FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (5/2/18): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

May 2, 2018

Kevin Luchansky highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 5/2/18, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.

Two pretty attractive schedules on deck here with five games in the matinee and nine games this evening for the Main slate. Luckily for us there are a handful of good-to-great pitchers in each, and the rest we can pick on with bats.

We've got nine games in the Main slate this evening and none are too, too big of a favorite on the moneyline as of this afternoon. The Nats are the biggest favorites at -195, followed by quite a gap to the Mariners (-165), Phillies (-166), Mets (-160) and Angels (-152). As for run projections, we don't have anything that really jumps off the board. The Brewers currently are at the top at 4.9, followed by the Reds (4.8), Nationals (4.8) and Mariners at 4.6. Slim pickings in that regard.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/2/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too.

FanDuel DFS Pitchers

Corey Kluber - SP, vs TEX ($11,600) - Early

Kluber is hands down the best pitcher on this slate and he also happens to have perhaps the safest matchup combined with the highest strikeout upside. Kluber and the Indians are the biggest Vegas moneyline favorites of the early slate at -292 and Kluber is largely responsible for his opponent having the lowest run projection at just 3.1. This Texas Rangers lineup is full of potential strikeouts and their projected lineup today owns a 30% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season. Kluber has been brilliant in all but one start this season (and still fared well in that one, just not brilliantly) and boasts a 11.6 K/9  and a 0.7 WHIP. He's a very strong cash play and is certainly in consideration for the best GPP arm, thanks to the strikeout potential.

Also Consider Early: Carlos Martinez - SP, vs CWS ($9,500); Blake Snell - SP, vs DET ($8,700)

Tournament Considerations for Early: Fernando Romero - SP, vs TOR ($5,600)

Aaron Nola - SP, at MIA ($8,900) - Main

Nola has dazzled in two of his last four starts and beaten his price implied value in three of those said starts. He gets a strong pitcher park upgrade today and faces a team that has a paltry offense. For the season, he's done a great job of limiting damage from left and right-handed batters and has held opposing hitters to just a 27% hard hit rate and a 61% groundball-tof-flyball ratio. In his past two starts, he's thrown a higher percentage of strikes and brought the opponent hard hit rate down to 20%. I think he's a strong cash play tonight and he also gets the nod in tournaments thanks to the strikeout upside.

Also Consider for Main: Jacob DeGrom - SP, vs ATL ($10,500); Stephen Strasburg - SP, vs PIT ($9,700)

Tournament Considerations for Main: Zack Godley - SP, vs LAD ($9,000); Andrew Heaney - SP, vs BAL ($7,700)

FanDuel DFS Infielders

Salvador Perez - C, at BOS ($3,300) - Early 

Salvador Perez has been absolutely smashing baseballs - albeit without a ton of production to show for it, but nonetheless - he boasts a 64% hard hit rate in his last 10 days. Perhaps more importantly, he is very dangerous against southpaws and gets a nice park updrade this afternoon. For the past 12 months, his .368 wOBA split is a nice mark and the .322 ISO is very attactive.

Matt Carpenter - 2B, vs CWS ($3,100) - Early 

I like grabbing Carpenter here as he busted out of his slump last night with a double and home run and he faces another slump-busting pitcher today in Lucas Giolito. Luckily for us, these prices were set before Carpenter's late inning extra-base hits and we get him at a bargin this afternoon in a great matchup. For the past year, he sports a .375 wOBA and a strong .238 ISO for his splits against right-handed pitching.

Yangervis Solarte - 3B, at MIN ($3,700) - Early

The switch-hitting Solarte is off to a nice start in 2018 and he happens to draw a pretty good matchup here against AAA call-up pitcher Fernando Romero. Solarte does much of his damage against right-handed pitching when he digs in as a lefty batter, highlighted by .342 wOBA and .213 ISO split. Over his last 10 games, Solarte has a solid 30% hard hit rate and has done a nice job of launching the ball with a 42% fly ball rate and two home runs in that stretch.

Travis Shaw - 3B, at CIN ($3,800) - Main

Shaw hit a deep bomb for us last night and he's a bat I like to ride when he's hot. Certainly that isn't the only thing going for him, but a 45% hard hit and 48% fly ball rate is noteworthy and attractive in daily fantasy. He also boasts strong splits against right-handed pitching, highlighted by a .241 ISO and .390 wOBA.

FanDuel DFS Outfielders

Two outfielders for the early slate that I adore against southpaws - Jorge Soler and J.D. Martinez!

Jorge Soler - OF, at BOS ($2,900) - Early

The wintery Spring weather seems like it is finally behind us, so Soler has decided to heat up himself. Two of his last give games have been multi-hit performances and he is destroying the baseball when he makes contact. In his last 12 games, he is flashing a 40% hard hit rate, 46% fly ball rate, 93 mile per hour exit velocity and an average batted ball distance of 246 feet - fairly elite figures. In the past year, he strong promise against lefties, too, with his .220 ISO split.

J.D. Martinez - OF, vs KCR ($4,500)

JD didn't explode last night, but he stayed above value and has locked incredibly locked in these past two weeks. He is very explosive against lefties, as evidenced by an ISO split north of the .500 mark over the past season. Oh, and the .558 wOBA mark is tremendous as well, and creates a nice floor for him in cash games.

Bryce Harper - OF, vs PIT ($4,900) - Main

Harper has a high price tag today but the has a matchup against Ivan Nova that justifies it. He happens to be coming off a big night in the leadoff spot, and he does boast an ISO split over .300. In the past 10 days, he's been making excellent contact, producing a 41% hard hit rate and a 24% line drive rate.

Christian Yelich - OF, at CIN ($3,700) - Main

Yelich is my favorite outfield play below 4k for the evening bases. He draws a matchup with the struggling Luis Castillo and has great lineup context as well hitting in the two-hole of the order for the team with the highest implied run total. The oblique issue seems to be in the past, as he is absolutely ripping it of late. A 53% hard hit rate in his last 13 games is super impressive.

Adam Duvall - OF, vs MIL ($2,800) - Main

I wanted to supply my favorite outfielder in each pricing tier. Duvall came up short in a good spot last night, but gets an even better matchup to exploit this evening. His .280 ISO split is really awesome - especially for someone in this pricing tier - and, like my other top outfield plays, he is scorching the ball,

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