DFS MLB Lineups for May 31, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this daily fantasy baseball season, each day there’s a good slate of DFS MLB games, we’ll be writing up a group of pitchers and hitters that we’re considering for our cash and GPP lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll also provide a list of stacks to consider, MLB start times, starting pitchers, and game run totals to give you a good idea of where the fantasy goodness might come from on a given night. As with any DFS sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than they are in real life due to matchup, price, park factor, etc. This is important when constructing a roster.
Happy hump day! Hopefully you were on Robbie Ray last night as he propelled us to a nice and profitable evening. We’ve got 9 games on the main DFS MLB slate for Tuesday, May 31 with four big name arms on the hill in Scherzer, deGrom, Archer, and CarMart. A couple of the upper middle tier guys are going draw ownership after great last outings as Drew Pomeranz and Masahiro Tanaka both put up double digit strikeout games last time out. On the low end, I’ll have plenty of Jaime Garcia shares in lineups where I want to load up on big bats. The Yankee and Rays bats look very appealing tonight, especially with there being no Coors Field game. The Red Sox draw Mike Pelfrey, a pitcher I have stacked against every single time he takes the mound, and tonight will be no different. Let’s have another great night tonight! – Matt
A quick reminder while playing DFS MLB, don’t forget baseball is a game of variance. You can make a really solid lineup and still fall short of the cash line. Even Clayton Kershaw can get lit up, and Mike Trout can still go 0 for 4. Baseball is funny like that. Trust the process and know that if you’re playing quality lineups, you’ll be a winner in the long term.
Another thing to remember outside of making sure your player is in the lineup, is to always check the weather. Always. Make this something that is part of your basic routine. Baseball games can get postponed! Your players receive no points from postponed games!
5/31/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Fastball: $33 buy-in, $225k guaranteed
DraftKings Rally Cap: $8 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $115k guaranteed (20 Entry Max)
FanDuel Grand Slam: $44 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Rally: $9 buy-in, $99k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for May 31, 2017
Max Scherzer @ SF ($13.3k DraftKings, $11.5k FanDuel)
Scherzer was at his very best with 13 K’s and just 1 ER allowed on 3 hits in his last outing and he draws another plus matchup tonight. The Giants rank dead last in collective wOBA (.278) this year with the second-fewest runs scored (94) over the last month and they’ve been the third-worst hitting team at home with a collective .231 batting average at massive AT&T Park. Scherzer is now sporting a career-best 11.72 K/9 ratio with his best ERA (2.77) and that’s saying something considering his track record, as he doesn’t appear at all hampered by a mild injury that slowed down his spring training. He’s a lock and load in cash on FanDuel, and will likely be part of your duo on DraftKings.
James Paxton vs. COL ($8.2k DraftKings, $8.8k FanDuel)
He was on fire before hitting the DL with a 1.43 ERA, matching 1.51 FIP and impressive 10.75 K/9 ratio to go 3-0 over 6 starts. Now Paxton faces a Rockies team that is hitting really well, but is obviously far less dangerous with a collective .315 wOBA and 23.3% K-Rate on the road. Current Rockies are 0-for-12 over a very small sample against Paxton, who should be able to limit that lefty-heavy lineup and post a Quality Start in his return to action. With his price being depressed on DK, ownership should be relatively high. We’ll also want to keep our eyes open throughout the day for any sort of pitch count talk that may arise out of Seattle.
Masahiro Tanaka @ BAL ($8.1k DraftKings, $8.5k FanDuel)
Those who bought low on Tanaka ahead of his last outing were handsomely rewarded, as he returned to form with a 13-strikeout gem while allowing just 1 ER over 7.1 IP against Oakland. He’ll go to Camden Yards for a tougher matchup tonight, but Tanaka is still dramatically under priced on DK when considered as a tournament option. He’s sporting a solid 8.46 K/9 ratio and his .331 BABIP is a bit unlucky, and partially skewed by a problematic 22% HR/FB ratio. When Tanaka’s slider is working, as it was last Friday, he can be deadly and generally avoid giving up long balls, which will be his recipe for success tonight. His teammate Luis Severino just chewed up this Oriole lineup with 8 Ks over 6.1 innings last night showing the type of upside that can be had against this group of strikeout prone power hitters.
