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First Week of May Fantasy Baseball Expert Picks

The experts at FantasySP give their picks for some of the players and teams with the best outlooks for the week of May 5.

Daniel Hepner May 5th 7:02 AM EDT.

May 2, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) reacts after hitting a home rub during the 1st inning against the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
May 2, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) reacts after hitting a home rub during the 1st inning against the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

We are in the first full week of May. Over a month of the season is gone, but that only represents just about 20% of a long, long season. While there is still a long way to go, the fantasy season is going strong.

To help you prepare in the new month, the experts at FantasySP got together to discuss fantasy baseball. Morgan Rode and Daniel Hepner answered five questions in preparation for the week of May 5.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

1. Which team(s) has the best matchups this week?

Daniel: The Orioles have the worst record in their division (13-20), but they have a good week of matchups, with three games apiece against the Angels and Twins, who have a combined record of 28-40. Next week, Baltimore gets three more against Minnesota and three against Washington (16-19), so maybe this is the stretch Baltimore uses to get back into the playoff race.

Morgan: The Blue Jays have matchups against the Angels and Mariners this week, so several Toronto pitchers and hitters could be in for good fantasy outings. Houston takes on Milwaukee and Cincinnati, which could offer some chances for fantasy streaming value for some and big weeks for daily fantasy starters.

Atlanta battles Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, so it could be another week for the Braves to creep back into the mix in the National League. The Chicago White Sox might not win a bunch this week, but matchups against the Royals and Marlins gives Chicago a chance to have some nice fantasy performances at least.

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2. Give us a few offensive streamers who are in line for a big week due to their matchups.

Daniel: The Angels play three games against the Blue Jays and three against the Orioles. Toronto pitchers have allowed the 13th-most runs and third-most home runs, and Baltimore is third and first, respectively. LA hitters have six straight games against two of the most giving pitching staffs in the league.

Shortstop Zach Neto started the year on the IL, so he has some fantasy availability. In just 15 games, Neto is batting .288 with nine extra-base hits and five stolen bases. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe is way too available given his position, nine home runs, and .276 average.

Morgan: Miami's Agustin Ramirez and Xavier Edwards are both projected for solid weeks of fantasy outings. Starting the week against the Dodgers isn't ideal, but both hitters have delivered enough to trust against all opponents. Ending the week against the White Sox should be great for both fantasy hitters.

Several hitters from White Sox could be in for solid weeks. Andrew Benintendi, Chase Meidroth and Edgar Quero all have good weekly projections.

3. How about a pitching streamer or two who have good matchups this week?

Daniel: Tobias Myers was an above-average pitcher in 138 innings last season as a rookie. After starting 2025 on the IL, Myers has had a rough first seven innings, but there's upside, and he will likely start twice this week, once against Houston and once against Tampa Bay, two teams among the bottom 10 or 12 offenses.

Tyler Anderson of the Angels has been very successful in over 200 innings between 2024-25, and he will make starts against the Blue Jays and Orioles, again, two teams in the bottom 12 offensively.

Morgan: White Sox' Shane Smith could be in for a big week with starts against the Royals and Marlins. Houston's Ronel Blanco has a chance to get going with outings against the Brewers and Reds.

4. Give us a player set for a big jump onto everyone's radar soon.

Morgan: I'm going back to Chase Meidroth here. He has a .275 average and .408 on-base percentage so far this season. He'd be a bigger fantasy asset if he didn't get injured and land on the injured list for a bit. 

He's back on the field now and has four hits across four games. There's not much power to Meidroth's game, but he keeps getting on base and avoiding negative fantasy points, so in time, his fantasy value should grow if he keeps delivering similar results.

5. How about a possible pick for fantasy MVP this week?

Daniel: I talked about the Angels' offense having good matchups and their catcher, O'Hoppe, having a strong season. Catcher is a tough position at which to find production, so a guy with O'Hoppe's numbers deserves to be owned in every league. I'm picking him to have a big week.

Morgan: This is a boring pick, but I think Shohei Ohtani is going to erupt this week. His batting average has risen 30 points over the past couple weeks, and he's got matchups against the Marlins and Diamondbacks this week. Of the probable pitchers he'll face this week, only two guys have ERAs under 4.

#waivers

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