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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/25/21. Brian Entrekin's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a 13-game main slate on tap tonight, and it's a doozie. There are a lot of nice pitching options priced all across the board. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer lead the way up top, but may not be necessary with some of the strong options in the $9K and $8K range, not to mention the ridiculous pricing of Gausman. With so many nice pitching options, hitting will be fun as there are many ways to stack things up tonight.
The slate starts with deciding where one wants to pay for pitching. After the pitching decision, there are a handful of great hitting spots to target, as well as a ton of value. A game stack in Boston is very live; the stacks below and a few other options are all in play tonight. There is also a ton of value on the slate, especially at the outfield position. Make sure to listen to MLB DFS Quick Hits to get all the plays and the full slate rundown.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/25/2021. 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 @bdentrek.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Corbin Burnes - P, MIL vs SD ($9,100)
Most slates Burnes is a near auto play, especially at tonight's crazy price tag. Tonight is a bit different facing the loaded Padres' offense, but let's not fool ourselves; it is still Corbin Burnes. Burnes has been absolutely amazing this season. He has allowed two earned runs or less in six of seven starts this season while striking out nine or more in every starting and walking a total of two. He has already faced this Padres team once this year and threw six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. In May, the Padres are striking out less than 20% of the time versus RHP while hitting .253 with a 118 wRC+. The numbers are great for the Padres, but the excellence of Burnes cancels that out in the end. Let's hope Burnes comes in low-owned just like his teammate Brandon Woodruff did on Monday night.
Kevin Gausman - P, SF at AZ ($7,200)
I am absolutely baffled by the Gausman price tag tonight. At least on FD, he is priced at $10,000, which is much more appropriate. Gausman has been a model of consistency this season, throwing at least six innings in all nine starts and allowing one earned run or less in eight of nine starts. Gausman has also struck out at least five in every start while allowing a hard-hit rate of 35.9%. He'll take on a DBacks team tonight that strikes out around 24% of the time in May with a .226 average and an 81 wRC+. Gausman is in an amazing spot tonight and is way too cheap. He should be mega-chalk, but chalk I will gladly eat.
Other Options: Lucas Giolito (CWS vs STL) $8,700, Max Scherzer (WAS vs CIN) $10,700, Jacob deGrom (NYM vs COL) $11,800
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Buster Posey - C, SF at Corbin Martin ($4,500)
Posey is having an amazing season, an MVPosey caliber season. Over the last couple of weeks, he is hitting .417 with a .300 ISO and a 227 wRC+. These are video game numbers from Posey, but it gets better. Over the last couple of weeks, he is also walking nearly 12% of the time while striking out less than 15% of the time, and when he puts the ball in play, he barrels the ball 12% of the time with a 56% hard-hit rate. He will face Martin tonight, who will be making his second career start. In his debut, he threw five innings while allowing three runs, walking four, and allowing two home runs. Martin allowed a 15.4% barrel rate and 38.5% hard-hit rate in his debut. Martin was very hittable in his debut, not to mention the DBacks bullpen is not great. Posey is well worth paying up for tonight, and the Giants stack is very live tonight and should be low-owned.
Other Options: Francisco Mejia (TB vs KC) $3,100
Miguel Sano - 1B, MIN vs. Dean Kremer ($4,300)
Sano's bat has finally awakened from its early-season slumber as he has hit safely in eight of the last ten games. He is hitting .297 over the stretch with nine extra-base hits, including six home runs and a .568 ISO. Sano is absolutely crushing the baseball over the 10 game stretch with a 28% barrel rate and 60% hard-hit rate. He faces Kremer in a juicy matchup tonight as Kremer has been giving out home runs as if he was Oprah. In his last five starts, he has thrown 23.1 innings and allowed eight home runs over that stretch. This season Kremer is allowing RHH to hit .301 with a .530 SLG and 2.3 HR/9. He gives up even more power to LHH (3.2 HR/9), so stack up your Twins with Sano, Kirilloff, and even the savings of Trevor Larnach (who hit a BOMB Monday night).
