Brandon Brown
Tyler Glasnow was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason and earned a five-year extension worth $136.5625 million. As the Dodgers’ new ace, Glasnow is 6-1 with a 2.53 ERA and has 73 strikeouts in 57 innings. He will catch the ball for the 10th time this season on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds. He will undoubtedly be one of the most popular options in the MLB DFS player pool after four consecutive starts where he has thrown at least six innings, struck out nine or more and allowed two earned runs or less.
However, offering a superstar like Glasnow on the mound will require you to make some sacrifices elsewhere in your MLB DFS lineup. So which matchups should you take advantage of tonight and how can you put together a successful MLB DFS strategy? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Thursday, be sure to check out MLB DFS advice, strategies and projections from SportsLine’s daily fantasy expert, Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily fantasy pro who has earned more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “fantasy football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Fortune” As one of the top MLB DFS players, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as matchups and recent results. This allows that he finds the best values on each site.
On Wednesday, McClure highlighted Astros starter Framber Valdez as one of his top MLB DFS picks on both sites. The result: Valdez threw seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the win over the Athletics, returning 33.35 DraftKings points and 55 FanDuel points. Anyone who included him in their lineup was on track for a profitable day.
Now, with the 2024 MLB season underway, McClure has secured his top MLB daily fantasy picks for Thursday, May 16. You can go to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s Top MLB DFS Picks for Thursday
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Thursday is Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers for $3,900 on DraftKings and $2,900 on FanDuel. A consensus top-100 prospect in 2022, Langeliers is coming off his first full season in Major League Baseball and was able to produce 22 home runs and 63 RBI in 135 games while making an impressive 116 appearances as a catcher.
In 2024, Langeliers has an impressive .496 hitting percentage with nine home runs and 24 RBI despite a .213 BABIP that is 44 points below his career average at the start of the season. He has a 1.125 OPS over the last 14 days and has four multi-hit games in his last 10 starts.
McClure is also drafting Astros DH/OF Yordan Alvarez for $5,300 on DraftKings and $3,400 on FanDuel. The 2019 AL Rookie of the Year is a two-time All-Star and already has eight home runs and 20 RBI this year. His .767 OPS would be a career low, but he is 10-for-29 with an .884 OPS in his last seven games.
Alvarez and the Astros will face Athletics right-hander Joey Estes on Thursday. The 22-year-old has already given up five home runs in 15 innings as a big leaguer and Alvarez has a 1.033 career OPS against the Athletics with 21 home runs, the most he has against any team in his career. See McClure’s full group of MLB DFS players at SportsLine.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for May 16, 2024
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is expected to explode for huge numbers on Thursday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament winning value and he comes in at a price that won’t break the bank. You can just see who it is, and get the rest of McClure’s MLB DFS picks, here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete player set and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, all from the DFS expert who’s earned more than $2 million.
