DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/21/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Trevor Bauer FD - P 11800 DK - SP 11900 Opponent - SF (Alex Wood) Park - SF FD - 44.15 DK - 24.29 First of all, I get the Giants put up a silly 19 runs yesterday but Bauer easily has the best matchup of the top tier starting pitchers tonight. On the season, the Giants actually went into that game sitting at exactly the league average in terms of wRC+(100) but what stands out the most is the 26% K rate on the season(6th most). For Bauer, he has been terrific in his first season with the Dodgers holding opponents to two or fewer earned runs in eight straight and enters the night with a 2.20 ERA/3.08 xFIP and an elite 35% K rate. All things considered, Bauer is my to pitcher in all formats. Mike Minor FD - P 7600 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - DET (Jose Urena) Park - KC FD - 30.75 DK - 16.05 To fit Bauer on DraftKings at nearly $12K, we are going to need to find some value and Minor stands out for a couple of reasons. The Royals open as pretty big -150 favorites giving Minor some nice win equity and he has qualified for a win(5+ innings) in five of his last six starts. He has not been consistent at all but is coming off a great start limiting the White Sox to two hits and now gets an elite matchup vs. the Tigers who rank dead last vs. lefties in wOBA(.251), wRC+(58), and K rate(34%). He is my top value SP2 on DraftKings tonight. Also Consider: Stephen Strasburg(WAS) who is coming off the IL but did throw 75 pitches in his rehab start so there is a chance he goes 90+ pitches and is cheap on DraftKings making for big PTS/$ upside Catcher/First Base C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3300 DK - 1B 3800 Opponent - ARI (Riley Smith) Park - COL FD - 13.27 DK - 10 I am not prioritizing the Rockies at home in Coors as I have in previous seasons with their well-documented struggles but C.J. Cron is one name that jumps off the page. While almost the entire team is overpriced due to the "Coors factor", C.J. Cron has fallen under the radar since his return from the IL. in two games back, he has gone 3 for 7 with a double while...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/20/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! This might end up being the smallest slate I write about all season. We have a four-game day slate and a four-game night ledger on this traveling Thursday card, and we're going to focus on the night slate beginning at 7ET. That means we have only eight teams in action and one of the smallest player pools you'll see. That's on full display when you see the lackluster pitching options, but that also means there are some fun bats to stack as well. With that in mind, let's kick things off with Vince Velasquez. Pitchers Vince Velasquez FD - P 7900 DK - SP 7500 Opponent - MIA (Sandy Alcantara) Park - PHI FD - 32.89 DK - 17.59 The fact that Velasquez is our top pitcher says a lot about this slate, but I've always been partial to this guy. He had that one 16-K game against the Padres a few years back, and I've been going back to the well ever since. It hasn't always worked, but it has lately. VV has a 2.84 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 rate over his last five starts. He's done that despite a few tough matchups, and this is certainly far from one of those. The Marlins currently rank 27th in K rate and dead-last in xwOBA. That's no surprise when you see that they're missing Starling Marte, making Velasquez one of the best plays on the board. Drew Smyly FD - P 7300 DK - SP 8400 Opponent - PIT (Wil Crowe) Park - ATL FD - 38.07 DK - 20.57 Smyly has been giving me frowns for a while now, but this dude has shown some serious potential in the past and at times this season. In his first four seasons, Smyly pitched to a 3.24 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, which is right on par with what he did in the shortened season last year. A couple of injury-riddled years killed his career numbers, and inconsistencies are the only thing holding him back this year. He's actually got at least 37 FanDuel points in three of his six starts which is an absurd number from a guy this cheap. The best part of this play is the matchup, though, with Pittsburgh ranked 24th in OBP, 29th in wOBA, and dead-last in wOBACON. Catcher/First Base Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 4100 DK - 1B 5200 Opponent - PIT (Wil Crowe) Park - ATL...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 5/19/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Corbin Burnes FD - P 10500 DK - 10300 Opponent - KC (Brad Keller) Park - KC FD - 40.82 DK - 18.6 We are blessed with some big-name pitching again tonight but there are two that stand out and it starts with Corbin Burnes. While the record has not been in his favor, it is almost completely on the lack of offense as Burnes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball with an elite 1.57 ERA and he backs that up with an even better xFIP(1.25). Then there is the upside as he enters the 58 strikeouts(45.3% K rate) and just that one walk. He also gets a plus matchup vs. a Royals team that ranks outside the Top 20 in wOBA(.301) ad wRC+(91) on the season and outside the Top 25 in those categories over the last two weeks. All things considered, Burnes is my top pitcher in all formats. Jack Flaherty FD - P 10800 DK - 9700 Opponent - PIT (Trevor Cahill) Park - STL FD - 41.73 DK - 19.2 As of writing this, the system has Flaherty slightly ahead of Burnes in terms of projection and it has to do with a combination of the Cardinals sitting as a bigger favorite(-201) in a game with a lower total(7.0). Flaherty has also been terrific lately holding opponents to one or fewer earned runs in five of his last seven starts and since that opening day blunder, he has tallied an elite 1.47 ERA. Like Burnes, Flaherty and the Cards also get a plus matchup vs. the Pirates who ranked 28th in wOBA(.290) and wRC+(83) on the season and produce runs 15% below league average vs. righties. On FanDuel, I can't ignore the $300 discount with Burnes but on DraftKings, Flaherty is easily a top PTS.$ play on this slate. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3800 DK - 5300 Opponent - ARI (Merrill Kelly) Park - LAD FD - 12.18 DK - 9.6 Here is what I wrote about Muncy yesterday before Kelly was pushed back: After somewhat of a slump, the Dodgers offense looks to be heating back up as they are averaging over 5.5 runs per game over the last 10 days.  Muncy has been a big part of that as he has hits in eight of those 10 games with five multi-hit efforts, five home runs, and 12 RBI....