Other Options: Alex Kirilloff (MIN vs BAL) $4,000, Albert Pujols (LAD at HOU) $2,400
Taylor Walls - 2B/SS, TB vs. Brad Keller ($2,200)
Walls was the benefactor of the Willy Adames trade to the Brewers and so far had done quite well from a fantasy perspective. He hit safely in his first two games and then walked twice in his third game. When it comes to DK scoring, he has scored at least five points in each game with double-digit production in two of three games. He has been incredibly productive for his free price tag, and that should not change tonight. Walls will face Keller tonight, which has allowed LHH to hit .319 with a .527 SLG and 1.2 HR/9. The Rays are a great stack tonight with the usual suspects, but throwing Walls into the mix as a piece in a wrap-around stack brings great savings. Walls is also a cash game lock for me tonight.
Other Options: Ozzie Albies (ATL at BOS) $5,000
Gleyber Torres - SS, NYY vs. Steven Matz ($3,700)
Torres returned from the COVID-IL five games ago and is raking. He has hit safely in all five games with multiple hits in four of five games, good for a .611 average. He is even flexing some muscle finally with a .222 ISO and a .833 SLG. Heck, Gleyber has even thrown in a stolen base over the last five games. Tonight he gets a really juicy matchup versus Matz, who has struggled a bit since his hot start to the season. He has allowed three or more runs in five of his last six games and five or more in three of those games. On the season, Matz is allowing RHH to hit .271 with a .450 SLG and 1.5 HR/9. It is a great spot for Torres to stay hot and many of his Yankee teammates tonight.
Other Options: Chad Pinder (OAK vs. SEA) $3,000
Austin Riley - 3B, ATL at Garrett Richards ($4,000)
All Riley has done of late is crush baseballs, yet DK continues to misprice him. He brings an eight-game hitting streak into action tonight, where he has hit .500 with 10 extra-base hits, including six home runs. That is good for a .786 ISO and 1.286 SLG. Riley is barreling the ball 44.4% of the time with a hard-hit rate of 77.8%. VIDEO GAME NUMBERS!!!! Tonight he looks to keep the hot bat going at Fenway Park in a nice matchup versus Richards. Richards is pitching well this year, but RHH is hitting .256 with a .367 SLG. I'll take my chances with the insanely hot bat over the decent pitcher. Stay hot, RILEY!!!!!
Other Options: Rafael Devers (BOS vs. ATL) $5,000
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Adolis Garcia - OF, TEX at Andrew Heaney ($3,400)
Similar thoughts with Garcia as I had for Riley when it comes to DK pricing, like what the heck DK?!?!?!?! Garcia has been an offensive juggernaut this season. In May, he is hitting .329 with nine home runs, a .341 ISO, and a 185 wRC+. The quality of contact jumps off the pages with a 16.9% barrel rate and a 58.5% hard-hit rate throughout May. He faces Heaney tonight, and that could bode well as he is hitting .279 versus LHP this season with a .295 ISO and 33.3% HR/FB. One-third of his flyballs versus LHP go yard; that's just wild. I always love attacking Heaney whenever I can, and when I get one of the best hitters in baseball at a meager price, well, sign me up.
Anthony Santander - OF, BAL at Jose Berrios ($3.000)
It looks like I will be writing up Santander a lot until DK prices him appropriately. He was a high $4K to low $5K option most of last season. For now, he's $3K, and that is just nuts. Santander has hit safely in all four games since returning from the IL, with multiple hits in each of the last three games. He has five doubles and 10 or more DK points in three straight games. Santander will face Berrios tonight, who has not been his ace-like self of late. He has made four starts in May, allowing three or more runs in three of four starts. The kicker is Berrios giving up the long ball, allowing at least one home run in each start. On the season, LHH is hitting .313 with a .578 SLG and 1.7 HR/9. Santander is way too cheap again tonight so enjoy the discount while you can.
Danny Santana - OF/1B, BOS vs. Charlie Morton ($2,600)
This is strictly a GPP play, but Santana joined the Red Sox three games ago and has been quite productive. He has hit safely in two of three games, scoring double-digit DK points in three games. He has homered in two games and even stolen a base. We have seen Santana be a fantasy asset in the past, and early on, there have been some signs of some fantasy goodness. He will face Morton tonight, which has allowed three or more runs in five of nine starts this season, allowing home runs six of his last seven starts. Morton is allowing LHH to slug .385 with nearly 2 HR/9. Santana is always risky, but his price tag is too hard to ignore, making for a great GPP value tonight.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Tampa Bay Rays (Brad Keller, RHP)
- Minnesota Twins (Dean Kremer, RHP)
- San Francisco Giants (Corbin Martin, RHP)
- Sneaky Stack- Toronto Blue Jays (Corey Kluber, RHP)
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