DFS MLB Baseball Picks for May 24, 2021

We’ve got a tiny six-game slate to get the week started. The two ace pitchers are facing each other today but there are some lower-priced pitchers that are in fantastic matchups. There is one stack that I wanted to fit in today so I’m willing to embrace the volatility and pay down at both pitching slots today. SEA, STL, SD, MIL, COL, and NYM are projected for fewer than four runs. No teams are projected for at least five runs or fewer than three runs. 

                 
All clear on the weather front. 

Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/24/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $600

David Peterson ($7,000)

Peterson has a 12.3 percent swinging strike rate with 46 strikeouts in 38 innings. He has walked 14 and allowed six home runs but the BABIP is .311 while the LOB rate is 63.4 percent. The FIP is 4.12 compared to the 4.97 ERA so some good fortune could be on the horizon. The Rockies are inept away from Coors Field as they are last in home runs and runs scored. By a wide margin. They have nine home runs and 53 runs scored on the road. The Royals, who are 29^th, have 19 home runs and 77 runs scored.

Yermin Mercedes ($4,900)

We are attacking Kwang-Hyun Kim today. He’s actually pitched very well this season, as the FIP is 2.62 and swinging strike rate is 11 percent but the White Sox crush left-handed pitching. They have the seventh-best ISO. Mercedes ain’t no hoopty as the strikeout rate is 16.7 percent while the ISO is at .188. He has six home runs on the season. In 39 plate appearances against lefties, he has a .444/487/.667 slash with a .222 ISO.

Jose Abreu ($5,100)

Abreu has nine home runs and one stolen base on the season. He bats cleanup so if the White Sox get busy, he should be right in the middle of the festivities. In his career against left-handed pitching, he has a .306/.375/.552 slash with a .245 ISO. 

Tim Anderson ($5,900)

Anderson bats leadoff for Chicago. He’s a free swinger as the strikeout rate is 25.7 percent while the walk rate is only 4.6 percent. That said, the slash is .299/.336/.438 and he has five home runs and seven stolen bases on the season. The BABIP is. 380 but he’s been able to maintain a high number. In the prior two seasons, he had a .383 and .399 BABIP. In his career against left-handed pitching, the slash is .323/346/.511 with a .187 ISO. 

Robbie Grossman ($4,700)

Grossman bats leadoff for the Tigers. He has five home runs and seven stolen bases on the season. The walk rate is 15.5 percent while the strikeout rate is 22.3 percent. The slash is .259/.383/.430 with a .171 ISO. He gets to face Sam Hentges who has a 7.19 FIP, has served up five home runs, and walked nine in 15.9 innings. The swinging strike rate is only 8.2 percent.

Here’s our full 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/24/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $600

Frankie Montas ($6,200)

Montas hasn’t been bad to start the season but he hasn’t been great either. The FIP is 4.62 and the swinging strike rate is 11.2 percent. He gets to face a Seattle team that is 7^th in strikeouts and 15^th in ISO against right-handed pitching. They just allowed Spencer Turnbull to put up 51.1 DKFP against them. 

Cesar Hernandez ($3,900)

Hernandez bats leadoff for the Indians. He has a 10.6 percent walk rate and 18.1 percent strikeout rate. He has five home runs and a .143 ISO on the season. He’s a .108 ISO batter so it’s not about the power, although that’s within the range of outcomes. It’s about getting on base and scoring some runs. Spencer Turnbull just carved up the Mariners but he’s not that good. Plus, the Tigers have the highest FIP if they can get Turnbull out of the game. 

Yoan Moncada ($4,700)

Moncada bats third in the lineup and has been on quite the heater recently. Since May 12^th, he’s notched at least one hit in nine of 10 games while the slash is .382/.543/.529 with a .147 ISO. The BABIP is .542 so it’s unsustainable but ride the wave while it’s there. 

Josh Naylor ($3,600)

Naylor has four home runs with a stolen base on the season. The slash is .259/.303/.406 with a .147 ISO. Against righties this season, the slash is .293/.330/.467 with a .174 ISO. As I mentioned in the Hernandez section, Turnbull isn’t a world beater and the Tigers bullpen is trash.

Eddie Rosario ($3,400)

Rosario will likely bat in the heart of the order for the Indians with Franmil Reyes out for an extended period of time. He has three home runs and five stolen bases on the season. The ISO has only been .113 so far this season but he’s a career .196 ISO batter. In his career against righties, the slash is .275/.311/.500 with a .225 ISO.

Alternative Moves…

Cedric Mullins – OF ($4,100 DK) – Mullins has six home runs and five stolen bases on the season. The walk rate is 9.2 percent while the strikeout rate is 18.9 percent. The slash is .295/.362/.477 with a .182 ISO. The BABIP is an elevated .343 but he maintained a high number last season as well. He bats leadoff and gets to face Matt Shoemaker who has a 6.5 FIP and has allowed 10 home runs in 40 innings while only striking out 25 batters.

Blake Snell – P ($8,900 DK)    

Snell has a 12.7 percent swinging strike rate and has struck out 60 batters in 40.1 innings. The two bugaboos for him have been the 25 walks and inability to pitch deep into games. He’s pitched over five innings only twice this season. He is coming off a 29.9 DKFP game and gets to face a Brewers team that is 7^th in strikeouts and 24^th in ISO against left-handed pitching.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.