The Detroit Tigers scored 21 runs over their two-game doubleheader on Thursday, taking both games to improve their best record in the American League to 25-13 this season. The Tigers weren't a team many would have expected to have the top record in the AL through nearly 40 games, but they've done so with a combination of young talent from the MLB DFS player pool and veterans who weren't highly coveted in their strong start to the 2025 MLB season. Javier Baez has an .835 OPS and Gleyber Torres has an .808 OPS this season. Baez's OPS is more than 300 points higher than it was last season, so is he someone you want to feature in MLB DFS lineups?
Torres signed a one-year, $15 million contract with Detroit this offseason and his OPS is one point shy of 100 points higher than it was last year. The Tigers begin a series with the Rangers on Friday and Texas is starting veteran Patrick Corbin, who has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, so should you build Tigers stacks in your MLB DFS strategy? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine's daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book "Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune" as a top MLB DFS player, McClure's proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Wednesday (when McClure last made MLB DFS picks), McClure identified Twins outfielder Byron Buxton as one of his top MLB DFS picks on both sites. The result: Buxton went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, returning 21 points on DraftKings and 38.7 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2025 MLB season continuing on Friday, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for May 9. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Friday, May 9
One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Friday is Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who is $6,400 on DraftKings and $4,700 on FanDuel for MLB DFS lineups. The reigning American League MVP is off to another incredible start as he leads baseball in statistics such as batting average (.400), OPS (1.241) and is tied for first in home runs (12) and RBI (34). Judge hit his 12th home run of the season on Tuesday and the Yankees play their first game in Sacramento, which features one of the smallest parks in baseball.
The Athletics are starting right-handed pitcher Osvaldo Bido, who allowed four runs in five innings against the Marlins in his last start on Saturday. The 29-year-old has a 7.47 ERA over his last three starts and right-handed hitters are batting .329 with a .934 OPS against him this season. Bido has a 6.32 ERA over three home starts this season and McClure sees Judge as worthy of his high price tag with his dominant start and strong matchup for Friday MLB DFS lineups.
McClure is also rostering Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson ($5,000 on DraftKings and $3,100 on FanDuel). Henderson started the season slowly, but he has at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games and he's batting .333 with a .760 OPS through six games in May. Henderson had 37 home runs and an .893 OPS last season and he's hitting .317 over 12 games since April 26 as he's returning to the play that made him a top prospect before his MLB debut in 2022.
Henderson, a left-handed hitter, is batting .310 with an .885 OPS this season against RHPs as the Angels are scheduled to start RHP Kyle Hendricks on Friday. Hendricks has a 5.28 ERA over six starts this season after having a 5.92 ERA over 29 games (24 starts) last year. The 35-year-old had a career-worst 1.45 WHIP last season and McClure expects Henderson to find success in this matchup. See McClure's full MLB DFS player pool right here.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for May 9, 2025
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Friday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is, and get the rest of McClure's MLB DFS picks, here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, all from the DFS expert who has won more than $2 million.
