MLB DFS Picks Today: Daily Fantasy Baseball Strategy and Tips For FanDuel, DraftKings (5/23/25)

Dan's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Friday, 5/23/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.

We have a 12-game slate on DraftKings and 11 games on FanDuel, with DK including the second game of the Boston-Baltimore doubleheader. There is no shortage of great plays, both on the mound and in the batter's box, so let's get your process started by identifying some of the top plays for this Friday night slate.

This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/23/2025. I'll focus my picks on the main slate starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT on both sites. The lineup picks will showcase 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.

DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

It's a loaded pitching slate, so there are certainly more than just these five arms as viable options, but here are some of my favorites.

Zack Wheeler - PHI at ATH ($11K DK; $11K FD) 

Wheeler is the most expensive pitcher on both sites tonight, but if I pay up for one arm, it's probably him. Wheels has been steadily dominant over his last six starts, holding opponents under two earned runs every time out while earning a quality start. He's averaging over eight strikeouts per game in that stretch, too.

He does get a ballpark downgrade here on the road in Sacramento, but his matchup with the Athletics is neutral at worst. Wheeler is less home run prone than many pitchers, as he does a great job of keeping the ball on the ground, so the small dimensions of Sutter Health Park don't worry me too much here.

Noah Cameron - KCR at MIN ($8.5K DK; $8.1K FD)

I'm going off the grid with my next two picks. Yes, there are some other worthy aces like Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, and Pablo Lopez, but I like the value here with the Royals' rookie Noah Cameron taking on the Minnesota Twins.

Cameron has made just two starts so far in his MLB career, but is sporting a nifty 0.71 ERA. He hasn't struck out many hitters yet, but he has done a nice job of inducing weak contact (22.9% Hard%, 2.9% Barrel%).

The Twins are more dangerous against lefties now that Royce Lewis is back, but we get a bunch of platoon players in lineup spots six through nine, and their best hitter against lefties (Byron Buxton) is out on the IL.

Slade Cecconi - CLE at DET ($7.8K DK; $7.2K FD) 

I try not to read too much into one start, but Cecconi made his Cleveland debut last week and whiffed eight Reds over five innings. He did allow three runs on five hits, but he flashed some pretty impressive stuff with substantial underlying numbers.

Slade Cecconi, Elevated 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/1avsVaLd4w

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2025

He had an 18.2% SwStr% and didn't walk a single hitter. The Tigers can be a boom/bust offense that we either stack up or play pitchers against. Given the price on Cecconi and the strikeout chops he showed already, I am leaning towards using him as my favorite value option on the mound. Cleveland traded for him this offseason, and they've been known over the years to fine-tune pitchers and get the most out of them. Perhaps Cecconi is just the next great Guardians reclamation project.

Also Consider: Pablo Lopez - MIN vs. KC ($9.9K DK; $10K FD), Nick Pivetta - SDP at ATL ($10.3K DK; $9.6K FD)

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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Nolan Schanuel, 1B - LAA vs. Sandy Alcantara ($3.5K DK; $2.7K FD) 

The Angels are red hot, and I want to keep attacking Sandy Alcantara, who has been a shell of his former self this season. Lefties have hit him particularly hard this year, and Schanuel is the only lefty in the projected lineup for the Angels.

Despite being a contact hitter, Schanuel does have enough pop in his bat for the occasional home run, and Sandy has given up five bombs to lefties already this year.

He's cheap, has a great lineup spot in the two-hole, and makes for a great cash play as he very rarely gets shut out altogether due to his elite on-base skills.

Ketel Marte, 2B - ARI vs. Miles Mikolas ($5.3K DK; $3.7K FD)

The sample size is smaller since Marte missed some time early this season, but his .368 ISO against RHP is right there with teammate Corbin Carroll's this year. In the past, I have deployed Marte against lefties as that was the strong side of his splits, but this year he's smacking RHP just as hard as lefties.

