DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday, 6/5/21

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Pitchers

Kevin Gausman FD - P 11200 DK - SP 8900
Opponent - CHC (Kohl Stewart) Park - SF
FD - 35.45 DK - 18.81

A highly touted prospect, Gausman is the definition of a late bloomer. Critics will point to the small sample size over the last couple of years, but digging a little deeper shows that these improvements are legit. Gausman dramatically changed his pitching repertoire last season to great effect, and this year's 3.05 xFIP is nearly identical to last year's 3.06 number. He's maintained his double digit K/9 while improving on his already solid control, and certainly qualifies as an ace in today's game. The Cubs are far from an easy match-up, but they do own a top 10 K rate this season. At -165, Gausman is the most heavily favored pitcher on the main slate, and is a great cash game option.

Jacob deGrom FD - P 11500 DK - SP 11100
Opponent - SD (Joe Musgrove) Park - SD
FD - 46.84 DK - 26.77

It would be tough to heap enough superlatives on Jacob deGrom given the pitcher he's become, and he's going to be an obvious cash game option any time he takes the hill. The Padres are projected for fewer than 3 implied runs here, which is pretty astounding for a lineup that solid. The only thing holding us back from running deGrom in cash games is the combination of the price and the match-up. As just a -130 favorite against Musgrove and the Padres, you could get screwed playing deGrom even if he's as good as ever.

Also considered: Clayton Kershaw.

I wrote these guys up by accident before seeing there were two slates, so please enjoy these bonus pitcher picks for the early slate:
Lucas Giolito FD - P 11600 DK - SP 9500
Opponent - DET (Tarik Skubal) Park - CHW
FD - 41.18 DK - 22.37

After three straight years, I think we can pretty safely say that this is who Giolito is at this point: a mid-3s xFIP guy with 11+ Ks/9, and a nightmare for opposing batters. He's a -200 favorite against the hapless Tigers, who enter this game with the league's worst wOBA and highest K rate. It's very rare to get a pitcher this good in the best possible match-up, and you can believe cash game players will be all over him here.

Brandon Woodruff FD - P 12000 DK - SP 10300
Opponent - ARI (Merrill Kelly) Park - MIL

It would be inaccurate to say that Woodruff is breaking out this year, because all the signs for this performance have been there for years. He's running hot with a 1.27 ERA, but his underlying peripherals are nearly identical to the guy we've seen the last three years. He's even going deeper into games than he has in the past. Arizona is a fine match-up, though it's nothing on the order of what Giolito has against Detroit, so when the rubber meets the road I'd probably lean Giolito even though Woodruff is a slightly bigger favorite.

Catcher/First Base

Max Muncy FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B/2B 4800
Opponent - ATL (Charlie Morton) Park - ATL
FD - 11.54 DK - 8.5

It feels a little strange to start the position players with a batter who is facing Charlie Morton, but this is a really tough slate. It's not like Morton is at his peak form, but with a 3.3 xFIP he's still plenty darned good. So why should we consider Muncy? He's probably even better. Muncy has a phenomenal .964 OPS this season, fueled by an absurd .428 OBP. He's just a terrific hitter, and this FanDuel price is too low when he's got the platoon advantage in his favor.

C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3700 DK - 1B 4400
Opponent - OAK (Cole Irvin) Park - COL
FD - 12.47 DK - 9.4

The Coors game has by far the highest total on the slate (surprise, surprise), and with a lot of competent pitchers going in other games today we'll lean on it as much as we can. Enter Cron. He's sat above an .800 OPS all season, and he's been even better against lefties, shredding to the tune of a 1.037 OPS vs. southpaws at home. Cron is a great inclusion today.

Second Base

DJ LeMahieu FD - 2B 3000 DK - 1B/3B 3800
Opponent - BOS (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - NYY
FD - 12.3 DK - 9.5

With the way things are shaping up, we're going to want as many Yankees as possible today. Whether we can play all the Yankees we want remains to be seen, but LeMahieu is certainly one we want to consider. He's been .090 OPS points better against southpaws for his career, and while he hasn't hit for power this season, batting atop the Yankees lineup is worth an awful lot. As for Rodriguez, he hasn't been as bad as his 5.64 ERA suggests, but Vegas likes the Yankees to put a bruising on him today.

