DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Thursday, 5/13/21 Like most Thursdays, we have games spread throughout the day. We actually have a day slate that features five games, while the nightcap has six games on the docket. That means we're going to focus on the night slate beginning at 7ET, with many West Coast teams taking the field. That happens to be my specialty, though, so let's go ahead and get into it! 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! Pitchers Cristian Javier FD - P 9200 DK - SP 10000 Opponent - TEX (Mike Foltynewicz) Park - HOU FD - 32.8 DK - 16.83 Javier doesn't pop up too high in our projection system, but he's still the best raw play on the board. We say that because he's been the best pitcher of this player pool and has one of the best matchups. Let's kick things off by talking about his opposition. The Rangers currently rank 20th in xwOBA and 23rd in K rate, posting some of the worst offensive numbers in MLB. That puts any pitcher in play against them, especially a guy like Javier. The right-hander has a 2.90 ERA and 1.00 WHIP for the season, striking out 38 batters across 31 innings of action. All of that has Javier and the Astros entering this matchup as a -200 favorite if you need any more incentive. Zach Plesac FD - P 8400 DK - RP 8300 Opponent - SEA (Logan Gilbert) Park - SEA FD - 40.74 DK - 21.69 Plesac had a terrible two-start stretch against the White Sox earlier in the season but has been practically unhittable aside from that. In fact, he's got a 1.31 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across his other six starts. That's the stud we saw throughout most of last season, and it makes this price tag pretty intriguing. That sort of form is even more enticing when you look at this matchup, though, with Seattle having one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball. It's not like their lineup is any good either, ranked 26th in K rate, 28th in OPS, and dead-last in BA and OBP. That makes Plesac a near guarantee for a quality start, and that's all you can ask for from an $8K pitcher. Catcher/First Base Luke Voit FD - 1B 3000 DK - 1B 4800 Opponent - TB (Rich Hill) Park - TB FD - 11.57 DK - 8.65 This $3K price tag on FanDuel is laughable. Voit played at an MVP level...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Wednesday 5/12/21 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 12000 DK - SP 10500 Opponent - TB (Josh Fleming) Park - TB FD - 47.79 DK - 26.83 Cole is coming off a somewhat of an odd start for him as he only struck out four but even giving up two earned runs, he wasn't a complete lineup killer, especially considering the high ownership. Outside of that one start, he has been elite once again this year coming in with a 1.61 ERA/2.10 xFIP and is striking out just over 40% of batters he faces. He now gets a plus matchup vs. the Rays who are striking out over 27% of the time including 10 vs. Cole in their first meeting. Cole is easily the top pitcher in all formats tonight. Danny Duffy FD - P 10200 DK - SP 8900 Opponent - DET (Casey Mize) Park - DET FD - 31.93 DK - 16.22 There are multiple for SP2 on DraftKings or as GPP pivots off Cole and his monster price tag on FanDuel and for me, it starts with Danny Duffy. He has been terrific this season holding opponents to three or fewer earned runs in all six starts and one or fewer in five of those. He can get into trouble at times with the walks but has gotten out of it squeaky clean with a 28% K rate. While the Tigers have been better as of late, they rank dead last against lefties with a .217 wOBA, 36 wRC+, and 35% K rate!! All things considered, he is my favorite SP2 on DraftKings and a low-owned GPP play on FanDuel. Catcher/First Base Max Muncy FD - 1B 3200 DK - 1B 5500 Opponent - SEA (Justin Dunn) Park - LAD FD - 11.05 DK - 8.14 The Dodgers go from #2 in my stack ranks last night to #1 tonight as they face another struggling Mariners pitcher. Tonight, it's Justin Dunn on the bump and he has already walked a shocking 17 batters in five starts and has an xFIP(6.20) that is nearly three runs higher than his ERA(3.51) coming into tonight. I like the Dodgers as a whole but will be focusing on the lefties in this article as Dunn has really struggled in the split. Muncy can be streaky and is probably too expensive for cash on DraftKings but FanDuel has the Dodgers underpriced putting them in play...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Tuesday 5/11/21 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 Walker Buehler FD - P 10800 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - SEA (Yusei Kikuchi) Park - LAD FD - 36.46 DK - 20.12 Outside of the one start where Buehler allowed five earned runs, he has been lights out allowing two or fewer earned runs in the other five starts. He has also found that swing and miss stuff lately with eight or more K's in three straight with a 14% swinging-strike rate. Making it better, he gets the best matchup of the top pitchers facing the Mariners who are below average vs. righties, overall, and over the last seven days. All things considered, Buehler is my top pitcher on the slate in all formats. Pablo López FD - P 8000 DK - SP 8200 Opponent - ARI (Madison Bumgarner) Park - ARI FD - 30.82 DK - 16.19 This is a very interesting game that is currently set as a pickem and our system has both Lopez and Bumgarner right about the same, as well. I have no problem with either but slightly lean Lopez for a