MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Top Plays and Strategies for Saturday, May 16

A few Giants could boost your Saturday DraftKings MLB DFS lineups on the road against Luis Severino and the A's.
MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Top Plays and Strategies for Saturday, May 16

Saturday is a great day for baseball with games spread throughout the afternoon and into the evening. There's a six-game slate starting at 1:10 p.m. EDT followed by the main eight-game contest at 7:10 p.m. EDT that'll be the focus of this article.

Pitchers

The top of the pitcher pool is crowded, though it's thinned out by matchups. Jacob deGrom ($9,500) represents the most expensive pitcher while also being the best selection. Houston is an above-average lineup, but not enough to push me off deGrom. He enters with the slate's highest strikeout rate (32.8 percent) while delivering more than 29 DK points from half of his last six starts.

Logan Gilbert ($8,800) hasn't pitched like an elite option so far, yet he's also flashed his more typical upside. A matchup against the Padres makes him more appealing as they strike out at the eighth-highest rate in the league alongside a .295 wOBA.

Bryce Elder ($8,400) doesn't measure up when looking at skills, but he's consistently delivered excellent results averaging 21 DK points while going up against Boston isn't intimidating.

Two value picks stand out above the rest. Davis Martin's ($7,400) early-season efforts may not be sustainable, yet he's extremely undervalued. He's maintained a 27.1 percent strikeout rate paired with a 3.09 SIERA while topping 20 DK points during six of his eight outings. Facing the Cubs isn't great, but his salary significantly lowers that risk. Connor Prielipp ($6,700) is the punt option and he's been good for around 15 DK through all of his appearances.

See which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!

Top Hitters

The Angels aren't a good team to stack due to their high K rate, though they still carry individual talents. Zach Neto ($5,300) should operate as the leadoff hitter with lefty Justin Wrobleski on the mound while Mike Trout ($5,800) would create a nice mini-combo. Wrobleski has produced favorable results, but his 12.4 percent strikeout rate is by far the lowest on Saturday's slate.

Value Bats

Walker Buehler has effectively gotten outs at times, though he doesn't offer much ability to miss bats. That puts the Mariners on the radar where Brendan Donovan ($3,600) boasts solid value leading off.

Carlos Rodon was understandably shaky in his 2026 debut after a long layoff and could still be shaking some rust off. The Mets carry a few interesting young bats on low salaries with Carson Benge ($2,900) their leadoff hitter.

Stacks to Consider

Giants at A's (Luis Severino): Jung Hoo Lee ($3,700), Casey Schmitt ($4,000), Rafael Devers ($4,400)

The Giants aren't typically a club to load up on, though their order will be in a good position on Saturday. Severino comes in with a 13.7 percent walk rate at one of the best hitting parks where he's given up 2.0 HR/9 this year. The top half of San Fran's lineup is also solid with Devers starting to heat up and Schmitt emerging as a reliable contributor.

Rangers at Astros (Kai-Wei Teng): Joc Pederson ($2,500), Corey Seager ($4,700), Josh Jung ($4,000)

Saturday's matchups dictate that we rely on some subpar lineups in stacks, so the Rangers have been selected to deliver offense. Teng has a limited MLB sample, but his work as a starter hasn't been great by struggled to a 7.63 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and an 11.4 percent walk rate across 30.2 innings. Pederson has operated as the Rangers' leadoff bat the last three games while representing a key salary saver.

Use our DraftKings MLB Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dan Marcus plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: marcusd91 DraftKings: dmarcus87.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan started covering fantasy sports in 2015, joining Rotowire in 2018. In addition to Rotowire, Dan has written for Baseball HQ and Rotoballer.
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