We’ve got an eight-game slate for Monday. It’s a pretty straightforward slate for me. The pitching options were immediately identified. So were the stacks. It was just about choosing one. Hopefully, wise choices were made. ARI, DET, TEX, NYM, and WAS are projected for fewer than four runs. NYY is the only team projected for at least five runs. No teams are projected for fewer than three runs. COL/SD haven’t had their lines posted yet.
All clear on the weather front.
Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Gerrit Cole | $10,900 | |||
| Pitcher | |||||
| Catcher | Kyle Higashioka | $3,400 | |||
| First Base | Shohei Ohtani | $4,700 | |||
| Second Base | |||||
| Third Base | |||||
| Short Stop | Amed Rosario | $3,300 | |||
| Outfield | Mike Trout | $6,100 | |||
| Outfield | |||||
| Outfield | |||||
Salary Remaining $200
Gerrit Cole ($10,900)
Cole has a 15.8 percent swinging strike rate and a ridiculous 1.13 FIP. He’s struck out 78 batters in 52.2 innings. More impressive is the three home runs and three walks issued. Now he gets a Rangers team that is 3rd in strikeouts and 18th in ISO against right-handed pitching.
Kyle Higashioka ($3,400)
Cole’s personal catcher has five home runs on the season. The strikeout rate is 28.8 percent but he is walking 13.6 percent of the time. The slash is .196/.305/.549 but the BABIP is only .172 so good fortune should arrive at some point.
Shohei Ohtani ($4,700)
We are attacking Sam Hentges. I really like attacking the Angels pitching as well, especially since their bullpen is one of the worst. That said, I settled with the Angels stack. Hentges has a 6.19 FIP and 8 percent swinging strike rate. He’s allowed four home runs in 13.2 innings and walked six. He’s more effective against lefties and Ohtani has a .191/.240/.489 slash with a 30 percent strikeout rate against left-handed pitching. That said, he has hit three homers against lefties and the ISO is .298. If I’m stacking the Angels, I want Ohtani in the middle of it.
Amed Rosario ($3,300)
Patrick Sandoval has an 8.3 FIP and has allowed three home runs in 7.1 innings. The swinging strike rate is 13.7 percent and the Indians run total is only 4.2 but the Angels bullpen has the seventh-highest FIP. Rosario will likely bat second in the lineup and he has two home runs and two stolen bases on the season. The strikeout rate is 20.7 percent. The slash is only .198/.259/.318 but the BABIP is only .235. In his career against left-handed pitching, the slash is .294/.335/.463 with a .169 ISO.
Mike Trout ($6,100)
He’s good at baseball. .336/.464..637 slash with a .301 ISO. Uh, yeah. He has eight home runs and two stolen bases on the season. The BABIP is .455 so he’s not going to be on this heater forever but he’s still one of the best hitters in the game. He’s super expensive but if I’m stacking the Angels, I’m trying to include Trout in it. He happened to fit today. Praise the Lord!
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Here’s our full 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Pitcher | Gerrit Cole | $10,900 | |||
| Pitcher | Yusei Kikuchi | $7,800 | |||
| Catcher | Kyle Higashioka | $3,400 | |||
| First Base | Shohei Ohtani | $4,700 | |||
| Second Base | Josh Harrison | $3,300 | |||
| Third Base | Anthony Rendon | $5,200 | |||
| Short Stop | Amed Rosario | $3,300 | |||
| Outfield | Mike Trout | $6,100 | |||
| Outfield | Justin Upton | $2,800 | |||
| Outfield | Taylor Ward | $2,300 | |||
Salary Remaining $200
Yusei Kikuchi ($7,800)
The Tigers are first in strikeouts and dead-last in ISO against left-handed pitching. This is a no-brainer for me. Kikuchi has a 13.3 swinging strike rate and, over the last three games, he’s put up 26.1, 20.2, and 32 DKFP against the Dodgers, Orioles, and Astros.
Josh Harrison ($3,300)
Harrison was one of the last pieces of the puzzle. I don’t particularly like the matchup, but Harrison is batting second in the lineup and has a 12.7 strikeout rate and an 8.5 walk rate. He has three home runs and one stolen base with a .298/.281/.433 slash.
Anthony Rendon ($5,200)
Rendon only has 74 plate appearances on the season due to injury. The plate discipline is excellent as he has a 10.8 percent walk rate and 17.6 percent strikeout rate. In his career against left-handed pitching, Rendon has a .300/.392/.522 slash with a .222 ISO. He bats cleanup in the Angels lineup.
Justin Upton ($2,800)
Upton bats sixth in the Angels lineup and offers some salary relief. He strikes out a lot (31 percent) and is super streaky, but he goes on white-hot heaters from time to time. The ISO is .204 on the season and he has seven home runs. In his career against lefties, Upton has a .260/.360/.495 slash with a .235 ISO.
Taylor Ward ($2,300)
Ward bats eighth for the Angels and also provides some salary relief. He only has 37 plate appearances on the season but the ISO is .219 and he has two home runs. The walk rate is 8.1 percent while the strikeout rate is 21.6 percent. He’s a career .145 ISO batter and against lefties the slash is .234/.293/.393 with a .159 ISO compared to .199/.272/.337 with a .138 ISO against righties.
Alternative Moves…
Jarred Kelenic – OF ($3,000 DK) – The highly touted rookie is no longer priced at the stone minimum but he’s batting leadoff and gets to face Tigers pitching. The Tigers bullpen has the highest FIP in the league while Casey Mize has a 5.04 FIP with an 8.7 percent swinging strike rate. Against lefties this season, the slash is .262/.352/.475. Kelenic has a 38.5 percent strikeout rate but he has a home run in 13 plate appearances. In three games, he’s gone 0-for-4, 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, and 0-for-5.
Yu Darvish – P ($10,200 DK)
There are three pitchers for me today. Cole, Kikuchi, and Darvish. He’s struck out 59 batters in 47.2 innings and has an 11.8 percent swinging strike rate. The FIP is 3.14. He gets to face a Rockies team that is completely inept away from Coors Field. They are last in home runs and last in runs scored.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
