We have a slightly abbreviated schedule on Thursday with 12 games on the docket, including six in the afternoon and a 6:10 pm ET start. This obviously dilutes the player pool on main evening slates on daily fantasy baseball sites, but the potential pitcher picks remain strong. Four of the top five pitchers in our rankings start in the evening, including a head-to-head tilt between Michael Wacha and Kenta Maeda.
None of the pitchers on either slate today really stand out except for Jacob deGrom -- and even he's had his problems giving up runs -- so expect to see a wide variety of roster choices in cash games and GPPs. Both Gio Gonzalez (vs. SEA) and Drew Pomeranz (vs. TEX) get good matchups on paper, as the Mariners and Rangers generally struggle against southpaws. The opposite is true for the Brewers and Nationals, so be careful with Robbie Ray (vs. MIL) and Ariel Miranda (at WAS).
Perhaps the biggest sleeper today is Padres rookie Dinelson Lamet, who's making his big league debut against the Mets. Lamet is very similar to the pitcher one spot above him in today's rankings, Vince Velasquez, in that he's a high-K, high-walk pitcher. The talent is there for a shutdown performance, but given that this is his major league debut, we're not going to bet too heavily on the 24-year-old righty.
MORE DFS: Thursday's Lineup | Lineup Builder
Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob deGrom, RHP | NYM | vs. SD |
| 2 | Ivan Nova, RHP | PIT | at ATL |
| 3 | Justin Verlander, RHP | DET | at HOU |
| 4 | Michael Wacha, RHP | STL | at LAD |
| 5 | Kenta Maeda, RHP | LAD | vs. STL |
| 6 | Masahiro Tanaka, RHP | NYY | vs. KC |
| 7 | Gio Gonzalez, LHP | WAS | vs. SEA |
| 8 | Jeff Samardzija, RHP | SF | at CHC |
| 9 | Drew Pomeranz, LHP | BOS | vs. TEX |
| 10 | Robbie Ray, LHP | ARI | at MIL |
| 11 | Tyler Anderson, LHP | COL | at PHI |
| 12 | Mike Clevinger, RHP | CLE | at CIN |
| 13 | Matt Andriese, RHP | TB | vs. LAA |
| 14 | Vince Velasquez, RHP | PHI | vs. COL |
| 15 | Ariel Miranda, LHP | SEA | at WAS |
| 16 | Dinelson Lamet, RHP | SD | at NYM |
| 17 | Eddie Butler, RHP | CHC | vs. SF |
| 18 | Mike Fiers, RHP | HOU | vs. DET |
| 19 | Zach Davies, RHP | MIL | vs. ARI |
| 20 | Nick Martinez, RHP | TEX | at BOS |
| 21 | Tim Adleman, RHP | CIN | at CLE |
| 22 | Bartolo Colon, RHP | ATL | vs. PIT |
| 23 | Daniel Wright, RHP | LAA | at TB |
| 24 | Miguel Almonte, RHP | KC | at NYY |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Thursday, May 25
This section is brought to you courtesy of Fantasy Alarm's Daily Fantasy Baseball Playbook. Along with the DFS Playbook, Fantasy Alarm's team of award-winning (and major DFS contest-winning) writers provide all the tools and analysis you need to dominate your DFS contests -- stats, Hitting and Pitching Coaches, Optimal Lineups, Lineup Builder, Ownership Forecaster, and much more. Go pro with Fantasy Alarm and take advantage of all the tools and full analysis.
There are 12 games Thursday, with six in the early slate and five in the main slate. The Reds-Indians game is only available in the full slate, which is a shame because the Indians hitters are going against Tim Adleman. I was surprised to find hitters I like at every position for both slates. Usually with a split slate like this, you have to scrape the bottom of the barrel at a couple of positions, but that isn't really the case. For the most part, I am paying up for pitchers in both slates. There may only be one true ace going, but there are a lot of pitchers who are pretty safe for strikeouts, and that is good enough for me. -- Steve Pimental
Yahoo! Daily
MORE: GO PRO with Fantasy Alarm