DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/28/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/28/21 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 12200 DK - SP 11200 Opponent - DET (Casey Mize) Park - DET FD - 45.94 DK - 26.02 Let's start right at the top tonight with a Top 3 pitcher in the game who also draws the best matchup as a -230 favorite against the Tigers. After getting roughed up by the Rangers, Cole rebounded nicely in his last start holding the White Sox to just four hits and no runs while striking out seven over seven innings. On the season, he has held opponents to two or fewer runs in nine of his 10 starts(1.81 ERA/2.23 xFIP) while striking out 39% of batters he has faced. He is, by far, the highest-rated pitcher in our system tonight, and with the amount of value we have seen this season it shouldn't be an issue fitting him into our lineups. Ian Anderson FD - P 9000 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - NYM (Taijuan Walker) Park - NYM FD - 42.34 DK - 22.39 I don't blame you if you decide to fade Cole and his enormous price tag as it really limits the bats you can target. The good news is that we do have other, cheaper options and Ian Anderson is one that really stands out. He has been consistent all year with a 2.82 ERA/3.27 xFIP, hasn't given up more than six hits in a start, and has flashed some "Ace" upside holding opponents to one or fewer runs in five of his nine starts. What I like the most is the matchup against the Mets who rank dead last in runs scored over the last two weeks while striking out 28% of the time. Anderson is close to the top in PTS/$ rankings and is in play in all formats. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5200 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - CHW FD - 12.85 DK - 9.72 Andrew Vaughn FD - 1B 2500 DK - 1B/OF 2500 Opponent - BAL (Matt Harvey) Park - CHW FD - 9.41 DK - 7.15 The White Sox offense has cooled off a bit lately but is back in the #1 spot in terms of implied runs tonight. They open as -210 favorites against Matt Harvey who has really struggled giving up 7+ hits and 5+ earned runs in three straight starts. Let's start with the...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/27/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/27/21 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! Thursday slates always tend to be lighter, and that's certainly the case here. We have six games making up this nightcap, with many West Coast teams taking the field. What I do love about this slate is all the value out there. It's clear that these DFS sites aren't reacting to hot stretches as quickly as they do in the NBA, leaving some of the pricing a bit soft. With that in mind, let's kick things off with a pitcher who has a ridiculous DraftKings price. Pitchers Stephen Strasburg FD - P 10000 DK - SP 8500 Opponent - CIN (Sonny Gray) Park - WSH FD - 38.15 DK - 20.67 As you probably know, DraftKings pricing is usually way stricter than FanDuel. That makes this Strasburg price all the more confusing, sitting $1,500 cheaper over there. We'd argue that he should be $10K on both sites because Stras is always a beast when he's healthy. We're talking about a guy with a 3.20 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for his career while generating a ridiculous 28 percent K rate. He showed some of that form in his first start off the IL, allowing one hit across 5.1 scoreless innings. It's not like Cincinnati is an easy matchup, but they're missing two of their potent lefties in Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas. That only adds to Strasburg's intrigue, with the Washington starter entering this matchup as a -150 favorite. Chris Flexen FD - P 5800 DK - SP 6200 Opponent - TEX (Kolby Allard) Park - SEA FD - 31.56 DK - 17.03 I watched this guy in the KBO last year (yes, I watched KBO during COVID times!), and I was really impressed with some of his stuff. That noble year with the Doosan Bears earned him a contract with the Mariners and then got him into this rotation. He actually had one of the worst starts of the year when he surrendered eight runs to the Padres in his last start but was pretty good before that. In fact, Flex had at least 19 FanDuel points in six of his first seven starts, pitching to a 3.46 ERA in that span. He actually has a 2.18 ERA at home this year, too, which is really no surprise when you see how spacious Safeco Field can be. The best part about using him here is the matchup, though, with Texas ranked 23rd in K...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 5/26/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 5/26/21 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 Tyler Glasnow FD - P 10700 DK - SP 10500 Opponent - KC (Mike Minor) Park - TB FD - 42.21 DK - 23.38 At the top tonight, we are faced with the decision between two elite pitchers and while I will have exposure to both, the system has Glasgow slightly ahead and I agree for multiple reasons. First of all, the Rays are much bigger favorites(-193 to -136) facing a Royals team that is below average and ranks outside the Top 20 in almost all offensive stats both on the season and more recently. The only thing I have against Bauer here is that the Astros strikeout(18%) less than any team in baseball which both lowers his floor and ceiling. Glasnow is coming off a dud vs. the Blue Jays who have had his number but overall he has been very good with a 2.90 ERA/2.87 xFIP to go along with an elite 36% K rate. All in all, he is my top pitcher on this slate. Chris Paddack FD - P 7500 DK - SP 7700 Opponent - MIL (Adrian Houser) Park - MIL FD - 29.72 DK - 15.93 Night in and night out we keep getting pitchers on DraftKings that seem to be underpriced making it very easy to pay up for the elite arms. Tonight, DK is serving up Chris Paddack and to be fair he was inconsistent early on but is starting to heat up making this a nice buy-low opportunity. His last start was easily his best of the season as he went six innings(longest outing) holding the Mariners to just three hits and one earned run while striking out six. He now gets a plus matchup against a below-average Brewers offense that has been much worse against righties with a .285 wOBA, 78 wRC+, and 26% K rate. Paddack is my top SP2 tonight on DraftKings and a nice GPP pivot on FanDuel to get all the bats. