of high-upside aces, along with a few value plays with sneaky upside. Here’s who stands out to me:
Jacob deGrom - TEX - P ($9K DK; $9.2 FD) NIGHT
The Rangers and Astros start their Texas-sized four-game series this Thursday night on MLB Network. The series starts with a great pitching matchup between deGrom and Hunter Brown in a matchup of the top two arms on the board. I give deGrom the advantage since he's at home and easier to build around at his cheaper price point.
In his last start, deGrom won his third straight outing, allowing just two runs over five innings to the Tigers with a season-high 10 strikeouts.
Jacob deGrom has TEN strikeouts through the first four innings in Detroit 👀 pic.twitter.com/iBiwp5wMPc
— MLB (@MLB) May 10, 2025
In each of his last five starts, deGrom has allowed two runs or fewer and earned at least 16 DraftKings points with 25 DraftKings points or more in three of those outings, including that outing in Detroit, where he finished with 27.7 DraftKings points.
He's been especially sharp at home at Globe Life Field, where he has a 1.88 ERA, 3.28 FIP, and 0.87 WHIP. In what should be a great pitchers' duel, both arms have big-time upside, but I'm backing deGrom.
AJ Smith-Shawver - ATL - P ($9.3K DK; $10.2K FD) EARLY
Since rejoining the Braves' rotation at the end of April, Smith-Shawver has been excellent over three starts, allowing just three runs in 19 innings. In his one home start during that stretch, he went eight shutout innings, allowing only one hit to the Reds and racking up 29 DraftKings points in his second victory of the season.
The 22-year-old righty has a 1.42 ERA and 3.10 FIP over those three starts, but the team hasn't made known its plans for the youngster when Spencer Strider (hamstring) is ready to return. This could be his last chance to make an impression and keep his role, and he has a neutral matchup against the Nationals, who rank near the middle of the pack in most offensive categories.
Smith-Shawver has shown enough upside in his last three starts to be the best arm in the daytime slate, as he tries to help the Braves take three out of four from the Nats before heading to Boston for the weekend.
Chris Paddack - MIN - P ($7.3K DK; $7.8K FD) EARLY
Paddack's season-long numbers are still hurting from his first start of the season, when he allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 innings against the White Sox. He has bounced back and turned things around nicely, though, and has been a very solid DFS option in his last six outings. He has only gone 1-2 in those six starts but has posted a 2.51 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 0.99 WHIP, and 7.2 K/9.
In his last start, Paddack earned a season-high 28.7 DraftKings points and 46.3 FanDuel points by throwing 7 1/3 innings at home against the Giants. He allowed one run on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He has gone at least five innings in his last six starts, allowing two or fewer runs in five outings.
Paddack gets a boost as a bargain on the early slate since he'll be facing the struggling Orioles, who rank third in the majors in strikeout rate this season. Over the last two weeks, they have scored the third-fewest runs in the majors with just a .235 team batting average and a 23.4% strikeout rate over that 11-game stretch. The Twins swept Wednesday's doubleheader, and the Orioles are only 2-8 in their last 10 games.
Also Consider: Nick Martinez - CIN - P ($8.3K DK; $8.6K FD) EARLY, Matt Sauer - LAD - P ($7.5K DK; $7.1K FD) NIGHT
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
While the options are limited on Thursday's slates, there are a few strong plays to consider in the infield at a variety of price points. Whether you're shopping for high-priced building blocks or value plays, here's who stands out:
Austin Riley - ATL - 3B ($5.3K DK; $3.3K FD) EARLY
Riley has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, hitting .302 during that span with two doubles, two home runs, and two stolen bases. He has a 55.0% hard-hit rate over that span and a .349 wOBA. He and the Braves are in a favorable spot against Trevor Williams, who has a 5.88 ERA and 4.04 xFIP in his eight starts this season. Riley hasn't had much success against him in the past, but he is hitting well enough to be one of the standout studs on Thursday's slate.
Jonathan Aranda - TB - 1B ($3.9K DK; $3.2K FD)
Aranda is having a breakout start to the season for the Rays and has become a great option at 1B whenever the Rays are up against a right-handed starting pitcher.
List of players with a higher WRC+ on the year than Jonathan Aranda:
1. Aaron Judge
End of list pic.twitter.com/Uq0NroCLiT
— Zach Daab (@RealZachDaab) May 14, 2025
On the season, he's hitting .339 with six home runs, a .223 ISO, a .430 wOBA, and an average of 7.9 DraftKings points per game. He has gone 13-for-36 (.444) in his last 11 games with a double, two home runs, and a .500 wOBA. Aranda is hitting an impressive .371 with a .468 wOBA against right-handed pitchers like Kevin Gausman and has hit safely in seven straight games with multiple at-bats.
