Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Sunday 5/18
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, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks.
Happy Sunday, Grinders! The middle of May has come and gone, and before you know it, we will be in the middle of summer. Time flies when you are having fun! We have a healthy 10-game main slate on the docket to close out the weekend, and this looks to be a very tough slate with a lot of jumbled messes on both the pitching and hitting sides of the ledger. I’m still not sure what to make of this one, even after studying it for a couple hours already.
For the second straight day, we don’t have much in the way of weather concerns, so it should be all systems go for lineup building. Head on over to our MLB DFS optimizer page and let those lineups fly!
Let’s dig in and see what Sunday has in store for us.
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Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings
TOP TIER PITCHING
Paul Skenes vs. Phillies
Freddy Peralta vs. Twins
As usual, let’s start with a peek at the 2025 data:
Skenes – 2.63 ERA, 3.29 xFIP, 24.7% K, 7.0% BB
Peralta – 2.66 ERA, 3.87 xFIP, 25.5% K, 8.8% BB
We have just two top-end aces going today, and I’ll bury the excitement by saying that I don’t think you need either of them. If this slate were being played last year, we’d all be spending up for Paul Skenes, but the strikeouts just haven’t been at the same level in 2025. Don’t get me wrong – he’s still a very good major league pitcher, but I am not inclined to spend a premium on “very good” in a matchup against the Phillies. The Pirates are rarely a lock to give him any run support, and Skenes isn’t even a favorite in a matchup against an opposing pitcher making his major league debut.
Freddy Peralta is in a similar boat with slightly higher strikeouts and slightly higher walks than Skenes, but the Brewers are really struggling right now. Meanwhile, the opposing Twins have won 13 games in a row. Peralta is fine, but I’m not going out of my way to get him.
The pitching options are jumbled up on this slate, with very small differences in projections separating the top 8-10 arms. I am more inclined to try to save a little bit of money today. Skenes and Peralta will both be in my MME pitching pool, but they are definitely not “must have” plays given today’s context.
SECONDARY PITCHING OPTIONS
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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, and is a co-host on the RotoGrinders Game Night show on SiriusXM. Follow Justin on Twitter – @stlcardinals84