I love the Snakes tonight against a high-contact pitcher like Mikolas. If I had to pick one Diamondback for my cash lineup, it's Marte, who has a high floor on a nightly basis at a relatively weak position.

Isaac Paredes, 3B - HOU vs. Emerson Hancock ($4K DK; $3.3K FD) 

Paredes is red-hot right now as the Astros' bats have finally warmed up this month. He's hit four home runs in his last five games and is finally helping Astros fans get over their loss of Alex Bregman on the hot corner in Houston.

Only two players have a .300+ ISO and under a 15% K% in the month of May:

Ketel Marte
Isaac Paredes 👀

Paredes also has a 15.2% BB% over this span as well.

— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) May 22, 2025

He's a dead pull hitter who loves to tee off on fastballs, and he should see plenty of them today from the righty Hancock, whose 6.07 xERA is the third-worst mark of any pitcher on the slate.

Also Consider: Zach Neto - SS ($4.9K DK; $3.7K FD), Jake Burger - 1B ($3.3K DK; $2.8K FD), Agustin Ramirez - C ($3.9K DK; $3.3K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Marcell Ozuna, OF - ATL vs. Nick Pivetta ($4.2K DK; $3.4K FD) 

Indulge me in one BvP-influenced pick today, will you? Marcell Ozuna has faced Pivetta 31 times in his career and has six home runs against him and a 1.089 OPS. That's pretty darn significant and about as big of a sample size as we could hope for when most of the rest of our BvP data comes from single-digit plate appearances.

Marcell Ozuna sends one wayyyy over the Green Monster for his 8th homer of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/VijKK3DKkc

— MLB (@MLB) May 18, 2025

Ozuna is also in great form, having homered in three of his last four games. Pivetta's weakness is the long ball, and the wind happens to be blowing out to left field tonight, too. Ozuna feels far too cheap for a hitter with his power profile in a matchup that he has proven he can win.

Cody Bellinger, OF/1B (FD Only) - NYY vs. Tanner Gordon ($5.5K DK; $4K FD) 

I told myself, "No Yankees," when I started writing this piece, as it's pretty obvious that they will be top plays on the road in Colorado tonight. But at least I didn't recommend a 7k Aaron Judge, right?

Save some coin and move down to Bellinger, who has three home runs in his last five games. Gordon gets abused by hitters from both sides of the plate, so feel free to mix and match your Yankees any number of ways tonight.

Lars Nootbaar, OF - STL vs. Zac Gallen ($4.8K DK; $3K FD) 

Is Zac Gallen broken? He's allowed 10 earned runs on 18 hits over his last two starts, one of which was against the lowly Rockies.

It's a dangerous spot for him tonight as the Cardinals can do some major damage against righties. Nootbaar is my first click from this St. Louis lineup as he brings some power and run production from the top of the order. At only 3k on FanDuel, he feels badly mispriced.

The Cards are sneaky tonight!

Also Consider: Jasson Dominguez - OF ($5K DK; 3.5K FD), Corbin Carroll - OF ($5.9K DK; $4.2K FD), Andy Pages - OF ($4.4K DK; $3.1K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks

The Yankees are implied for nearly eight runs in Colorado tonight and are an obvious choice for a stack, but let's look at three other spots that won't carry nearly as much rostership.

Houston Astros (4.5 implied run total) vs. Emerson Hancock (SEA)

Hancock has been allowing a ton of baserunners, and while he was only blown up once in his last handful of starts, another one is brewing with how much hard contact he's allowing.

Arizona Diamondbacks (4.6 implied run total) vs. Miles Mikolas (STL)

Arizona has been one of the best offenses against RHP in the league this season, and I'll never pass up an opportunity to pick on Mikolas.

SNEAKY STACK: Los Angeles Angels (4.7 implied run total) vs. Sandy Alcantara (MIA)

If you have been playing the Angels over the last week, you have been making money! I'll take my chances on them continuing their hot streak against a struggling Sandy Alcantara and a mediocre Miami bullpen.

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