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Welcome back RotoBallers to another edition of our free MLB DFS lineup picks and value plays. This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 5/24/2022, Main Slate at 7:05 pm Eastern Time.
The lineup will range from some elite players to mid-priced options, and value plays. The main slate is 12 games on DraftKings and FanDuel.
You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter @Mark_Kieffer and ask away!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Sonny Gray- P, MIN vs. DET ($8,200 DK, $6,800 FD)
When factoring in price, statistics, and opponent, Sonny Gray is my top play tonight. Gray has a 28.7% strikeout rate, facing a Detroit team that has the 10th highest strikeout rate at 23.9%. An issue Gray has is allowing walks, as his walk rate is 10.3%. Detroit has the third-lowest walk rate in the league at 7.3%, so this is less of a concern on this particular day. At $8,200 on DraftKings, he is viable as an SP1 or SP2 in a cash game. On FanDuel, he makes for an interesting punt play.
Corbin Burnes- P, MIL @ SDP ($10,100 DK, $10,600 FD)
Corbin Burns has the second-highest strikeout rate on the slate (31.5%) with a 2.44 SIERA. San Diego has the 17th highest strikeout rate (22.2%) and they have the 10th lowest ISO as a team. If looking for a pitcher with strikeout upside, while this is a somewhat neutral matchup for Burnes, 31.5% against an average strikeout team isn't a bad spot to be in.
Dylan Cease P, CWS vs. BOS ($9,800 DK, $9,600 FD)
Dylan Cease is pitching with a strikeout rate of 36.8%. Boston has a low strikeout rate of 21% -- the ninth-lowest in baseball. This is more of a GPP play to get different. In a vacuum, Cease should be the most expensive pitcher on the slate. He has a higher strikeout rate than Burnes, allows fewer home runs than him as well, despite having very similar K-BB%, xFIP, and SIERA. I am interested in a GPP.
Jordan Montgomery P, NYY vs. BAL ($8,000 DK, $7,100 FD)
Jordan Montgomery is my pivot from Sonny Gray. Montgomery does not have the upside of a Gray as his strikeout rate is 19.3%. His walk rate is just 4.8%, is facing a team that strikes out more than Detroit does, and the Yankees are likely to back Montogomery to get the win. Not much upside but a viable cash play if looking for floor.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Yoan Moncada- 3B, CWS vs. Nick Pivetta ($4,100 DK, $3,100 FD)
Without lineups out, third base is a difficult position to find value tonight on DraftKings. He will bat near the top of the order most likely against Pivetta, a pitcher who can blow up from time to time despite his 3.79 SIERA. The White Sox are implied for just over four runs tonight in this one. Moncada has only played 12 games so far but is batting just .176 with a .137 ISO so far in the small sample size. He does have two home runs though.
Javier Baez- SS, DET vs. Sonny Gray ($4,100 DK, $2,500 FD)
The dynamics of shortstop, especially on DraftKings is typically this: either punt for a bottom of the order guy, spend up, or hope a punt play utility guy is somehow leading off in a game. Baez should hit in the middle of the order, and although he isn't hitting all that well (.214 average with a .127 ISO), this is a player that has a career .262 average with a career .209 ISO. Gray is allowing 1.31 HR/9 this season. While I did recommend Sonny Gray earlier, this is more of a recommendation if you do not play Gray in your lineup. If you are playing Sonny Gray, then I recommend either a punt at shortstop or someone hitting as high up in the order as possible. If you want to spend up: Carlos Correa and Corey Seager are two of my favorites on this slate.
Tommy La Stella- 2B, SFG vs. Chris Bassitt ($2,700 DK, $2,700 FD)
Max Muncy- 2B, LAD vs. Josiah Gray ($3,000 FD)
On FanDuel there is a lot of value at second base. Gleyber Torres, Max Muncy, Ozzie Albies, Eli White, Marcus Semien, Ketel Marte, Tommy La Stella, are all guys batting towards the top or middle of the order that are $3K or below on FanDuel. Over there, this is probably the last position I fill. I chose Muncy above because Gray is allowing 1.87 HR/9 and Muncy's career .247 ISO (although it is just .118 this season) and the Dodgers 5.0 implied run total are appealing.
