DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (5/17/21): MLB DFS Lineups

The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/17/21. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.

Happy Monday, RotoBallers! We start the week with eight games on the DraftKings featured slate as we head into the back half of May. It's crazy to see teams already passing the quarter mark of their 2021 season. After 40 games last year, we were already 66 percent done with the regular season. Thankfully, that's not the case this year. As for Monday's version of weather watch, the only thing on the radar right now is the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field. It could present a challenge for the offenses and surprising pitching performances on the mound.

Last week, some of the pitching available on the featured slates was questionable at best. Fortunately, that's not the case tonight. Gerrit Cole, Yu Darvish, Walker Buehler, Madison Bumgarner (yes, don't refresh the page), Adbert Alzolay, and Yusei Kikuchi are all steady eddy arms for Monday. I could even see myself throwing Casey Mize or Patrick Sandoval into a lineup facing the weaker offenses of Seattle and Cleveland, respectively. Pairing Cole and Darvish together could be the only thing you need to win in cash games tonight. While anyone can blow up on any night in baseball, those two arms are some of the safest bets in the game right now.

This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/17/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.

DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers

Yu Darvish - P, SD vs. COL ($10,200)

I could sit here and wax poetically about Yu Darvish's 2021 campaign. However, we've got a limited amount of time to build your contest-winning DFS lineup, so I'll cut to the chase. Darvish has been spectacular through 47 2/3 innings. The right-hander has a 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and a 31.2 percent strikeout rate through eight starts. He's $700 less than Cole, and it may be worth taking those savings because of the matchup.

Darvish's opponent, the Colorado Rockies, is awful on the road. Through 16 road starts, starting pitchers average 23.9 fantasy points per game when seeing the Rockies away from Coors Field. It boasts even higher when it's the first game away from Coors. Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeSclafani, and Jack Flaherty averaged eight innings with a 0.36 ERA, 0.52 WHIP, and 35.5 DraftKings fantasy points facing the Rockies on the first game of their three road trips this season. Fire up Darvish, and you won't be disappointed.

Yusei Kikuchi - P, SEA vs. DET ($7,800)

It's becoming a bit of an event on my calendar whenever Detroit faces a left-handed hurler. Today, it's Kikuchi's turn to celebrate Detroit versus a lefty day as he looks to continue his recent run of form. Over his last three starts, the Japanese southpaw is limiting opponents to a .169/.213/.310 slash line, and it's producing a 2.66 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 26.05 DraftKings points per start. He's pitched into the seventh inning in all three starts and racked up 25 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings, including a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start. Meanwhile, the Tigers strike out against left-handed pitching 33.82 percent of the time and rock a 56 weighted Runs Created plus versus left-handed pitching this season. Pair Yu and Yusei, and you'll say thank you for all the fantasy points.

Other options: Gerrit Cole at TEX ($10,900), Walker Buehler vs. ARI ($10,000), Madison Bumgarner at LAD ($8,500), Adbert Alzolay vs. WAS ($8,100), Casey Mize at SEA ($6,900)

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DraftKings DFS Infielders

Kyle Higashioka - C, NYY at Jordan Lyles ($3,400)

Another Gerrit Cole start should guarantee Higashioka another night behind the plate. He's become Cole's catcher for the Yankees, especially with the all-around struggles for Gary Sanchez. Higashioka is an excellent play if you are going home-run hunting on Monday night. On the season, he's batting .196 but owns a .854 OPS thanks to his slugging ability. Eight of his 10 hits in 2021 have gone for extra bases with three doubles and five home runs. Jordan Lyles isn't the kind of pitcher to limit hard-hit balls. He sits inside the bottom five percent of the league with a 50 percent hard-hit rate, and he's allowed nine home runs in eight starts.

Jose Abreu - 1B, CWS at J.A. Happ ($5,400)

The 2020 American League MVP had a quieter start to the year than some thought, but he's turning it around, and his last 10 games have been exactly what we've come to expect from Abreu. In that stretch, the first baseman is slashing .382/.463/.706 with nine runs, three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 11 RBI. The three-time All-Star has reached base in 10 of his previous 11 games (he left early in the one game he failed to reach base), and he's got five multi-hit efforts in his last seven games. This White Sox lineup could easily repeat what they did to Happ last week when they tagged him for nine runs in less than four innings. Abreu was responsible for three of those runs on Wednesday, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a repeat performance tonight.

