Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Sunday 5/25

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2025-05-25 14:04:56 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, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks.

Happy Sunday, Grinders! I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend so far! This Sunday brings us a 9-game main slate on DraftKings, while FanDuel has again added the Coors Field game that starts an hour later than most of the other afternoon games. That gives us a 10-game slate over there. At first glance, this is a tough slate without a ton of elite offense and quite a few “good but not elite” pitchers. It’s going to be a tough one to analyze.

If you are playing on FanDuel, you will need to keep an eye on the weather. I am going to write this article assuming every game plays, but we have an ORANGE/YELLOW designation at Coors Field, which is obviously an impactful game on the FD slate. Be sure to keep tabs on any updates by using our MLB weather page to make sure you are up to date before lock. Otherwise, there is not a lot 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 this Sunday has to offer!

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Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings

TOP TIER PITCHING

Robbie Ray vs. Nationals
Kris Bubic vs. Twins
Sonny Gray vs. Diamondbacks
Luis Castillo vs. Astros

I had a difficult time splitting the pitchers into tiers today. The secondary tier is massive, so I threw a few names into a top tier. However, take note that this is a very loose tier split. There really isn’t a clear distinction between the “aces” and the “secondary” options this afternoon. It’s more of a jumbled blob. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 2025 data:

Ray – 2.67 ERA, 3.91 xFIP, 26.4% K, 11.5% BB
Bubic – 1.47 ERA, 3.48 xFIP, 25.0% K, 7.4% BB
Gray – 4.02 ERA, 3.27 xFIP, 26.9% K, 5.7% BB
Castillo – 3.20 ERA, 4.45 xFIP, 18.5% K, 8.4% BB

It may come as a bit of a surprise to see Sonny Gray with the best xFIP of these pitchers. He has the worst ERA by a fairly wide margin, but this provides another reminder that sample size can be fickle in the first half of the season. I’m a believer in Gray’s ability. He had his sharpest stuff of the season in his last start when he struck out 10 Tigers over 6 shutout innings. Gray feels a bit underpriced, and while the matchup is difficult against the Diamondbacks, I like the potential for the salary. The Diamondbacks are also scuffling a bit right now, so Gray is my SP1.

Robbie Ray has the best matchup against Washington, but it feels strange to “trust” Ray in any capacity, let alone at a salary of $10,000+ on both FD and DK. It’s always buyer beware with him, but the upside is obvious, and he will have the splits edge against Washington’s most dangerous hitters, as CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Nathaniel Lowe all hit from the left side.

I’m a believer in Kris Bubic as an emerging ace, but the 1.47 ERA obviously will not last. Still, his strikeouts are above league average, and you can’t just fake your way to 0 earned runs allowed in 6 out of 10 starts. The fact that he has to face a red hot Twins team puts him behind Ray in my rankings list, but Bubic is absolutely a GPP-viable arm.

Luis Castillo may start to garner more attention after a strong start against the White Sox his last time out, but I need to see more than one good start against a bad team. He’s not really on my radar yet.

I am ranking this tier as Gray > Ray > Bubic > Castillo.

SECONDARY PITCHING OPTIONS

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