It's "Clayton Kershaw Day" in daily fantasy baseball contests, so unless you're worried about the fact he'll be facing the Giants for the third time already this year, he's as safe of a pick as it gets in cash games. But because Kershaw plays in one of four afternoon games, he won't be available on the main slates in FanDuel and DraftKings.
Unfortunately, neither will the No. 2 pitcher in our rankings, Lance McCullers, so the only real high-K guy going in the evening is Michael Pineda.
The rest of the top pitchers in our rankings are of the "steady" variety and can provide plenty of value in DFS contests, and even in GPPs, it's all about finding high floors today. Mike Leake, who's posted a quality start in every outing this year, looks like the safest option.
MORE DFS: Wednesday's Lineup | Lineup Builder
Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw, LHP | LAD | at SF |
| 2 | Lance McCullers Jr., RHP | HOU | at MIA |
| 3 | Mike Leake, RHP | STL | vs. BOS |
| 4 | Gerrit Cole, RHP | PIT | vs. WAS |
| 5 | Michael Pineda, RHP | NYY | at KC |
| 6 | Kyle Hendricks, RHP | CHC | vs. CIN |
| 7 | Michael Fulmer, RHP | DET | vs. BAL |
| 8 | Johnny Cueto, RHP | SF | vs. LAD |
| 9 | Rick Porcello, RHP | BOS | at STL |
| 10 | Ervin Santana, RHP | MIN | vs. COL |
| 11 | Jesse Hahn, RHP | OAK | at SEA |
| 12 | Matt Shoemaker, RHP | LAA | vs. CWS |
| 13 | Matt Garza, RHP | MIL | at SD |
| 14 | Mike Foltynewicz, RHP | ATL | vs. TOR |
| 15 | Jason Vargas, LHP | KC | vs. NYY |
| 16 | Alex Cobb, RHP | TB | at CLE |
| 17 | Jose Urena, RHP | MIA | vs. HOU |
| 18 | Andrew Cashner, RHP | TEX | vs. PHI |
| 19 | Joe Biagini, RHP | TOR | at ATL |
| 20 | Scott Feldman, RHP | CIN | at CHC |
| 21 | Miguel Gonzalez, RHP | CWS | at LAA |
| 22 | Jhoulys Chacin, RHP | SD | vs. MIL |
| 23 | German Marquez, RHP | COL | at MIN |
| 24 | Jacob Turner, RHP | WAS | at PIT |
| 25 | Zach Eflin, RHP | PHI | at TEX |
| 26 | Josh Tomlin, RHP | CLE | vs. TB |
| 27 | Christian Bergman, RHP | SEA | vs. OAK |
| 28 | Matt Harvey, RHP | NYM | at ARI |
| 29 | Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP | BAL | at DET |
| 30 | Patrick Corbin, LHP | ARI | vs. NYM |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Wednesday, May 17
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.
Today looks like a great day for a ballgame. As usual, we will be focusing our optimal lineups for the main slate, but the Playbook includes guys from the afternoon games to give you a leg up should you partake in some mid-day DFS.
On the weather front, the Rockies-Twins forecast is a bit dicey right now. There’s risk as to whether they get that in today. There’s also a chance of rain in the midwest (BOS-STL, CIN-CHC, NYY-KC), but we think those games should happen. We’ll keep an eye out and have pivots ready for the optimal lineups if necessary. Stay tuned to Fantasy Alarm's Weather Center for updates throughout the day. -- Nick Berns
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Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Picks: Wednesday, May 17
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 - Jason Castro (MIN) - Across-the-board
C - Jett Bandy (MIL) - FD
1B - Albert Pujols (LAA) - FD
1B - Kendrys Morales (TOR) -DK & FD
1B - Mike Napoli (TEX) - Y!
2B - Devon Travis (TOR) - FD & Y!
2B - Chase Utley (LAD) - DK & Y!
2B - Brandon Phillips (ATL) - DK & FD
2B - Dee Gordon (MIA) - DK
3B - Alex Bregman (HOU) - DK & FD
3B - Josh Harrison (PIT) - DK & FD
3B - Eduardo Nunez (SF) - FD & Y!
SS - Orlando Arcia (MIL) - FD
SS - Brandon Crawford (SF) - ATB
SS - Elvis Andrus (TEX) - FD
SS - Andrelton Simmons (LAA) - Y!
OF - Tommy Pham (STL) - DK & FD
OF - Carlos Beltran (HOU) - DK & FD
OF - Rajai Davis (OAK) - Y!
OF - Manuel Margot (SD) - DK
OF - Aaron Hicks (NYY) - ATB (lineup watch)