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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/16/21. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
10 of the 15 games are on the main slate on DraftKings today. Pitching is a little thin. There's more quantity than quality, but we'll find some good places for you to build around. Pitching isn't as bad as it looks at first glance despite not having any five-figure guys to choose from.
Rain shouldn't be an issue today since they can just close the roof in Houston. However, if they have to do that we miss out on the night 15mph wind out to left. The rest of the wind across the early games in generally mild and shouldn't affect hitters much at all. It's a great weather day!
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/16/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Lance McCullers Jr. - HOU vs. TEX ($9,600)
Aside from a series against the Mariners, it has been a pretty slow month for the Texas offense. Meanwhile McCullers has dominated every team he has faced this year aside from his dad's longtime squad, the Tigers. If you take that Tigers outing of there, McCullers has a 1.95 ERA in 37 innings over the rest of his starts. Now the strikeouts are starting to come back as well. He has fanned at least eight in three straight starts. It should be four against Texas today.
Huascar Ynoa - ATL at MIL ($8,500)
The Brewers have scored just four runs in this series and were no-hit into the seventh by Ian Anderson yesterday. Since Ynoa got thumped by the Cubs in Wrigley on April 17, he has allowed just three runs in four starts encompassing 24.1 innings with 24 strikeouts. The rookie is keeping the ball on the ground and not walking anyone. Add in a team that couldn't hit a watermelon with a sledgehammer right now and we have the recipe for a nice total out of Ynoa.
Other Options: Alex Wood ($9,400), Jordan Montgomery ($7,800). Robbie Ray ($7,200)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Buster Posey - C, SF at PIT ($5,000)
I usually hate paying up for a catcher, but on a Sunday when there are very few known commodities behind the dish, Posey getting a guaranteed start against a struggling Mitch Keller feels like a good allocation of funds. Posey is hitting a robust .424 with three homers and five RBI in the last ten games. The Giants have aptly rested the veteran and he is responding with one of the best starts of his career. Meanwhile, Keller has only gone more than five innings once in seven starts and has allowed seven runs twice.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B, TOR vs. PHI at Dunedin ($6,000)
Vlad is going to be sad when the Jays bid adieu to Dunedin today. He hit .395 with six homers and 17 RBI in 13 games there this year. He has a homer in the first two games of this series. Going for the trifecta against fly ball pitcher Chase Anderson feels like a gimme. I'm saying Vlad bids Dunedin farewell in style!
Marwin Gonzalez - 2B/3B, BOS vs. LAA ($3,600)
Since I can't use Jonathan India at Coors on this slate, I'll have to settle for the next best thing: Marwin leading off against a struggling Jose Quintana. This Boston lineup has plated 13 runs in this series already, but they have kept Marwin off the board. Even though he is still striking out at an alarming rate, leading off against statistically one of the worst lefties in the league right now is just too nice to ignore.
Yoan Moncada - 3B, CWS vs. KC ($4,700)
It has been a rather slow start for Moncada, but the White Sox have already played the Royals eight times. Moncada has at least one hit in six of those eight, including each of the last five. The power should come back eventually. Brady Singer doesn't give up a lot of homers, but he does give up a ton of runs. We should see some more crooked numbers out of Moncada today.
Xander Bogaerts - SS, BOS vs. LAA ($5,700)
I'm really trying not to overthink the weak MI slots on DraftKings today. Attacking Quintana was the first thing that game to mind. Xander is expensive, but he is also 6-14 in his career against Quintana and has two homers and six RBI in the last three games. There's enough solid, cheap pitching to get most of the bats you want today. SS feels like it's not a position to skimp.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs. TEX ($3,500)
We can get away with skimping in the outfield a bit today since there are some great options on the cheaper end of things. Yordan Alvarez is getting the day off, which should mean some cleanup duty for Tucker. He has already wiped the floor with Texas in this series with five hits in 12 at bats, a homer, and four RBI. Tucker has homered four times in the last week and driven in more than one run four times. I'm not scared of Kyle Gibson. You shouldn't be either. Correction is coming soon enough.
Robbie Grossman - OF, DET vs. CHC ($3,300)
Grossman has racked up 97 DraftKings points during his modest eight-game hitting streak and Kyle Hendricks just got destroyed by the freaking Pirates in his last start. The whole Detroit lineup is hitting better against righties lately. Grossman is criminally underpriced batting leadoff for an improving lineup, especially considering the run he has been on of late.
Hunter Renfroe - OF, BOS vs. LAA ($2,800)
Righties are hitting a bloated .344 against Jose Quintana, but what do you expect from a guy giving up a run per inning on the season? Renfroe hits 46 points higher against lefties while hitting a homer every 12.5 at bats against them. On top of that, all four of his homers on the season have come since May 1. Want another reason to run Renfroe? He is 3-8 with two homers and four RBI in his career against Quintana. He's the salary relief we need today.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Boston Red Sox vs. Jose Quintana
- New York Yankees vs. Tom Eshelman
- Chicago White Sox vs. Brady Singer
- Sneaky Stack: Oakland Athletics vs. Kenta Maeda
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