DFS MLB Baseball Picks for May 31, 2021

We’ve got a nine-game slate for Monday but first pitches are at 10:05 am PT. There are two clear pitching options up top with some interesting options in the mid-tier but I’m not feeling too frisky today so I’m paying up at both slots. Because I’m utilizing most of the salary at pitching today, I couldn’t spend on stacks so I had to be very price conscious. I actually like the bats I ended up with as there were a few that were surprisingly cheap. LAA is projected for fewer than four runs. SD and MIN are projected for at least five runs while no teams are projected for fewer than three runs. CHW/CLE and DET/MIL have not had their lines released yet.

                 
All clear on the weather front. 

Here’s our 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/31/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $000

Carlos Rodon ($10,100)

Rodon has a 16.9 percent swinging strike rate and 2.01 FIP. He’s struck out 72 batters in 48.2 innings while serving up only three home runs. Outside of an 8.2 DKFP performance against the Royals a couple of weeks ago, Rodon has scored at least 24 DKFP in every game this season with two over 30 and a high of 47.7. He has faced the Indians twice and put up 47.7 and 24.5 DKFP against them.

Tyler Stephenson ($3,100)

Stephenson has a .260/.333/.380 slash with two home runs on the season. The strikeout rate is 21.6 percent and he has two home runs in 111 plate appearances. Over the past 10 games, he’s been hitting 3^rd to 5^th in the lineup. Now he faces Vince Velasquez, who can miss bats and has struck out 45 in 36.2 innings, but he’s also walked 22 and served up seven home runs – six of those to right-handed bats. Once Velasquez is out of the game, the Phillies bullpen has the fourth-highest FIP.

Matt Olson ($4,700)

Olson bats in the heart of the Athletics lineup and has 13 home runs on the season. The walk rate is 10.6 percent and the strikeout rate is only 17.2 percent. That’s impressive since that number was often in the high-20s to low-30 percent range. The ISO is a robust .291. Now he faces Logan Gilbert who has a 9.4 percent swinging strike rate and 4.34 FIP. Granted, he has only logged 10.2 MLB innings. Against right-handed pitching, Olson has a .274/.363/.566 slash with a .292 ISO this season. 

Brandon Crawford ($3,800)

Crawford has 11 home runs and three stolen bases on the season. The walk rate is 10.1 percent while the strikeout rate is 24.4 percent with a .270 ISO. Now he faces Dylan Bundy, who has struggled a bit this season with a 4.57 FIP. Against lefties, the FIP is 5.27 while the HR/9 is 2.25. 

Alex Verdugo ($3,300)

Verdugo bats second in the order and has seven home runs and three stolen bases. The walk rate is 7.6 percent while the strikeout rate is only 12.2 percent. The slash is .287/.345/.461 with a .174 ISO. Jose Urquidy has a K/9 of only 6.65 in 44.2 innings with a 1.21 HR/9. The BABIP is only .242 so he’s been very fortunate. 

Here’s our full 50-50 MLB DFS lineup for 5/31/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Salary Remaining          $000

Corbin Burnes ($9,900)

Burnes is one of the best pitchers in the league. The FIP is a ridiculous 1.07 while the swinging strike rate is 18.9 percent. He has 74 strikeouts in 46.1 innings while allowing only two home runs and five walks. Now he gets one of the best matchups for right-handed pitching as the Tigers are second in strikeouts and 18^th in ISO.

Jorge Polanco ($4,500)

Polanco has four home runs and three stolen bases on the season. The slash is only .236/.312/.388 while the ISO is .152. That said, the strikeout rate is only 18.8 percent, he bats high in the order, and gets to face Jorge Lopez, who has a 5.32 FIP and has served up nine home runs and 20 walks in 45 innings. 

Eugenio Suarez ($4,500)

Suarez’s season has been gross so far as the slash is .162/.242/.373 with a 32.8 percent strikeout rate. The ISO is .211, though, and he has 11 home runs on the season, with 10 of those against right-handed pitching. Velasquez has a 30.6 percent strikeout rate against righties but the HR/9 is 2.25.   

Seth Brown ($3,100)

Brown plays against right-handed pitching and has batted cleanup in the last two games. The slash is only .215/.288/.486 and the strikeout rate is 27.1 percent but the ISO is .271 and he has eight home runs on the season. He gets to face Logan Gilbert.

Alex Dickerson ($3,000)

Dickerson has batted third or fourth in the lineup over the last four games he’s started. He has four home runs and one stolen base on the season. He gets to face Dylan Bundy who has struggled a bit this season. The price is just too cheap for someone who will bat in the middle of the order. In addition, the Angels bullpen has the third-highest FIP in MLB. 

Alternative Moves…

Kolten Wong – 2B ($4,200 DK) – Wong has a 14.7 percent strikeout rate with a .288/.356/.425 slash. He has two home runs and five stolen bases on the season. The ISO is only .137 but he bats leadoff. The starter for the Tigers hasn’t been announced yet but the bullpen has the second-highest FIP.

James Kaprielian – P ($9,100 DK)   

Kaprielian has a 1.53 ERA to start the season. He’s been lucky, as the BABIP is .186 and the LOB percentage is 98.5. As a result, the FIP is 3.46. That said, he gets to face a Mariners team that is 9^th in strikeouts against right-handed pitching. He just faced Seattle last start and put up 25.4 DKFP. In fact, he’s gone over 20 DKFP in all three starts this season.

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