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Jeffrey Springs did his thing! The Rays couldn't get him a win, but he pitched six strong innings and gave up just two runs (both on solo home runs). I was heavily invested in his success in DFS and the prop market, so I was happy to see that, and I featured him in yesterday's article here. I didn't really nail the bats like I wanted to, so it was a break-even type of night for me in DFS, but I still lived to play another day!
Things can never be easy on a Saturday, can they? We always have some split slate craziness but today really gets wonky. There are a few early afternoon games, but most of the action happens in the late afternoon and early evening. DraftKings has chopped up those games into a six-game afternoon slate and then a six-game evening slate, while FanDuel just has an 8-game main slate that locks at 4:07 EST. FanDuel left the three 10:05 games off their main slate, so there are literally no slates in common between the sites today. I'll still do my best to recommend a few players from each slate if I can!
As always, this article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Saturday's main slate locks at 7:15 EST for DraftKings and 5/28/2022. The lineup picks will range from some elite high-priced players to mid-priced options, and value plays. I'll give you a few of my top pitching options and then some infielders, outfielders, and teams to stack! You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. Now that we got all of that out of the way, it's onto the picks!
DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Sandy Alcantara, MIA @ ATL ($9,700 DK, $10,400 FD)
Gerrit Cole is the obvious play from the early afternoon games as the Yanks take on the Rays in Tampa. But I am sure a lot of other people are going to recommend him today and he will probably carry the most ownership, at least on the early DK slate. I have nothing against Cole, he should perform well, but why not pivot to Sandy against Atlanta? He just tossed a complete-game gem against Atlanta in his last start and has now allowed only two earned runs over his last 24 innings pitched. He's not the elite strikeout pitcher that Cole is, but he has the kind of stuff to dominate righties and is built to take down this Atlanta offense. When a pitcher sees a team for two starts in a row, I tend to be cautious about using them, but Sandy is throwing the ball so well that I am throwing caution to the wind. Maybe I'm a fish, but I think this Fish (Alcantara) can make another big splash today (ok, I got my one really bad pun out of the way already!)
Johnny Cueto, CHW vs. CHC ($7,200 DK, $9,600 FD)
He's back! Did anyone really expect Cueto to toss 12 scoreless innings for the White Sox in his first two starts? Blanking the Royals was one thing, but he followed it up with a solid start against the Yankees and now I'm wondering if he's found a second life by reinventing himself with an entirely new pitch mix. He's been reborn as a sinker-slider pitcher and has ditched his curveball (a bad experiment) entirely. He's got an extra 1-2 MPH on his sinker and fastball, as he's sitting 92-93 MPH so far and that's been just enough to differentiate from the slider velocity. Anyway, not to get too analytical but Cueto is a new "old" pitcher and we should treat him accordingly. He could still get shelled today and it wouldn't completely surprise me, but his DK price here is appealing for a match-up with a Cubs team that strikes out a lot against RHP. He's a home favorite and the wind is blowing in, too. If he can keep the ball on the ground with his new sinker, he stands a great chance of giving us another six quality innings here.
Also consider Tony Gonsolin (main), Joe Musgrove (DK only, not on FD slate)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Ty France - 1B, SEA vs. Jose Urquidy ($4,000 DK)
Urquidy pitched the game of his life last time out against Texas, but his overall numbers are still quite pedestrian and his worst outing happened to come against these Mariners earlier in the season. France is hitting .341 on the year and just continues to make solid contact. He's riding a nine-game hitting streak and went 3-4 last night with another home run. He's been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball so far this year and the match-up really favors him here as Urquidy has been a reverse-splits pitcher going back to last season.
Jose Ramirez - 3B, CLE vs. Alex Faedo ($5,400 DK)
Another DK-only guy here, sorry FD guys I promise I will make it up to you, but this is HARD today. J-Ram is playable every damn day as a switch-hitter and has probably the best floor daily based on his incredible hit tool. He's been mashing this year and faces a young pitcher in Faedo who has been decent, but nothing special. Faedo has been much worse against LHH so far this year and is striking them out at only a 7% clip (compared to 25% for RHH). His groundball rate shrinks from 52% to 26% also. These are small sample sizes, but it's all we have to go off. Ramirez, meanwhile, has an ISO of .307 and wOBA of .402 against RHP. If you have the salary to spend on the DK early slate, there's no reason not to lock in one of the best hitters in baseball.
Jon Berti - 2B/SS, MIA vs. Tucker Davidson ($2,000 DK, $2,000 FD)
I am recommending a bunch of pricey hitters today, I just realized that, so let's go for a value bat here with Berti. He led off last night and managed to get a hit, swipe a base, and score a run. That works for a min-priced hitter! Hopefully, he's back in the leadoff spot tonight as the Fish see Atlanta's worst starter in lefty Davids0n.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Joc Pederson - OF, SFG vs. Vladmir Gutierrez ($3,500 FD, $4,000 DK)
Pederson is having a fantastic year for his new team so far. He's only a few games removed from an amazing three-homer game against the Mets and he hit four homers over two days in that series. His power has always been there, but he's making better contact this year which has led to a solid .262 average. He and his fellow Giants hitters are facing a pitcher with an ERA near 9 (yes, NINE!) and there is no reason to think they won't pummel Gutierrez.
Bryce Harper - OF, PHI vs. Taijuan Walker ($5,400 DK, $4,400 FD)
Walker has pitched well in his last few starts, but I am not totally sold that he's all that good, and his worst start of the year came against these Phillies, who touched him up for six runs on nine hits in only four innings earlier in the month. Harper is a world-class hitter, and this year he continues to do what he always does - hit for average, power, and steal some bases. You almost get spoiled by it and forget just how good this guy is and has been now for some time. He's my favorite pricey OF for the evening games.
J.D. Martinez - OF, BOS vs. Jordan Lyles ($4,000 FD)
The Red Sox are playing two games against Baltimore today and this is the second game of the double-header so be warned that it's possible that J.D. or other starters sit one of those games. But how do we not play some Red Sox with the way they are mashing the baseball? Lyles hasn't been as bad this year as in other years, but that doesn't mean he's good either and right now Boston is hitting EVERYONE. J.D., specifically, is hitting everything he's seeing and has seen his average climb to .379 over the last several weeks. He's just locked in right now and there is no reason to think he won't continue to hit today. These games could get ugly, especially if Baltimore has to dip into the bullpen early in the first game of the double-dip.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Here are my top stacks for tonight (in the order in which I like them)
San Francisco Giants (both sites) - Gutierrez is one of the worst pitchers who is taking a mound anywhere today and the Giants hitters should feast on him and then they can get into a rather sub-par Reds bullpen.
Boston Red Sox (FanDuel main) - Keep rolling out those Sox until they cool down.
Philadelphia Phillies (DK main) - The Mets bullpen is solid, but Walker is iffy and the Phillies have a lineup full of dudes who can hit RHP.
I hope I gave you a head start on your research today and I wish you the best of luck! If you ever have questions about DFS or fantasy baseball, my DMs are always open and I appreciate you taking the time to read my picks today.
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