Daily Fantasy MLB Pitchers and Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 5/23/18

We already highlighted Jacob DeGrom and Kenta Maeda in our Wednesday picks article. We also highlighted the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates as popular game stacks at their respective team price points. Here we will look at some other (possible GPP) considerations.

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Pitchers

Tyler Skaggs FD 9100 DK 9600
Opponent - TOR (Aaron Sanchez) Park - TOR
FD - 31.84 DK - 16.57
Garrett Richards got into some trouble against the Blue Jays last night, but they are still a team worth targeting with your pitchers. Tonight the Jays are taking on Tyler Skaggs who has been pretty solid this season. He's put up a 25.4 percent strikeout rate along with a respectable 1.24 WHIP and a 3.44 xFIP. Skaggs has also kept his batted-balls pretty shallow with a 155 foot average batted-ball distance. The Jays have struggled a bit as of late, with a team strikeout rate of 25.7 percent which is the fourth-worst in the Majors over the last 14 days. Furthermore, their numbers against left-handed pitching on the entire seasons are mediocre at best with a 22.3 strikeout rate (18th) and a .306 team wOBA (21st). With Jacob DeGrom standing out as the far-and-away top pitcher of the night, you will have to dig a bit deeper to find some gems on this slate.

CC Sabathia FD 7500 DK 7900
Opponent - TEX (Doug Fister) Park - TEX
FD - 28.62 DK - 13.97
You are seeing that correctly, CC Sabathia is an option tonight. Pitching is kind of gross and Sabathia has a cupcake matchup against the Texas Rangers who have been terrible at the plate this season. They have a 26.3 percent strikeout rate which leads the league, their .297 team wOBA puts them 27th and sit down in 28th with a wRC+ of 80. Sabathia isn't much of a strikeout pitcher, sitting at just 19.3 percent last season. However what he excels at is limiting hard-contact and producing ground balls. In 2017, he had a 49.9 percent ground ball, and his 27.2 percent hard-hit rate and 84.4 mile per hour exit velocity both lead the slate. He did have a bit of an issue with home runs last season, giving up a 17.2 percent home run to fly-ball rate, but that has improved to 10.2 percent in the early part of 2018.

Stacks

New York Mets vs. Dan Straily (MIA)
Brandon Nimmo FD 3200 DK 3500
Opponent - MIA (Dan Straily) Park - MIA
FD - 9.75 DK - 7.43
Asdrubal Cabrera FD 4100 DK 3800
Opponent - MIA (Dan Straily) Park - MIA
FD - 10.07 DK - 7.71
Jay Bruce FD 2900 DK 3600
Opponent - MIA (Dan Straily) Park - MIA
FD - 10.22 DK - 7.7
Michael Conforto FD 3400 DK 4000
Opponent - MIA (Dan Straily) Park - MIA
FD - 10.69 DK - 8.01

Dan Straily is certainly a pitcher you want to target with your bats. In the early part of 2018, he has been terrible. He cannot strike anybody out with his 15.9 percent strikeout rate and his 5.74 xFIP is the third-worst on the slate. Furthermore, he has slate-worsts in hard-hit rate (55.9 percent) and line drive rate (32.8 percent) as well as bottom three numbers in home run to fly-ball rate (18.2 percent) and average exit velocity (90.8 miles per hour).

Now, the Mets on the other hand, have had a lot of success against right-handed pitchers this season. They have an elite 104 wRC+ which is tied for sixth best in the Majors. Their .318 team wOBA is average, sitting 13th, but some individual players have been fantastic. Lead-off hitter Brandon Nimmo has put up a .420 wOBA and a .220 ISO against righties and switch-hitting Asdrubal Cabrera has had more success against righties than lefties this season with a .392 wOBA and a .246. Michael Conforto hasn't been great against righties in 2018, but last season he crushed them with a .420 wOBA and a .292 ISO so that larger sample size is hopefully the real Conforto that we will see tonight. Jay Bruce was scratched last night, but he will usually slot in anywhere from the three to five spot in the order. He has historically been very successful against righties and 2017 was no different where he put up a .369 wOBA and a .273 ISO.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Aaron Sanchez (TOR)
Mike Trout FD 4800 DK 5300
Opponent - TOR (Aaron Sanchez) Park - TOR
FD - 15.06 DK - 11.16
Justin Upton FD 3600 DK 4400
Opponent - TOR (Aaron Sanchez) Park - TOR
FD - 11.83 DK - 8.86
Albert Pujols FD 2500 DK 3300
Opponent - TOR (Aaron Sanchez) Park - TOR
FD - 9.84 DK - 7.49
Shohei Ohtani FD 3800 DK 4700
Opponent - TOR (Aaron Sanchez) Park - TOR
FD - 10.97 DK - 8.28

The Los Angeles Angels came out of the gate this season with a bang and being one of the highest-scoring teams over the first month of the season. They still sit in the top 5-10 in most offensive categories, but they were top 5 almost across the board. Tonight they will be taking on Aaron Sanchez and the Toronto Blue Jays, a pitcher that has had his own struggles this season. Sanchez hasn't been able to get many strikeouts with a 17.6 percent strikeout rate, and his 1.53 WHIP and 5.02 xFIP are not scaring anybody either. With a 90.2 mile per hour average exit velocity, he could be in for some trouble against the power of these Angels.

Mike Trout is once again putting up an insane season and proving without a shadow of a doubt he is the best player in baseball (sorry Mookie). He has historically absolutely smashed right-handed pitching and his 2017 numbers indicate just how elite he was against righties. He put up an unbelievable .450 wOBA and .359 ISO — numbers that are just a bit better than his 2018 .433 wOBA and .323 ISO. Justin Upton is also a righty-masher with a .351 wOBA and .234 ISO in 2017. However, the best hitter on the Angels is Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani. In his early-stint in the Majors (just 70 plate appearances against righties), he has mashed them with a .447 wOBA and a .358 ISO. These specific three power hitters for the Angels are going to give Sanchez plenty of trouble and playing in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre is not going to do him any favours.

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