Other pitchers to consider: Jacob deGrom, Carlos Martinez, Drew Pomeranz, Jaime Garcia, Chris Archer
Best DFS MLB Hitters for May 31, 2017
Mookie Betts @ CWS ($4.9k DraftKings, $4.6k FanDuel)
Betts is surprisingly cheap on DK tonight for the best hitter on a team that’s certainly stackable against a weak SP. White Sox veteran Mike Pelfrey has strung together his first 2 Quality Starts of the season, but is still sporting a 4.41 ERA with a 4.99 FIP and he’s been pretty vulnerable in RvR matchups throughout his career. Betts is hitting .320 with a .456 wOBA on the road against RHP this season and flashed his upside with a key homer against the White Sox on Memorial Day. Pelfrey has been extremely lucky so far with hitters BABIP sitting at .234, a full .110 points lower than last season. His 12.2% K rate is going to catch up to him as well and tonight seems like as good a time as any.
Whit Merrifield vs. DET ($3.6k DraftKings, $3.2k FanDuel)
The Royals offense is coming around thanks in part to Merrifield, who is slashing a scorching .441/.472/.706 with 2 HR and 3 SB over his last 10 appearances. He’ll have the platoon advantage tonight against Tigers young LHP Matt Boyd, who is sporting a 5.40 ERA and has allowed righties to hit .335 with a 1.90 WHIP and 43.4% Hard Contact Rate when facing RHB this year. Merrifield happens to be 3-for-4 with 2 XBH in a small sample of at-bats against Boyd and he’s under priced considering his dual threat upside.
Matt Carpenter vs. LAD ($3.7k DraftKings, $3.3k FanDuel)
He should serve as a bit of a contrarian option because of his consistent struggles this season, yet Carpenter is not a bad choice in an effort to target Dodgers injured/ineffective LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers southpaw is a rarity in that he’s easier for LHB to hit, as lefties are 17-for-57 (.347) with 3 HR and a collective .439 wOBA against him this year. Carpenter posted a solid .270 average with a .351 wOBA in LvL matchups last season and is starting to round back into form with hits in each of his last 2 appearances.
Other hitters to consider: Ryan Zimmerman, Aaron Judge, Melky Cabrera, Anthony Rendon, Andrew Benintendi, Colby Rasmus, Kevin Kiermaier, Matt Adams, Tommy Pham, Alex Avila
5/31/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Nationals vs Matt Cain
Cain’s been night and day when he’s home versus his horrible road splits, but I think that the buck stops here with the league-leading Nationals offense coming to town. While he’s posted good splits against the Nats sluggers, and Bryce Harper in particular, Cain has been vulnerable with a 1.81 WHIP and 5.80 xFIP when facing lefties, so Harper, Daniel Murphy and Matt Wieters are all worth consideration. The price point is right to use Ryan Zimmerman and/or Anthony Rendon as well, and they’re the hottest hitters in this lineup right now.
Yankees vs Kevin Gausman
While he’s been better of late, Gausman is still sporting the worst WHIP (1.78) amongst qualified SPs this year and he’s up against it with the division-leading Yankees coming to town tonight. Aaron Judge is starting to heat up again as the best candidate to homer, while there are a host of dangerous lefties in pinstripes that could do some damage as well. Yet Gausman’s been far more vulnerable in RvR matchups with a .367 BAA and 1.94 WHIP when facing RHB this year, so look at Judge, Gary Sanchez and Matt Holliday as the building blocks for this stack.
Red Sox vs Mike Pelfrey
He’s managed to limit the slumping Mariners and Tigers over his last 2 outings, but Pelfrey is likely to give up a decent amount of production to the hot-hitting Red Sox. While Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts can always form the heart of a Sawks stack, Pelfrey’s giving up a 1.71 HR/9 ratio and a 36.4% Hard Contact Rate when facing lefties this year, so Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. are worth consideration as mid-tier options in the outfield. Pablo Sandoval might even be worth a look after getting called back to the Bigs and we could see Josh Rutledge as a value option at 2B with Dustin Pedroia (wrist) injured.
Other Stacks to consider:
Mets vs Junior Guerra
Rays vs. Austin Bibens-Dirkx
Royals vs. Matt Boyd
Braves vs. Jesse Chavez
