Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Sunday 5/17

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2026-05-17 14:44:18 Premium Content Part of the product MLB DFS

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 17, 2026.

Happy Sunday, MLB Grinders! It’s hard to believe that we are already past the quarter pole of the MLB regular season, and we are almost two months into the grind. This Sunday brings us a 10-game main slate on both DK and FD, and it’s a rare Sunday where FD is not including a Coors Field home game. Therefore, the slates align on both sites today.

This has the makings of a fun slate. We have some strong pitching after a lack of options yesterday. We have some games with high totals. We have some gas cans on the mound too. The weather looks like it will cooperate. It should be a great day for baseball!

Let’s dive in and see what Sunday has to offer for MLB DFS picks!

Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel

TOP TIER PITCHERS

• Paul Skenes vs. Phillies
• Zack Wheeler at Pirates
• Gavin Williams vs. Reds
• Nathan Eovaldi at Astros

It’s refreshing to see a palatable group of aces at the top of the board today, and that is headlined by a battle between Zack Wheeler and Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh. Before I dive into the analysis, here’s the usual high-level view of the 2026 stats for these pitchers:

Skenes – 1.98 ERA, 2.83 xFIP, 30.3% K, 3.8% BB
Wheeler – 2.55 ERA, 3.66 xFIP, 23.2% K, 6.3% BB (25 innings)
Williams – 3.74 ERA, 3.23 xFIP, 29.3% K, 9.8% BB
Eovaldi – 4.15 ERA, 3.27 xFIP, 23.5% K, 5.0% BB

The overall numbers for Paul Skenes are even more remarkable when you consider that he didn’t make it out of the 1st inning in his first start of the year. If we remove that game, his ERA is barely over 1.00 for the season. The 56:7 K/BB ratio for the season is absurd. I will caution that I don’t think he can maintain a 30% strikeout rate with a sub-13% swinging-strike rate, but that is being quite nitpicky when he doesn’t walk anyone and has dominant stuff. The Pirates need innings out of him, as their bullpen has been taxed over the last few days, and this is the perfect spot to have your ace on the mound. While the opposing Phillies are a tough matchup and are playing better baseball right now, Skenes is matchup proof when he brings his best stuff. He has the best combination of safety and upside on the board.

On the other side of this head-to-head matchup, we have the Phillies throwing their ace in Zack Wheeler. However, he is still getting back up to full strength after missing the end of last year due to injury. He has only made a handful of 2026 starts, with just shy of 25 innings pitched, and his velocity is still sitting around 1.5 MPH lower than it was a year ago. I am not ready to fully buy in just yet, especially since there is some pop in the current version of the Pirates’ lineup. With other “ace” options available today, Wheeler is an easy pass for me, though having conviction on that does make me a bit nervous. Wheeler should no longer have pitch count concerns, and there is a ceiling path for him. I would not fault you if you wanted to take some chances in tournaments, but I’ll wait for another start or two before getting back on board.

Gavin Williams has always had a world of talent, but he had difficulty harnessing his command in his first few major league seasons. His strikeouts are up quite a bit this year, and he has cut the walk rate down 2% from where he was in 2025. The command still isn’t elite, but it’s improving. His swinging-strike rate is up to 13.8%, and he has a good matchup here against a Reds team that ranks 20th in team wOBA and in the top 3rd of the league in strikeout rate against RHP this year. There is plenty of risk/reward potential here, and I do like Williams for tournament builds today.

Finally, don’t sleep on Nathan Eovaldi. He pitched into some ridiculously poor luck at the beginning of the season, and he has slowly started to work his numbers back down to normal. His advanced metrics are just fine, and he actually has the HIGHEST swinging-strike rate in 2026 of all these aces. Yes, his is higher than Skenes’ and Williams’ despite a much lower strikeout rate. This suggests that Eovaldi has been very unlucky on the strikeout front. Even though the Astros tagged Jacob deGrom for some homers last night, I am more than happy to get back on the train with Eovaldi. He is my second-favorite option from this tier, and I will try to get DK lineups that fit both Skenes and Eovaldi. I think that can be done today.

Officially, I am ranking this tier as Skenes > Eovaldi > Williams > Wheeler, and I feel pretty good about that synopsis.

SECONDARY ARMS

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