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 5/18/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Brandon Woodruff FD - P 11000 DK - SP 10200 Opponent - KC (Kris Bubic) Park - KC FD - 32.81 DK - 17.74 I don't think you can go wrong with either top pitcher tonight but I would be doing Woodruff an injustice not mentioning him here as he has been incredible to start the 2021 season. he has held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in seven straight straights going at least six innings in all of them while averaging 27.4 DK/46.36 FD points per game. That is just pure dominance on the back of a 33% K rate and 14% swinging-strike rate. The Royals are a league-average offense but what stands out to me here is that they rank outside the TOp 20 as a team against fastballs and Woodruff has the 2nd best one in the game, at the moment, and throws it 66% of the time. All things considered, Woodruff is my top pitcher in all formats. Andrew Heaney FD - P 7600 DK - SP 7800 Opponent - CLE (Zach Plesac) Park - LAA FD - 36.33 DK - 19.35 If not paying up for both pitchers on DraftKings tonight there are some interesting options. I think the chalk SP2 falls with Snell who appears to be massively underpriced but for cash games, I just can't trust that 1.54 WHIP. This has me taking the savings with Andrew Heaney who is back under $8K after putting up a dud in two of his last three starts. The good news here is that he faces an Indians team that has an ugly 82 wRC+ on the season and even worse 76 wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching. At these prices Heaney is my favorite PTS/$ value play tonight. Also Consider: Zack Wheeler(PHI) as another top pay-up option. He has been consistent all season and has held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts and walked just two batters over his last three starts.  Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3700 DK - 1B 5500 Opponent - ARI (Merrill Kelly) Park - LAD FD - 12.18 DK - 8.97 After somewhat of a slump, the Dodgers offense looks to be heating back up as they are averaging over 5.5 runs per game over the last 10 days.  Muncy has been a big part of that as he has hits...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 5/17/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW!   Pitchers Gerrit Cole FD - P 12300 DK - SP 10900 Opponent - TEX (Jordan Lyles) Park - TEX FD - 50.36 DK - 28.62 It's really hard to overstate how dominant Cole has been so far this season. He's been .4 WAR better than the second-place Jacob deGrom, who is .5 WAR better than the third-place John Means. That's bananas! With a K/9 north of 13 and a BB/9 below 1, Cole is doing legitimately everything you could possibly ask for. Texas, meanwhile, pairs a league average wOBA with a top 9 K%. That's plenty of match-up for a guy like Cole, and he should see huge cash game ownership here. Max Fried FD - P 7200 DK - SP 7300 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park - ATL FD - 33.77 DK - 17.66 I kind of feel like Max Fried is a little bit slept on right now. Yes, the ERA this season is ugly, but this is a 27 year old pitcher with a career 3.59 xFIP. His fastball velocity is as good as ever, and he just had a quality start against a potent Blue Jays offense. Today he gets the Mets, a team that doesn't strike out very much, but also owns the tenth worst wOBA in the league. At these bargain basement prices, I'm buying Max Fried. Also considered: Walker Buehler. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5400 Opponent - MIN (J.A. Happ) Park - MIN FD - 11.29 DK - 8.54 Andrew Vaughn FD - 1B 2300 DK - OF 2400 Opponent - MIN (J.A. Happ) Park - MIN FD - 8.65 DK - 6.57 We've got two solid White Sox options out of the first base position today, though both are obviously different plays. Abreu is a classic pay-up option - a career lefty killer who has had some bad BABIP luck this season. Vaughn is more of a down-lineup punt, though one with real merit. Fangraphs has him as the league's 13th best prospect, and he's off to a fine stat for his rookie year. Happ, meanwhile, is hot trash at this point his career. His 5.52 ERA will likely be good for worst in the Majors if it holds up, and his 5.4 K/9 isn't fooling anyone. Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5600 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park -...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 5/16/21 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. FD - P 8400 DK - SP 9600 Opponent - TEX (Kyle Gibson) Park - HOUFD - 38.53 DK - 20.81 This is a good spot for McCullers facing off against the Rangers on Sunday. He’s opening as a -173 home favorite which represents some of the better win odds on the slate. Texas has been a middling offense on the season, but they are striking out 26% as a team which bodes well for McCullers’ upside. He’s striking out 10.4 batters per nine at a 29% rate. The walks are still a little of a concern, something he’s struggled with most of his career. But in terms of talent, he’s one of the better pitchers on this main slate and should be a top cash option. Dylan Cease FD - P 7400 DK - SP 7400 Opponent - KC (Brady Singer) Park - CHWFD - 33.05 DK - 16.72 The Royals rank 22nd in team wOBA on the season and though they don’t strike out at higher volume, there also isn’t all that much pop in these bats. Cease opens as a -150 home favorite here and he’s really spiked his K rate on the season, striking out 32% of opposing batters and putting down seven or more in each of his last three games. This hasn’t always been part of his profile, but he’s throwing the fastball more and can get it up to over 96MPH. I like the matchup for the righty on Sunday. Catcher/First Base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 6000 Opponent - PHI (Chase Anderson) Park - TORFD - 12.73 DK - 9.66 He’s having a breakout season and is priced as such. But man is he ever a tough fade here on Sunday. The young superstar is sitting with an OPS right around 1.000 for the season, easily the best mark he’s seen in his time in the majors. He’s walking (17%) more than he’s striking out (16%) and is just one of the tougher outs in the game right now. We are going to be getting into some more Blue Jays in short order, but know that the Toronto stacking begins with Vlad-y. if Rowdy Tellez (FD $2200 DK $3300) moves up at all in the lineup then he’d be a lock at these prices. José Abreu FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5400...