Ty France FD - 2B 2500 DK - 1B 2800
Opponent - LAA (Alex Cobb) Park - LAA
FD - 9.23 DK - 7.04

France bat clean-up last night, and while he's not a lock to do so against right handed pitchers on any given night, you have to be aware of him here. It'd be nice to just play 8 Yankees, but alas, the sites don't allow us to do that, so we'll have to look for value elsewhere. France is reasonably good at getting on base, and batting in the middle of order certainly helps his opportunity to get a few counting stats.

Also considered: Ryan McMahon, especially if he is batting toward the top of the lineup.

Shortstop

Gleyber Torres FD - SS 2900 DK - SS 3900
Opponent - BOS (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - NYY
FD - 9.94 DK - 7.49
You can copy/paste the LeMahieu writeup and put it here, if it suits you. Torres' career OPS against lefties is almost identical to LeMahieu's, and while he'll likely be batting fifth (as opposed to first) that should be plenty of opportunity to pay a sub $3k price on FanDuel.

Xander Bogaerts FD - SS 3400 DK - SS 4800
Opponent - NYY (Jameson Taillon) Park - NYY
FD - 11.06 DK - 8.38M

While the Yankees are slight favorites in this game, the Red Sox's total is plenty healthy in and of itself. There aren't as many Red Sox in this writeup because the Yankees' premier hitters all have the platoon advantage in their favor, but you can absolutely consider running Bogaerts here. Yes, he's been better against left handed pitching for his career, but this season he's got a .914 OPS against righties, and continues to mature as a hitter. Taillon hasn't delivered for the Yankees this season, sporting a 5.10 ERA and 4.22 xFIP. Taillon gets a lot of Ks, but he also allows for his fair share of long balls, and Bogaerts is probably a better big tournament play overall.

Third Base

Matt Chapman FD - 3B 3800 DK - 3B 4700
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 13.13 DK - 9.81

It's tough to make a lot of excuses for Chapman this season. He's a three-true-outcomes hitter to the core, except this season he really hasn't done much in the way of the most favorable outcome: the long ball. Still, he's got the platoon advantage in his favor in Coors field, so if there were a time for him to get back on track this should theoretically be it. Freeland has been god awful over the last two seasons, and has more walks than strikeouts through two starts this season. I like Chapman as a buy-low candidate.

Justin Turner FD - 3B 3100 DK - 3B 4300
Opponent - ATL (Charlie Morton) Park - ATL
FD - 10.9 DK - 8.23

In reality I'd like to play Chapman here, but if I don't have the money for it Turner seems like a reasonable play. He's better against lefties, but he has had some good season against righties in the past, and honestly pickings are pretty slim here.

Also considered: Gio Urshela.

Outfield

Giancarlo Stanton FD - OF 3500 DK - OF 4100
Opponent - BOS (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - NYY
FD - 13.87 DK - 10.26

Clint Frazier FD - OF 2300 DK - OF 2100
Opponent - BOS (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - NYY
FD - 9.6 DK - 7.22

Aaron Judge FD - OF 3600 DK - OF 5000
Opponent - BOS (Eduardo Rodriguez) Park - NYY
FD - 14.11 DK - 10.43

These three are the key to the Yankees stack, in my mind. Particularly Clint Frazier, if he winds up getting the start.

Mike Yastrzemski FD - OF 2700 DK - OF 4600
Opponent - CHC (Kohl Stewart) Park - SF
FD - 10.34 DK - 7.83

Yas is one of my very favorite plays on the board today, and please, PLEASE, do not sleep on a Giants stack. The reason is simple: Kohl Stewart. He's one of the least qualified arms to take the mound as a starter in years, with a reprehensible 3.6 K/9 over the last two seasons. He's throwing straight up batting practice, and you should see heavy Giants ownership as a result.

Ramón Laureano FD - OF 3500 DK - OF 5400
Opponent - COL (Kyle Freeland) Park - COL
FD - 12.58 DK - 9.52

Laureano emerged as a power/speed threat two years ago and is redoubling his efforts this year with 11 homers and 8 stolen bases through the end of May. He'll have the platoon in his favor against the flailing Kyle Freeland, and looks like a terrific value option at just $3,500 on FanDuel.

Also considered: Mookie Betts, even in a tougher match-up with Morton.

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