couple of reasons starting with the discounted price and higher projected PTS/$ return. Lopez has also been pitching terrific lately holding opponents to just one earned run over his last four starts with 24 strikeouts. Finally, he faces a struggling D-backs team that has dropped six straight, scoring just 12 runs total. Lopez is my favorite SP2 on DraftKings in all formats and a nice low-owned GPP option on FanDuel. Also Consider: Brady Singer(KC) as a punt SP2 play on DraftKings under $6k. He gets a great matchup as a -130 favorite, in a game with a 7.5 total facing a Tigers team with an ugly 77 wRC+ on the season Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3600 DK - 1B 4700 Opponent - MIN (Kenta Maeda) Park - CHW FD - 10.77 DK - 8.15 Zack Collins FD - C 2400 DK - C 3400 Opponent - MIN (Kenta Maeda) Park - CHW FD - 8.12 DK - 5.99 First base is a bit tricky as there are a lot of top options but they are either struggling or in tougher matchups. What stood out to me right away was the fact we are getting the reigning MVP at a discount based on his slow start to the season. The good news is that he appears to be heating...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Monday 5/10/21 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 Alex Wood FD - P 8900 DK - SP 9800 Opponent - TEX (Kyle Gibson) Park - SF FD - 34.89 DK - 18.25 Wood and Gibson are the two most expensive pitchers on the slate today, and while both are nice bounceback stories to start the season, I'm pretty firmly in the Wood camp here. He has better peripherals (nearly 1 extra K/9, and an xFIP a whole run lower), he's cheaper, and he arguably has the better match-up. The Rangers have the 6th highest K rate this season, and a wOBA .006 points behind the Giants. I'll grab Wood, and the savings, and feel pretty good about it. Tyler Mahle FD - P 8900 DK - SP 9400 Opponent - PIT (Mitch Keller) Park - PIT FD - 30.5 DK - 15.98 Speaking of incredible stories to start the season, have you glanced at Tyler Mahle's line so far? He's not going deep into games, but he's averaging 12+ K/9 with a 3.53 xFIP. That's incredible production. He's also got a great match-up with the Pirates, who have managed just a .291 wOBA this season, good for 2nd worst in the Majors. I think Wood is a little safer given the longer track record, but don't be surprised to see big Mahle ownership as well. Catcher/First Base C.J. Cron FD - 1B 3400 DK - 1B 4100 Opponent - SD (Dinelson Lamet) Park - COL FD - 10.32 DK - 7.78 First base is pretty thin today, and while it isn't exactly accurate to say we're reaching to play a first baseman in Coors, it feels that way to some degree. Cron has fulfilled his sleeper status this season, raking to the tune of a .999 OPS at home this year. Dinelson Lamet doesn't present a great match-up on paper, but he only threw 30 pitches last game as the Padres continue to stretch him out. There is plenty of time for Cron to pay these paltry prices, and I'm fine taking his floor on a day like today. Yuli Gurriel FD - 1B 3400 DK - 1B 5100 Opponent - LAA (Alex Cobb) Park - HOU FD - 9.04 DK - 6.93 Why are we running a 36 year old who came up at age 31 in a match-up where he doesn't even have the platoon in his favor? Well, Gurriel isn't your average big league...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 5/9/21 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 Jacob deGrom FD - P 12500 DK - SP 11700 Opponent - ARI (Riley Smith) Park - NYMFD - 40.37 DK - 23.27 The stats are getting a little dumb here. He has 59 strikeouts in his first 35 innings, good for an absurd 48% K% and has a nearly 15:1 K:BB ratio. The ERA is sitting at 0.51 which is only slightly better than the 1.37 xFIP. He’s just the best pitcher in baseball right now which is really saying something considering the number of quality arms that are out there. He’s coming in as a -315 home favorite against the garbage-y Diamondbacks and will likely be chalk on this slate. There’s absolutely no reason at all to fade him here and deGrom deserves to be the highest-owned pitcher on this slate. It shouldn’t be close. Kenta Maeda FD - P 7400 DK - SP 8300 Opponent - DET (Matthew Boyd) Park - DETFD - 36.1 DK - 19.09 Kenta Maeda is about 1.25 runs better on his xFIP than the 5.00 ERA meaning we are getting him at something of a discount thanks to early-season run bad. His BABIP allowed is 70 points higher than his career average and he’s running unlucky on the LOB% as well. The strikeouts aren’t where they’ve been the last couple of seasons, but the matchup against the Tigers is a good one. I like him here though think he’s a significant step below deGrom obviously. Lucas Giolito (FD $9600 DK $9500) is also a good value and is so much cheaper than deGrom on FanDuel that some might go this direction. Catcher/First Base José Abreu FD - 1B 3800 DK - 1B 4700 Opponent - KC (Mike Minor) Park - KCFD - 11.42 DK - 8.64 Abreu has tuned up lefty pitching for his career with a 149 wRC+ and .926 OPS through his time in the majors. The matchup against Minor isn’t a perfect one, but he’s still in a good spot here to take advantage. the White Sox implied run line is pushing to around five runs and the platoon advantage really favors Abreu in this game. Pete Alonso FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 5000 Opponent - ARI (Riley Smith) Park - NYMFD - 11.24 DK - 8.35 Alonso might never get back to the mid-.900s OPS guy we saw in his first season, but he also doesn’t...