Marcus Semien - TEX - 2B ($3.1K DK; $2.8K FD) NIGHT
Semien has owned Hunter Brown in their past meetings, going 12-for-19 (.632) against him with a double, a walk, and a pair of RBI. While he isn't leading off anymore, he has been making better contact lately, with a 61.5% hard-hit rate over his last five games and a home run during that span. His strikeout rate is still high, and his batting average is still low, but maybe facing Brown can help continue his recent trend in the right direction.
Hyeseong Kim - LAD - 2B/SS (FD Only) ($2.3K DK; $2.5K FD) NIGHT
Kim hit his first Major League Baseball home run on Wednesday night in the Dodgers' 9-3 win over the Athletics. He went 2-for-2 with that home run and is up to .360 (9-for-25) in his 11 games with the Dodgers. He has also been successful in each of his two stolen-base attempts, and if he hits at the bottom of the order, he can produce like a second leadoff hitter, getting on base in front of the top of the order when it flips. He has a very high ceiling as a bargain play and is a great way to grab a piece of the Dodgers' productive lineup at a very affordable price.
Also Consider: Matt Olson - ATL - 1B ($4.8K DK; $3.1K FD) EARLY, Elly De La Cruz - CIN - SS ($5.7K DK; $3.8K FD) EARLY, Drake Baldwin - ATL - C ($3.5K DK; $2.6K FD) EARLY
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Thursday's slates also offer a great mix of power and speed combos to consider in the outfield. Here are my top targets:
Shohei Ohtani - LAD - OF/1B (DK Only) ($6.5K DK; $4.6K FD) NIGHT
Ohtani hit another home run on Wednesday night and now has five home runs in his last nine games and seven homers in his last 14. He also has five multi-hit games in his last 11 contests, helping him hit .386 during that span, with a .573 wOBA. The Athletics will turn to Osvaldo Bido on Thursday, who has allowed nine home runs and a 39.7% hard-hit rate in his eight starts this season.
Byron Buxton - MIN - OF ($5.4K DK; $3.6K FD) EARLY
Buxton has been healthy and productive for the Twins this season and has returned to the leadoff spot in his last nine games. While he has cooled off a bit in his last few games, he is still hitting .303 with four homers, two triples, three stolen bases, and a .390 wOBA over his last 17 games. He and the Twins have surged back over .500 with 10 straight wins and have a good matchup Thursday against Tomoyuki Sugano in the series finale.
Addison Barger - TOR - 3B/OF ($6.3K DK; $2.4K FD) EARLY
Barger continues to crush the ball on a regular basis, even though his outcomes have been inconsistent. He's hitting only .213 (13-for-61) with six doubles, a home run, eight RBI, and a .281 wOBA. However, his batted-ball metrics are much more encouraging. He has a 52.1% hard-hit rate and 12.5% barrel rate. His maximum exit velocity is in the top 2% of the league, and his average exit velocity is 94.5 miles per hour, which would rank in the top 10 if he had enough at-bats to qualify. He has started to see better results lately, hitting .320 (8-for-25) over his last seven games, including this laser of a home run from Sunday:
No helmet needed for Addison Barger's banger 😤 pic.twitter.com/D6UYQ562EO
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2025
Will Benson - CIN - OF ($3K DK; $2.2K FD) EARLY
Benxon just rejoined the Reds five games ago and has made a nice impact in his limited opportunities. He hit .289 in his 31 games at Triple-A with seven home runs, five stolen bases, and a .398 wOBA. He has gone 3-for-15 (.200) with two doubles, two walks, a stolen base, and a 40.0% hard-hit rate since his promotion. He is a nice bargain play to fill in your outfield spot this Thursday as he faces Bryse Wilson and the White Sox at home in hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
Also Consider: TJ Friedl - CIN - OF ($4.3K DK; 3K FD) EARLY, Tyler O'Neill - BAL - OF ($4.2K DK; $2.8K FD) EARLY, Michael Conforto - LAD - OF ($3K DK; $2.8K FD) NIGHT
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
EARLY: Atlanta Braves (vs. Trevor Williams - WAS)
NIGHT: Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. Osvaldo Bido - ATH)
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