DFS MLB Lineups for May 22, 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.
We have 9 games on the main DFS MLB slate with studs like Zack Greinke, Michael Pineda, Michael Fulmer, and Gerrit Cole taking the hill. All four are coming off of decent, but not great starts and players will have to decide if Greinke is worth $1.5k more than any other pitcher on DraftKings, and a full $2.3k more than Cole on DK. There are some really great hitting spots tonight but, especially at DK, they are priced WAY up. If we want the high priced arms and even one of the top bats, we’re going to need to find some serious value when lineups are released.
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!
5/22/17 MAIN SLATE TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
DraftKings Swing for the Fences: $6 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
DraftKings Full Count: $55 buy-in, $300k guaranteed
DraftKings Swing for the Fences: $4 buy-in, $70k guaranteed (Arcade Mode)
FanDuel Squeeze: $4 buy-in, $150k guaranteed
FanDuel Grand Salami: $55 buy-in, $200k guaranteed
FanDuel Rally: $5 buy-in, $55k guaranteed
Best DFS MLB Pitchers for May 22, 2017
Zack Greinke vs. CWS ($12k DraftKings, $10.3k FanDuel)
Greinke is just painting right now and he’s regained his form to the point that he’s a top notch DFS candidate once again. The D’Backs ace is 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA and 52 K’s over his last 6 outings and he’s sporting a sparkling 1.03 WHIP on the season. Now he faces a White Sox team that ranks 24th in collective wOBA (.307) with a 21.1% K-Rate and will lose a bat during this trip to a National League ballpark. The D’Backs offense is also capable of erupting against struggling RHP Miguel Gonzalez, raising Greinke’s floor as the likely winning pitcher. As a tiny bit of caution, the White Sox have scored 44 runs over their last six games, so perhaps they’ve started to put it together a bit. That said, none of the pitchers they faced over that time are anywhere close to the pitcher that Greinke is, and has been this season.
Gerrit Cole @ ATL ($9.7k DraftKings, $9.8k FanDuel)
One of the strongest young arms in baseball seems to be getting stronger while the Braves offense is headed in the other direction fast thanks to an unfortunate injury to star Freddie Freeman. Atlanta is sporting a 22.2% K-Rate over the last 14 days and should have a hard time producing against Cole without Freeman in the lineup, as current Braves are 22-for-84 with 17 K’s and just 1 homer to post a modest .652 OPS in their careers against Cole. He’s sporting a 2.00 ERA with a .179 BAA and 2.97 FIP during May and should almost certainly post a Quality Start in this matchup. Cole is definitely not Stephen Strasburg, but to show what kind of upside can be had against the Braves without Freeman, yesterday Stras K’d 11 Braves over 7 2/3 innings while giving up just 5 hits.
Jake Odorizzi vs. LAA ($8.3k DraftKings, $8.3k FanDuel)
Odorizzi continues to ramp up after missing a few weeks with a hamstring injury and he nearly shut down the vaunted Indians lineup before surrendering a rally in the sixth inning. He’s still sporting an impressive 0.89 WHIP with a solid 3.16 ERA on the year and has gone at least six innings in each of his last three starts. Tonight he’ll face an Angels team that’s posting the second-lowest wOBA (.299) in the A.L. at Tropicana Field, where he’s posted a .178 BAA and 2.88 ERA this season along with great home splits in years past.
Other pitchers to consider: Michael Pineda, Michael Fulmer, Jason Vargas, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brad Peacock, Jeff Hoffman
Best DFS MLB Hitters for May 22, 2017
Joey Votto vs. CLE ($4.9k DraftKings, $4.5k FanDuel)
The Reds host one of the most homer-prone pitchers in the Majors tonight and Votto will have the platoon advantage against fading RHP Josh Tomlin. The Indians veteran posted a 17.7% HR/FB ratio to finish amongst the bottom five qualified pitchers in that category last year and he’s right back at it with a 16.7% HR/FB ratio while posting a 6.86 ERA through 8 appearances this season. Votto is 3-for-11 with 2 bombs in his career against Tomlin and he’s certainly been flashing that power with a .347 ISO Mark and .449 wOBA at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark this year.
Mark Trumbo vs. MIN ($4.6k DraftKings, $3.6k FanDuel)
Minnesota is recalling Kyle Gibson from the Minors for a very tough task, as he travels to hitter-friendly Camden Yards to face an O’s team that really mashes at home. Trumbo’s been a great addition to that lineup with a .348 batting average and 3 homers over his last 10 appearances and he’s hit 3 bombs over 73 at-bats at home this season. Gibson was sporting an 8.20 ERA with a 1.97 WHIP before getting sent down and he’s clearly one of the most vulnerable starters on the slate.
Carlos Gonzalez @ PHI ($3.7k DraftKings, $2.9k FanDuel)
CarGo is head scratchingly cheap on both main DFS sites ahead of a good matchup. He’ll have the platoon advantage against RHP Jerad Eickhoff, who is allowing LHB to post a .359 wOBA while giving up all 6 of his allowed home runs (2.05 HR/9 ratio) to lefties. Gonzalez comes into this contest hot with 4 hits and 3 walks over his last 3 appearances to raise that sputtering average and he could serve as a solid addition to a Rockies stack this evening.
Other hitters to consider: Kris Bryant, J.D. Martinez, Gary Sanchez, Josh Harrison, Manny Machado, Ian Happ, Aaron Hicks, Matt Adams
5/22/17 DFS MLB STACKS
Orioles vs Kyle Gibson
It’s hard to go against Baltimore at home against a SP that is really struggling this year and has been prone to implosions while posting an astronomical ERA in his losses over the last two seasons. Gibson is sporting a 19.4% HR/FB ratio over 6 appearances and put up a 25% HR/FB Ratio over 2 starts in AAA, so Chris Davis is a candidate to go long in addition to Trumbo. Manny Machado is clearly one of the best options in an O’s stack although he’s been relatively quiet this year and J.J. Hardy happens to have great splits in a limited sample of at-bats against Gibson.
Diamondbacks vs Miguel Gonzalez
Arizona is always a great stack to consider when the D’Backs are home at hitter-friendly Chase Field and they could add to the recent misery of Miguel Gonzalez, who is sporting a 6.95 ERA with an 10:11 K/BB ratio while dropping the decision in four straight appearances. He’s been slightly more vulnerable when facing lefties this year, which raises the potential of David Peralta and Jake Lamb, but Paul Goldschmidt would still serve as the heart of any D’Backs stack while Chris Owings and Yasmany Tomas can provide some value with upside.
Indians vs Scott Feldman
The Indians dangerous lineup could make it a second consecutive implosion for Feldman after he was lit up for 7 runs (5 earned) over just 2.2 innings of work in a start at Wrigley Field last Wednesday. He’s pitching on slightly shorter rest once again and while he’s had success over a small sample against the Tribe, he’s giving up a 1.21 HR/9 ratio and 32.9% Hard Contact Rate when facing the platoon this season and will have to deal with a host of lefties including elite SS Francisco Lindor, resurgent OF Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis, who is coming around after a rough start. Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnacion also have elite upside as GPP options.
Other Stacks to consider:
Rockies vs. Jerad Eickhoff
Pirates vs. Mike Foltynewicz
Phillies vs Jeff Hoffman
Cubs vs. Ty Blach
