MLB PrizePicks Predictions Today: Top Plays for Wednesday, May 8th

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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 MLB PrizePicks 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 Wednesday, May 8th

Mookie Betts MORE Than 8.5 Fantasy Points

Betts MORE than 8.5 is a play we should like just about any slate, so facing a lefty who surrenders a .389 wOBA and .222 ISO to righties is a must-play. Betts has a .446 wOBA and .324 wOBA with a 14.4% BB rate and 12.4% barrel rate against LHP. We have Betts projected for 11.5 fantasy points. Just plug him in.

Carlos Rodon LESS Than 30.5 Fantasy Points

Rodon might be a bumslayer. He’s shown that he can throw 90-95 pitches and not be terrible, but the Ks aren’t really there anymore, and he has to face a really low-K Astros lineup in Yankee Stadium. Sitting at only a 22.5% K rate, we need innings to accumulate fantasy points, and he hasn’t had more than 5.2 IP against a good team this season. 4.1 in Houston on March 29th, 5.1 in Arizona on April 3rd, 4 in Toronto on April 16th, 4 in Baltimore on May 2nd. We have Rodon projected for only 23.9 fantasy points, making his LESS than 30.5 the top play on our fantasy pick’em tool.

Gavin Stone MORE Than 25.5 Fantasy Points

We have Stone projected for 28.3 fantasy points, so the edge isn’t like the Rodon play, but the floor is very high against a crappy Marlins lineup with a .292 wOBA against RHP. Stone has pitched 6+ IP in 3 of his last 4 starts, so the volume is there. He only has a 6.53 K/9, but 4 Ks in 6 IP with a run allowed gets us there. Any more outs or Ks is gravy.

Chris Paddack MORE Than 6.5 Strikeouts (DEMON)

It’s the Mariners and their lineup’s 27.3% K rate against RHP. Paddack isn’t a huge strikeout guy, but he has a ceiling, and this could be a ceiling spot for him. We saw him rack up 6 Ks against the Red Sox in his last start and 10 Ks against a sneaky-low strikeout team in the White Sox two starts prior, along with 5 Ks against the Dodgers in just 4.2 IP. Overall, Paddack is just at a 7.59 K/9 this season, but we should see a K per inning as his floor against the M’s. We have him conservatively projected for 5.5 Ks in 15.4 outs, but we’ve seen him hit 95+ pitches in 2 of his last 3, so there’s room for him to cash in on the DEMON juice. His standard PrizePicks projection is exactly 5.5, so that’s not a bad play. I want the boost though, because 5 might be the floor here.

Jordan Hicks MORE Than 5.5 Strikeouts (DEMON)

It’s very tough to pitch in Coors Field, but Hicks brings his 95-97 MPH gas to the Rockies’ 29.7% K rate against RHP. The Ks have been inconsistent for him his entire career, but he’s had two strong strikeout matchups this season — one where he struck out 5 Marlins in 5 IP and another where he K’d 9 Pirates in 6. This is maybe the best spot for strikeouts in the league. Projected for 88 pitches and 4.7 Ks in 15 outs, we should like his floor to be in the range of 4 Ks in 5 innings, but his ceiling is probably in the range of 10 Ks in 6 innings, so the DEMON boost covers a wide part of his range. Wide enough to get exposure. Hicks also has a DEMON projection for 15.5 outs and we have him projected for 15.0 outs, so there’s another great play for us to exploit.

All projections referenced are accurate at the time of writing but subject to change.

PrizePicks is pretty efficient today. I like a high quantity of 3-Pick contests or 4-Pick contests, loading up on DEMON boosts, and not overexposing ourselves to anything other than our Betts and Rodon calls.

Image Credit: Getty Images

About the Author

AlexSonty
Alex Sonty (AlexSonty)

Alex Sonty is a professional DFS and poker player and also serves as a part-time political science professor in Chicago, IL. He’s been playing fantasy sports since 1996 and entered the DFS realm in 2014, pivoting from high-stakes cash games to mid-stakes MLB and NFL tournaments in recent years. He is a Chicago Tribune, SB Nation, and FanGraphs alum, while holding a J.D./M.A. and L.L.M. from DePaul University. Follow Sonty on Twitter – @AlexSonty