Jake Cronenworth - 1B/2B, SD vs. Jon Gray ($4,200)

With the Padres still down a few bats due to medical protocols, their righty-mashing utility bat is coming through for them. Over his last 10 games, Cronenworth is rocking a .967 OPS with 10 runs, two doubles, a home run, and four RBI. He's recorded at least one hit in nine of those ten games, and a further five of those have been of the multi-hit variety. While Jon Gray is pitching well this year (2.93 ERA, 3.90 xFIP), his walk rate sits at a ghastly 9.9 percent. That's going to be trouble versus a Padres lineup averaging seven runs per game in their last seven contests. Cronenworth has slotted in as the second or third hitter in each of the previous six games and should have a few chances to rack up fantasy points.

Austin Riley - 3B, ATL vs. Taijuan Walker ($4,000)

If we want to continue our home-run hunting ways, I like the Braves to help Taijuan Walker's regression along, and Riley is one of the cheaper bats in the lineup. The third-year bat sees the ball well right now, but the home runs just haven't come around yet. In his previous eight games, Riley is slashing .346/.514/.423 with two runs, two doubles, three RBI, and nine walks. The 24-year old is averaging 7.3 FPPG in that stretch, but I think he goes yard in his home ballpark tonight. Met's starter, Taijuan Walker, has a 2.8 percent home run to fly ball rate, despite a career 12.4 percent rate. He's also pitching to a 2.20 ERA with a 4.13 xFIP. Regression is coming for Walker, and it could start against the Braves.

Tim Anderson - SS, CWS at J.A. Happ ($5,300)

The White Sox should be a popular stack tonight, but they still deserve to be highlighted for today's picks. Anderson has turned into one of the best talents in the game over the previous few years, and it's continuing in 2021. On the season, he has a .877 OPS and averaging 10.5 DraftKings points per game. He's picked it up over his last 10 games, however, and sports a .381/.435/.524 slash line with 10 runs, three doubles, a home run, three RBI, and two steals. As previously mentioned, the White Sox were not kind to J.A. Happ last week, and they won't let up in the rematch. Anderson sits atop one of the best lineups in baseball, and his fantasy points should come thick and fast against mediocre pitching.

DraftKings DFS Outfielders

Kyle Schwarber - OF, WAS at Adbert Alzolay ($3,700)

Sound the alarm! We've got a revenge game narrative on our hands as Kyle Schwarber returns to Wrigley Field for the first time since he changed teams. It's fortunate timing for the outfielder as he's in red-hot form, and he'll be able to show his former employers precisely what they're missing. In his last eight games, Schwarber has smashed the baseball to the tune of a 1.001 OPS with five runs, a double, three home runs, and eight RBI. He even stole a base for the first time in 2021 despite totaling only 11 in his six-career with the Cubs. Schwarber hit as low as seventh in the Nationals lineup on May 7, but he's climbed back up and has hit cleanup for them in five of the previous six games. The slugger has collected multi-hit efforts in three of those five appearances and seems to be in a great spot to exact revenge on the Chicago Cubs to kick off the week.

Jarred Kelenic - OF, SEA vs. Casey Mize ($3,000)

Kelenic will be in this article until further notice. One of the top-hitting prospects in this game, he showed us what he could do on Friday night in his second career MLB game. The stud hitter went 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, a home run, and three RBI for 30 fantasy points. The lefty is scoreless in his other three appearances, but that second game showed how slate-breaking this rookie could be on any given evening. Facing Casey Mize could help Kelenic get on the board again. The Tigers right-hander is outperforming his peripherals this season, and, despite a couple of encouraging outings, he is no one to fade away from in DFS formats.

Andrew Vaughn - OF, CWS at J.A. Happ ($2,400)

After a rough few weeks to start his career, Vaughn is finding his footing at the major league level. Last week, he hit the first and second home runs of his big league tenure as he continues to develop his power. During the previous 10 games, the rookie sports a .826 OPS with seven runs, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, and six walks to eight strikeouts. Coincidentally, the man who Vaughn hit his first career bomb off is the same guy on the mound tonight: J.A. Happ. Before his last start, the lefty had a 1.91 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. After his start against the White Sox, those numbers sat at 4.26 and 1.11, respectively, because Chicago pummeled him with nine earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. Plus, their 142 wRC+ as a team versus southpaws suggests that Happ could be hopeless once again on Monday.

DraftKings DFS Stacks

• New York Yankees at Texas Rangers (Jordan Lyles, RHP)
• Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets (Taijuan Walker, RHP)
• Game stack: Chicago White Sox (Dallas Keuchel, LHP) at Minnesota Twins (J.A. Happ, LHP)

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