Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: White Sox vs. Cubs 5/16/25
Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs
May 16, 2025 2:20 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with an interleague matchup featuring the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this afternoon’s White Sox vs. Cubs matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Shane Smith, Starting Pitcher, Chicago White Sox $10,600
On Friday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a three-game interleague series featuring the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The Chicago White Sox arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Chicago Cubs playing below average baseball. The White Sox have lost five of the team’s last seven games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an embarrassing 10-0 shutout loss to the Kansas City Royals last week.
Similar to the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs are not playing well entering this afternoon’s game. Let me be more specific. The Cubs have lost five of the team’s last eight games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 3-1 defeat to the Miami Marlins two days ago.
Now that we have identified how both teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to today’s MLB game. Starting pitcher Shane Smith has been a solid performer for the Chicago White Sox starting pitching rotation this season. With that said, how has Smith pitched from a statistical standpoint? Let’s review Smith’s game data to answer that question.
In eight starts made for the Chicago White Sox this season, starting pitcher Shane Smith has compiled a 1-2 (win-loss record), a 2.08 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 1.085 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched). Additionally, Smith has tallied 38 strikeouts while allowing 15 walks in 43.1 innings pitched in 2025.
More recently, in the Miami Marlins 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, Shane Smith certainly pitched at a high level. More specifically, Smith pitched six quality innings striking out seven Miami batters while scattering four hits and no walks in the Marlins win over the White Sox.
In my view, Shane Smith is the most likely player to post the highest number of Draftkings points in this afternoon’s interleague game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Shane Smith at the captain position for this one game MLB Draftkings Showdown contest.
Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular game (Draftkings price noted): Cade Horton, Starting Pitcher (Chicago Cubs) $11,000: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Outfielder (Chicago Cubs) $9,000: Chase Meidroth, Shortstop (Chicago White Sox) $6,600.
