MLB PrizePicks Predictions Today: Top Plays for Thursday, May 16th
Traditional MLB DFS formats aren’t the only way to profit from daily fantasy baseball. MLB PrizePicks is a great fantasy pick’em site where we can take today’s projections versus theirs and combine two or more baseball predictions for sizeable payouts.
In this space, we’ll explore a few PrizePicks plays for the upcoming MLB slate. This article isn’t the be-all, end-all of great plays or a recommendation for a full ticket; it’s simply a starting place for you to explore thinking about the game within the game. Maybe you want to scatter these plays across entries. Maybe there are only two or three you think are worth playing. Daily fantasy pick’em gives us the flexibility to make only the plays in which we think there is value rather than being forced to create a full lineup while competing against the best DFS players in the industry.
PrizePicks is daily fantasy baseball made simple, and our PrizePicks picks tool makes the process even simpler.
All stats cited are since the start of the 2023 season unless otherwise noted.
If you haven’t signed up for a PrizePicks account, make sure to use the PrizePicks promo code ROTOBONUS and get a $100 deposit match.
MLB PrizePicks Predictions for Thursday, May 16th
- Tyler Glasnow MORE Than 18.5 Pitching Outs (DEMON)
- Cristian Javier LESS Than 26.5 Fantasy Points
- Cooper Criswell MORE Than 4.5 Strikeouts (DEMON)
- Kyle Tucker MORE Than 1.5 Total Bases (DEMON)
Tyler Glasnow MORE Than 18.5 Pitching Outs (DEMON)
Glasnow isn’t just logging 11.53 K/9 this season (4th in MLB), but his BB/9 is down to 2.37. This is a huge step for a guy who’s topped 94 pitches in his last 5 starts — logging 99, 96, 95, 101, 94, 88, 100, and 81 in his starts this season. This is a horse with a long leash, who is pitching as well as anyone. This Reds projected lineup has just enough Ks (23.1% K% against RHP) for him to stroll through this matchup, as they get a ballpark downgrade from Cincinnati to L.A. More than 6 innings is a tall order in today’s MLB, but Glasnow is one of the exceptional pitchers of the season, surpassing 6 innings in 3 of his last 4 starts (and 4 of his last 6). We have Glasnow conservatively projected for 18 outs; the DEMON boost is gravy.
Cristian Javier LESS Than 26.5 Fantasy Points
Javier might not be the worst pitcher on the slate with Joey Estes on it, but he has the highest SIERA (4.90) and BB/9 (3.71). The A’s can be a big, fat mess, but they have a lot of power. There are 7 A’s in the projected lineup with 130+ plate appearances against RHP; 4 of them have barrel rates north of 12%, and Tyler Soderstrom is above average (8.6%). Javier’s 9.6% barrel rate allowed, with the horrible command, could feed right into the A’s power. We have Javier projected for 25.1 fantasy points, but his floor is a sneaky one of negative points.
Cooper Criswell MORE Than 4.5 Strikeouts (DEMON)
The Rays projected lineup’s 23.7% K rate against RHP is one that we wanna attack often this season when the PrizePicks projection is below 5.0. Give us the 24.8% K rate of Criswell this season with a 4.5 offering and a DEMON boost, and we should enthusiastically click this button. We have Criswell projected for 4.4 Ks, so the DEMON boost is perfect for us to nab this play. He’s coming off of 9 Ks in 5 IP against the Nats and 5 Ks in 4.1 IP in Minnesota. He’s showing us that he doesn’t really need the volume to get there.
Kyle Tucker MORE Than 1.5 Total Bases (DEMON)
Joey Estes gave up 1.4 HR/9 through 365.1 IP in the frickin’ minors. Now he has to face the Astros in Houston? 1.5 total bases is just too soft of a DEMON projection for Tucker, who we have projected for 2.4. This is a ceiling spot for Tucker, who can smash 1.5 in the 1st inning with one swing of the bat, without even having to hit a homer. Tucker comes into today with a .412 wOBA, .298 ISO, and 11.8% barrel rate through 114 PAs against RHP this season. And he gets to hit 2nd these days between Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez.
All projections referenced are accurate at the time of writing but subject to change.
I’m staying away from the Jared Jones projections. I don’t know what to think of him, and projection models are all over the place on him today. For that, against a good Cubs offense that actually doesn’t strike out very much, I’m out. I’m playing a normal volume of contests, but I’m loading up on two DEMON boosts in most contests, playing only about 2-4 plays in each.
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