Tuesday is the type of day where you can get overwhelmed by all the capable pitching options for your daily fantasy baseball lineup. You could go about 20 deep with your picks in GPPs, and even in cash games, there are about five legit aces taking the hill.
The key to finding the right pitcher might come down to how much you trust early-season stat splits. Both the Dodgers and Giants have struggled against lefties this year (despite San Francisco's solid showing against Clayton Kershaw last night), so both Alex Wood and Matt Moore are in play in their head-to-head matchup. The Royals have really struggled against lefties, making Jose Quintana a fine choice. On the flip side, the White Sox have been among the best teams against southpaws, which really hurts Danny Duffy's potential. Ditto for Cole Hamels, who hasn't pitched well this year anyway, going against the Astros.
For the righties, the always unpredictable Carlos Martinez gets one of the major's most strikeout-prone teams in the Brewers, while both Sonny Gray and Ervin Santana face below-average offenses against righties (at least in terms of OPS) in their head-to-head matchup. Masahiro Tanaka (vs. TOR) gets the best stat-based matchup of the day for a righty, and Tyler Chatwood makes for a sneaky play, as he not only is much (much) better on the road, but he's also facing a Padres team that has just a .229/.289/.398 line against righthanders this year.
MORE DFS: Tuesday's lineup | Lineup Builder
Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Sale, LHP | BOS | vs. BAL |
| 2 | Jon Lester, LHP | CHC | vs. PHI |
| 3 | James Paxton, LHP | SEA | vs. LAA |
| 4 | Corey Kluber, RHP | CLE | at DET |
| 5 | Justin Verlander, RHP | DET | vs. CLE |
| 6 | Ervin Santana, RHP | MIN | vs. OAK |
| 7 | Jose Quintana, LHP | CWS | at KC |
| 8 | Carlos Martinez, RHP | STL | vs. MIL |
| 9 | Masahiro Tanaka, RHP | NYY | vs. TOR |
| 10 | Tanner Roark, RHP | WAS | vs. ARI |
| 11 | Danny Duffy, LHP | KC | vs. CWS |
| 12 | Matt Shoemaker, RHP | LAA | at SEA |
| 13 | Alex Wood, LHP | LAD | vs. SF |
| 14 | Matt Moore, LHP | SF | at LAD |
| 15 | Matt Harvey, RHP | NYM | at ATL |
| 16 | Cole Hamels, LHP | TEX | at HOU |
| 17 | Sonny Gray, RHP | OAK | at MIN |
| 18 | Jeremy Hellickson, RHP | PHI | at CHC |
| 19 | Taijuan Walker, RHP | ARI | at WAS |
| 20 | Tyler Chatwood, RHP | COL | at SD |
| 21 | Scott Feldman, RHP | CIN | vs. PIT |
| 22 | Alex Cobb, RHP | TB | at MIA |
| 23 | Edinson Volquez, RHP | MIA | vs. TB |
| 24 | Wily Peralta, RHP | MIL | at STL |
| 25 | Tyler Glasnow, RHP | PIT | at CIN |
| 26 | R.A. Dickey, RHP | ATL | vs. NYM |
| 27 | Mike Fiers, RHP | HOU | vs. TEX |
| 28 | Trevor Cahill, RHP | SD | vs. COL |
| 29 | Mat Latos, RHP | TOR | at NYY |
| 30 | Alec Asher, RHP | BAL | at BOS |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Tuesday, May 2
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A few weather notes for tonight's slate: The wind is blowing out at a few places, especially in the Northeast. In Boston, New York and Washington, we’re expecting some wind-aided homers, so feel free to stack Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Nationals. There doesn’t appear to be any PPD threats tonight, so that’s one less worry (for now). Stay tuned to the Weather Center for constant updates. -- Nick Berns
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Picks: Tuesday, May 2
There are a few players that I didn’t do a full write-up on, but like for value plays and may make it into my Optimal Lineups. They include:
C Jett Bandy (if in lineup) - DK
C Geovany Soto - DK / FD
C Mike Zunino - Y!
1B - Justin Bour - DK / Y!
1B - Logan Morrison - DK
1B - Mike Napoli - FD
1B - Greg Bird - Y!
2B - Kolten Wong - DK
2B - Jose Peraza - FD
2B - Tyler Saladino - Y!
3B - Travis Shaw - DK
3B - Manny Machado - FD
3B - Anthony Rendon - Y!
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera - DK / FD
SS - Erick Aybar - Y!
OF - Jay Bruce - DK