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B/2B 5500 Opponent - HOU (Luis Garcia) Park - HOU FD - 12.59 DK - 9.27 Freddie Freeman FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 5600 Opponent - BOS (Nick Pivetta) Park - BOS FD - 13.69 DK - 10.24 First base is most definitely a pay-up spot for me tonight and I likely won't expand outside of these two superstars. Let's start with...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 5/25/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 5/25/21 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 Max Scherzer FD - P 11000 DK - SP 10700 Opponent - CIN (Tyler Mahle) Park - WSH FD - 41.89 DK - 23.36 It is a terrific slate for pitching but I am iffy on paying up for deGrom who returns from the IL so instead I will turn to Mad Max as my top option. He has been elite in the month of May giving up just four total earned runs(1.37 ERA/2.45 xFIP) with an eye-popping 39% K rate. He gets a great shot to keep the good times rolling as a -165 home favorite against the struggling Reds who have dropped six of their last seven scoring just 3.6 runs per game and striking out 25% of the time. Fire up Scherzer in all formats. Clayton Kershaw FD - P 10000 DK - SP 8000 Opponent - HOU (Zack Greinke) Park - HOU FD - 34.18 DK - 18.42 Look. I get the Astros are a Top 3 team against left-handed pitching and in no way is Kershaw a safe play on FanDuel but this DraftKings price is straight up laughable. There have been a few hiccups along the way but overall, he is having a good start to the season with a 3.18 ERA/3.15 xFIP to go along with a 29% K rate. At a minimum, we are looking for a 2x return in cash games(16 pts) on DraftKings and he has provided 20+ DK points in eight of his 10 starts. I hate the matchup but cannot ignore the price making Kershaw easily my top SP2 tonight. Catcher/First Base Matt Olson FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 4600 Opponent - SEA (Logan Gilbert) Park - OAK FD - 11.18 DK - 8.28 As of writing this, Oakland is outside the Top 5 in implied runs but easily one of my favorite teams to target in all formats. It starts with the matchup against struggling rookie Logan Gilbert who has given up nine hits and seven earned runs through his first two starts(6.2 IP). For Olson, he checks off almost all boxes starting with recent play as he comes in red-hot with hits in seven of his last eight games including two doubles and four home runs. To be honest, he has played great all season with a .388 wOBA/156 wRC+, and best of all he comes at a buy-low price as the 11th and...
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 5/24/21
DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 5/24/21 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 Blake Snell FD - P 9300 DK - SP 8900 Opponent - MIL (Brandon Woodruff) Park - MIL FD - 36.34 DK - 20.11 What a dream buy-low opportunity. After floundering for most of the beginning of the season, Snell roared back with a 6 IP, 11 K, 1 ER start against the Rockies his last time out. If he's still capable of starts like that, these prices are arguably 25% too low. The Brewers, meanwhile, are a fantastic match-up. They've struck out at the 6th highest rate this season while amassing the 3rd worst wOBA. I love Snell in every format at these prices. Frankie Montas FD - P 8400 DK - SP 6200 Opponent - SEA (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - OAK FD - 35.17 DK - 18.65 While it's true that Montas became overrated during his run-hot 2019 campaign, he's still a pretty good pitcher that we can consider on a slate where the best pitchers are over-priced. He's still a 28 year old pitcher that has struck out almost exactly a batter per inning for his career, and the match-up here looks fanastic as well. The Mariners pair the league's worst wOBA with the 5th highest strikeout rate, making Montas a fantastic pitcher 2 option on DraftKings. If you must pay up at pitcher, consider Lance Lynn. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3700 DK - 1B 5100 Opponent - STL (Kwang Hyun Kim) Park - CHW FD - 11.27 DK - 8.53 With an .810 OPS, it hasn't been a banner year for the White Sox's Cuban first baseman. He has run .026 below his career BABIP levels, though, so his true performance this year probably lies north of the .810 OPS. As for the match-up, Kwang Hyun Kim is actually pretty good! He's run very hot on the ERA, but the 4.2 career xFIP so far is more than respectable for a guy who joined the Majors at the age of 31. You'll forgive me if I trust Abreu here, though, whose OPS goes .077 points higher with the platoon in his favor. C.J. Cron FD - 1B 2800 DK - 1B 4000 Opponent - NYM (David Peterson) Park - NYM FD - 8.95 DK - 6.75 If you're like most of the fantasy community, you've been in a deep sleep when it comes to CJ Cron this year. CJ has an outstanding...