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Fantasy Baseball Picks: Top DraftKings MLB DFS Targets, Values for May 11

Steve Buchanan gives his top studs and value plays for Thursday’s fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings, which starts at 7:05 p.m. ET.

MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Tampa Bay Rays Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Small schedule for MLB tonight, as only three games are taking place starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s get right into all the info you need to build your DFS lineups.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]

For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app. You also can follow DK Live on Twitter @dklive.


PITCHER

Stud

Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics $9,500 - Eovaldi sticks out like a sore thumb on this small slate. After enduring a lot of bad luck in early April, Eovaldi’s numbers look much better overall. His 3.22 ERA aligns with his 3.09 xERA and a 2.17 FIP. He’ll go up against the Athletics for the first time this season in Oakland. Eovaldi hasn’t allowed a run in two straight starts against the Angels and Yankees while producing 13 strikeouts through a stellar 17 innings. The ownership is going to be very high on him but he’s a cash game lock for me.

Value

Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks, $8,700 - Cobb has quietly put together a really solid start to the season. While he’s due for a bit of regression, his 2.01 ERA and a 3.77 xERA still aren’t bad numbers by any means. Cobb is a ground ball specialist and is inducing them at a 63% rate. This limits not only the fly balls but home runs, as he’s only given up three through 40.1 innings. Even with striking out less than a batter per inning, the Giants starter is averaging 18.7 DKFP on the season.


INFIELD

Stud

Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees, $5,500 - He’s one of the most expensive hitters on the slate, but Franco has been as good as advertised. Averaging a ridiculous 13.9 DKFP over his last 10 games, Franco has 14 hits over that span, including three home runs, two doubles, nine RBI and 8 runs scored. He’s also been running a lot lately, swiping six of his 11 stolen bases. He’ll face Domingo German ($8,300), who has a 4.58 FIP against lefties.

Stud

Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics, $5,100 - We haven’t officially received word who the Athletics will start tonight but it’s trending toward being Zach Neal. If you’re not familiar with Neal, no need to feel bad. His last appearance in the majors came in 2018 with the Dodgers, where he threw one single inning. Before that, it was 14.2 innings for the Athletics in 2017. As you can figure out, he hasn’t found much success in the majors. Semien is crushing right-handed pitching to the tune of a .403 wOBA and a 160 wRC+. The Rangers are by far the team to stack on this small slate.

Value

Wilmer Flores, San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks, $2,800 - Flores is a perfect value to use at either first or third base. Throughout his career, he’s been a great hitter against lefties and that’s exactly what has transpired this year. He currently has a .425 wOBA with a .326 ISO and a 171 wRC+ against southpaws. For reference, against righties, he sports only a .278 wOBA with a .152 ISO and a 73 wRC+. Going up against Tommy Henry, Flores is an excellent way to help save some salary. Henry has a .338 wOBA against righties in the three starts he’s made for the D-Backs.


OUTFIELD

Stud

Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics, $5,300 - Once again, going back to a Ranger for tonight. Garcia has continued his hot hitting, averaging 9.2 DKFP over his last 10 games which include two home runs, a double, seven RBI, and seven runs scores. As mentioned earlier, the Rangers have the benefit of facing Zach Neal, who wouldn’t be starting for any other team in the majors at this point of his career. Even if Garcia doesn’t get something off Neal, he has the worst bullpen in baseball to feast on. The A’s come into this game with a 6.87 ERA and a 6.10 FIP.

Stud

Harrison Bader, New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays, $4,000 - The Yankees have desperately needed a spark in their lineup and that’s what Bader has provided. Since returning on May 6, he’s averaging a massive 13.1 DKFP, collecting seven hits with three home runs, two triples, 11 RBI and seven runs scored. He’s been an on-base machine with a .448 OBP and a .893 SLG. He’s still not overly expensive either, relative to the production he’s had at the plate. While I do like the Rays overall in this game, you cannot deny how good Bader is hitting lately.

Value

Mitch Haniger, San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks, $3,700 - I think we all forget how good of a hitter Haniger can be. Injuries have decimated his numbers over the past few years but when he’s healthy, he’s a force against lefties. Throughout his career, Haniger has a .360 wOBA with a .220 ISO and a 132 wRC+ against lefties. Again, we’re picking on Henry in this matchup but the Giants do have some viable bats to use against lefties, despite their poor overall numbers against them.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]


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