Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Friday 5/15
Long-time grinder Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84) is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Justin has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks today on May 15, 2026.
Happy Friday, Grinders! We have almost made it to the weekend! I am covering for Cheese today to give him a much-deserved long weekend, and we have what looks to be a fun slate of baseball.
The league is generally doing the interleague “rivalry” series this weekend, meaning we have the Cubs facing the White Sox, the Mets facing the Yankees, the Dodgers facing the Angels, etc… These are always fun matchups that are great for the fans of both teams. We have a healthy 12-game main slate available, but it is definitely one that looks to skew toward the hitting side.
Let’s dig in and see what the day has in store for MLB DFS picks!
Friday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel
TOP TIER PITCHERS
- Cam Schlittler at Mets
- Clay Holmes vs. Yankees
- Spencer Strider vs. Red Sox
- Blake Snell at Angels
Rivalry week is headlined by the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets, but these are two teams that have been trending in different directions. The Yankees sit at 10 games above the .500 mark here in the middle of May, while the Mets have been the biggest disappointment in Major League Baseball in 2026. The matchup will get plenty of attention with budding ace Cam Schlittler facing off against Clay Holmes in the series opener. Before we dig into the DFS breakdown of these aces, here’s a look at the 2026 data for each:
Schlittler – 1.35 ERA, 2.54 xFIP, 29.2% K, 4.5% BB
Holmes – 1.86 ERA, 3.74 xFIP, 19.3% K, 8.3% BB
Strider – 3rd start of season
Snell – 2nd start of season
The Schlittler / Holmes matchup will get so much attention because both pitchers are sitting with sub-2.00 ERAs after 8 starts. It’s tough to “fake” your way to those metrics, but we obviously can’t expect both of them to keep those marks all season. That is especially true for Holmes, who has an xFIP and SIERA nearly 2 full runs higher than his 1.86 ERA. He also has a strikeout rate below 20% and has to face the Yankees. Anything can happen in baseball, but I can’t make any case for Holmes being a top-5 pitching option on such a large slate. I greatly prefer Schlittler on the other side of this game. He gets the better matchup against a flailing Mets team that is missing Francisco Lindor right now, and Schlittler’s 14%+ swinging-strike rate suggests that his high strikeouts are legitimate. I don’t think Schlittler is an absolute must-roster, but he’s definitely the safest option on the entire board.
We now move to the two extreme risk/reward arms in this tier. Let’s start with…
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About the Author
Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84) is a longtime RotoGrinders contributor and show host. He’s appeared in numerous Live Finals, has logged countless 6-figure wins in a host of different sports (including 5 in PGA), and is a former DFS Writer of the Year Nominee by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. You can find Justin’s ‘Covering The Bases’ series on weekends during the MLB season. He is also a main contributor of sports betting picks at our sister site, ScoresAndOdds. Follow Justin on X – @stlcardinals84