On DraftKings, pretty much all of those guys listed are between $4K-$5K and aren't these awesome values. La Stella should lead off against a solid Chris Bassitt. Bassitt isn't the shut them down type pitcher he started off pitching as, but he is solid. The hope with La Stelle is that he gets on base a couple of times to make value. The other option on DraftKings is to fill in last with a viable punt based on when actual lineups come out.
Yuli Gurriel- 1B, HOU vs. Zach Plesac ($4,000 DK, $2,800 FD)
The Houston Astros are a good team to roster today as Plesac is one of the worst pitchers going on the slate. Plesac has a low 13.8% strikeout rate this season, a 4.88 SIERA, and is allowing 1.40 HR/9. Gurriel is one of the few Astros that is not crazily priced on the slate. Gurriel is off to a slow start this season but has a career .290 average with a .173 ISO and should bat in the middle of the order in a lineup that could be the highest-scoring on the slate.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Kole Calhoun- OF, TEX vs. Noah Syndergaard ($2,800 DK, $2,300 FD)
Kole Calhoun has been picking it up as of late and is now batting .243 with a .200 ISO. Syndergaard has the fifth-lowest strikeout rate on the slate (17.1%), and has a 4.18 SIERA. Additionally, the weather in Anaheim will be nice and the wind should be blowing out. Getting some home run upside for this price isn't bad.
Max Kepler- OF, MIN vs. Beau Brieske ($3,400 DK, $3,100 FD)
After starting the year hot, Kepler has slowed down somewhat but is still hitting .262 -- much better than his career .234 average. He also has .185 ISO, not too far off from his career .205 ISO too. Brieske has a 13.2% strikeout rate, allows 2.40 HR/9, and has a SIERA of 5.44. Twins bats aren't a bad way to go tonight and Kepler is one that is at a value.
Jesse Winker- OF SEA vs. James Kaprielian ($3,200 DK, $2,700 FD)
Winker has had a bad start to the year batting just .213 with a 0.084 ISO -- a far cry from his .305 average and .251 ISO last year. There is still 3/4 of the season to go and Winker has time to turn things around. Kaprielian has a 4.72 SIERA and is allowing 1.50 HR/9 this season. The Mariners relatively low implied run total is misleading; there are some good Mariners bats to target. If you have the budget, I also like Julio Rodriguez (DK $3,500, FD $3,200).
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Arizona Diamondbacks - Jonathan Heasley has a 4.9% strikeout rate, a 17.1% walk rate and a 7.27 SIERA. Yes that's only in 8.1 innings but those were a heck of an 8.1 inning stretch. The Royals also have the third-highest bullpen ERA (4.69) to come in if Heasley does get roughed up. I like Varsho, Marte, and Walker here. Fill in with whomever else you like.
Minnesota Twins - Beau Brieske has a 5.44 SIERA and is allowing 2.39 HR/9. This will be an expensive stack, will be interesting to see how popular they are.
Houston Astros - Plesac has a 4.89 SIERA and isn't striking many people out. They are priced similarly to the Twins. It will be interesting to see if ownership is higher for the Twins, the Astros, or somewhat split between the two. Any of these guys 1-8 are viable tonight.
Seattle Mariners - This one could end up being overlooked tonight with an implied 3.9 run total. James Kaprielian has a 4.72 SIERA and is allowing 1.50 HR/9 despite having a decent 21.1% strikeout rate. He also walks 13.2% of batters and those guys with high walks are good to target for stacks as they just create more and more plate appearances for the lineup. Oakland has a decent bullpen so this is a spot they have to get at Kaprielian early or it will most likely bust.
Milwaukee Brewers - This could also go overlooked with an implied 3.5 run total. Blake Snell is striking out 29.4% of batters which is impressive. What is not impressive is his 17.6% walk rate, 4.48 SIERA, and allowing 2.45 HR/9. San Diego has a middle-of-the-pack bullpen so the hope in stacking the Brewers is Snell gives up a lot of runs and/or walks a lot of batters giving everyone in the lineup more and more at-bats.
There are several more to consider such as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels. The above ones are those that interest me the most, but there are many viable stacks on this slate.
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