DFS MLB Lineups for May 6, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
For this 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.
The best advice we can give if you’re new to DFS MLB is to remember that 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 have a horrible start, 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 guy 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!
5/6/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Saturday Slugfest: $40 buy-in, $250k guaranteed
DraftKings Four Seamer: $4 buy-in, $110k guaranteed (20 entry max)
DraftKings Perfect Game: $333 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Slam: $25 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Monster: $333 buy-in, $100k guaranteed
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for May 6, 2017
Gerrit Cole vs. MIL ($9.6k DraftKings, $9.5k FanDuel)
The Pirates may have an ace once again now that Cole is regaining his rhythm and dominating opposing lineups with his heater. He’s 1-3 with an unlucky 3.50 ERA despite posting a solid 1.14 WHIP with a .277 BABIP and his strikeout numbers are up from last year with an 8.50 K/9 ratio. Tonight he faces a Brewers team that’s sporting the second-highest K-Rate (25.2%) after posting the highest K-Rate (25.5%) in the Majors last year. Ryan Braun has been on the shelf with an arm issue, which significantly diminishes the pop in that lineup. If you do decide to roster against Cole, look at speed guys. He’s been one of the easiest pitchers in MLB to steal off of.
Mike Leake @ ATL ($8.2k DraftKings, $8.7k FanDuel)
Leake is simply a rock for your cash game lineups right now, as he hardly allows earned runs and certainly isn’t likely to collapse given his approach on the hill. He’s sporting a 1.35 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with a 1.99 FIP on the year. Leake has yet to give up a homer this year and he’s sporting a career-best 55% Ground Ball Rate thanks in part to the genius pitching staff for the Cardinals, which always seems to get the best out of their arms. Tonight he faces a mediocre Braves lineup that is a collective 21-for-81 with a weak .311 wOBA in their careers against Leake and he matches up well against that lefty-heavy lineup with his ability to jam lefties inside.
***Reminder: Clayton Kershaw is really good at pitching and is viable in all formats against a pretty bad Padres lineup. We don’t need to waste your time writing it up.
Other pitchers to consider: Lance McCullers, Dylan Bundy, Amir Garrett, A.J. Cole, J.C. Ramirez
Best DFS MLB Hitters for May 6, 2017
Paul Goldschmidt @ COL ($5.3k DraftKings, $5.3k FanDuel)
The D’Backs offense could really roll tonight against a vulnerable LHP in Tyler Anderson, who is sporting the second-highest ERA (7.71) and HR/9 ratio (2.67) in the Majors so far this year. That’s a recipe for disaster when facing a team that led the MLB with a collective .348 wOBA against LHP last year and a player in Goldschmidt who posted the third-best batting average (.352) and fourth-best wOBA (.449) when facing the platoon in 2016. He’s 1-for-3 with 6 walks and 2 SB in his career against Anderson, but the young lefty could be forced to pitch to Goldy with all those other dangerous righties circling around him like vultures.
Aaron Judge @ CHC ($4.5k DraftKings, $4.4k FanDuel)
Judge is proving to be more than just a power hitter with 7 hits over his last 3 appearances, but of course his ability to hit home runs makes him most attractive in DFS contests. Considering he’s sporting a .429 batting average and absurd .643 ISO mark with a .549 wOBA against the platoon this year, Judge is a premier option to use against Cubs veteran southpaw Brett Anderson. While Anderson has shown some improvement in terms of his vulnerability to the long ball, he’s still sporting a 14.3% HR/FB ratio with a 6.23 ERA over 5 appearances and has given up 2 HR along with 8 XBH over 87 at-bats against RHB this season.
Nelson Cruz vs. TEX ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.6k FanDuel)
He faced an elite RHP last night in Yu Darvish but now Cruz draws a much easier matchup with the platoon advantage against LHP Martin Perez. The Rangers southpaw is sporting a 4.26 ERA and 4.81 FIP which is very consistent with his career numbers and while he isn’t generally homer-prone, he’s allowed Cruz to go 6-for-12 with 3 homers in his career. Perez is also walking a ton of batters with a 5.40 BB/9 ratio over 6 starts this season and Cruz has been locked in with a .459 batting average and 5 homers over his last 10 appearances, yet his price tag on DK hasn’t caught up to his rampant production.
Other hitters to consider: Kris Bryant, Trea Turner, Manny Machado, Buster Posey, Jose Reyes, Josh Harrison, Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor, Michael Conforto, Seth Smith
5/6/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Diamondbacks vs Tyler Anderson
Goldschmidt is the most dangerous lefty killer, but the D’Backs lineup is chalk full of elite righties that thrive against the platoon. Yasmany Tomas crushed it with a .364 batting average and a league-leading .460 wOBA against LHP last season and he’s at least worth a look in GPP formats despite his recent struggles. A.J. Pollock is a fantastic option for any format and Chris Owings always carries more upside in matchups against lefties, but you’ll have to save with some cheap SPs in order to afford all these sluggers at Coors.
Orioles vs Dylan Covey
The Orioles have rediscovered their mojo and their always more dangerous at home, where they led the Majors with 116 home runs last season. Mark Trumbo is starting to swing a hot bat and he’s one of several righties with a chance to excel in a plus matchup against rookie RHP Dylan Covey, who has allowed RHB to go 15-for-47 with 3 HR (.530 wOBA) so far this year. Manny Machado is clearly the best option in that lineup and Adam Jones is seeing the ball very well right now. Caleb Joseph can provide salary relief as a fill-in catcher and J.J. Hardy is another cheap addition to consider against a vulnerable rookie.
Rangers vs Chase De Jong
He might’ve posted good numbers in the Minors with a 1.74 ERA over 2 starts in AAA this year, but De Jong posted a 5.67 FIP in those outings and perhaps his luck has run out now that he’s facing the best hitters in the world. He’s sporting an 11.05 ERA with a 2.45 HR/9 ratio and 6.14 BB/9 ratio over 3 MLB appearances and now he faces a Rangers lineup that can really mash. Carlos Gomez has been very hot lately and he loves facing righties that feature a predictable fastball, slider, curveball combo. Rougned Odor is coming around and he’ll have the platoon advantage along with Shin-Soo Choo and the slumping Nomar Mazara. Also consider Mike Napoli and even Joey Gallo as longshot GPP plays, while Elvis Andrus should be at the center of any rallies.
Other Stacks to consider:
Mariners vs. Martin Perez
Rockies vs. Patrick Corbin
Cardinals vs. Julio Teheran
