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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/22/21. Mike Marteny's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
DraftKings chopped our slates up a little bit today. There's a two game matinee "turbo" beginning at 1:05 pm Eastern. The afternoon slate with seven games starts at 4:05 Eastern. The six game "main" slate gets underway at 7:15 pm Eastern. It could be a nice, full day of baseball. Instead DraftKings chases our almighty dollars by giving us several start times to waste entry fees on. We see where their priorities lie.
This is going to cover the six game "main" slate. You can see our DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup pick for the early slate here as well. Coors is off the slate and so is most of the rain. The wind is blowing in at 14 mph in Dunedin, but it's not like it really matters. It was blowing in there on Thursday and there were still runs and homers galore. Expect more of the same. It's warm and humid there in Florida. We have some good hitting weather in Philly and St. Louis as well.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/22/2021. 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.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Walker Buehler - LAD at SF ($11,000)
Don't overthink this one. Dinelson Lamet is the long reliever for the Padres, a guy that hasn't gone more than two innings in any of his four appearances, and he's the fourth-highest priced pitcher on this slate. It's mostly garbage, so paying up for Buehler seems prudent. There's no Coors on the late, and though Dunedin is on here, there are still some reasonably priced players in that game. Buehler is the only guy on this entire slate that is guaranteed 20 DraftKings points. I think he'll clear that by a healthy mark. Buehler has never lost to the Giants in five starts and two relief appearances against them. Oh, and he's 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA at Oracle Park.
Adbert Alzolay - CHC at STL ($8,000)
The second pitcher isn't quite as easy. Yes, I'm chasing strikeouts. You can also do that with Robbie Ray, but Ray has given up 11 homers in seven starts and he's pitching in a freaking Class A ballpark. Busch Stadium is a decent hitter's park, but whereas Ray has been rather generous with baserunners, Alzolay has not. Adbert has only walked seven batters in 37 innings this year. He'll give up some long balls too, but that microscopic WHIP (0.89) keeps him from getting hurt too badly. Alzolay doesn't go very deep into games, but the strong strikeout totals and lack of baserunners make his floor the second-safest on the slate.
Other Options: Robbie Ray ($9,500), Chris Bassitt ($7,800). Justus Sheffield ($7,100)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Mike Zunino - C, TB at Dunedin ($3,700)
Zunino has a pretty pathetic batting average against both lefties and righties, but what keeps us coming back against lefties is the homer every 20.5 at bats thing against southpaws. Add in the fact that Ray has been very generous with homers again this year and you have a recipe for a big score at a low price. Ray will likely give up a homer or three tonight. It's a strong bet that Zunino hits one of them.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B, TOR vs. TB at Dunedin ($5,700)
Vlad is going to be sad when the Jays bid adieu to Dunedin. He has nine homers and 25 RBI in just 18 games there this year. That's an average of 15.6 DraftKings points per game. Not only that, the Rays are opening with young lefty Shane McClanahan, who has allowed five homers in 22.2 innings this season. He'll be good at some point, but it likely wont be at Dunedin....
Nico Hoerner - 2B, CHC at STL ($4,300)
Hoerner has done nothing but hit since the Cubs brought him up. He is hitting a cool .349 and has eight hits in the last five games. He doesn't hit for much power and is often mired at the bottom of the Cubs order, but don't let that be a deterrent. Hoerner has a .885 OPS through 18 games and he's facing a guy that hasn't seen major league action in about 18 months. Not only that, but the bullpen behind him is struggling. I like a lot of Cubs tonight.
Yandy Diaz - 1B/3B, TB at Dunedin ($3,200)
This is a cheap shot at some production here. Despite not having a home run yet this season, Diaz is still batting cleanup for the Rays. It's not a total loss. He has driven in a modest 14 runs in that spot. Diaz hasn't been held scoreless on DraftKings since May 9. I'm taking a shot on sure production against a lefty that throws batting practice between strikeouts. Diaz had 17 homers in 584 at bats prior to this season. There's some power in there somewhere.
Bo Bichette - SS, TOR vs. TB at Dunedin ($5,800)
SS is loaded on this slate. Whereas Fernando Tatis Jr. has struggled at Petco, Bichette is hitting 98 points higher at Dunedin this year. Five of his nine homers have come there in seven less games with 16 of his 27 RBI. He'll get at least one at bat against a lefty and he has hit lefties at a .331 clip in his career. Even if he doesn't get you a homer, he's getting you something.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Randy Arozarena - OF, TB at Dunedin ($5,500)
Arozarena is heating up along with the weather. He has three homers and eight RBI (not to mention seven hits and five runs scored) over the last three games. The Blue Jays were so scared of him, they walked him three times last night! Ray like to issue walks and he likes to give up home runs. Those are both right in Arozarena's wheelhouse this week.
Joc Pederson - OF, CHC at STL ($4,000)
Pederson is hitting .412 since May 5 and he finally got his first homer in that stretch last night. While the hits are nice in season-long leagues, the lack of counting stats has fantasy baseball snobs turning up their noses at Pederson. Don't do that in DFS. Hot streaks are amply rewarded in DFS since even the lowliest of hits is worth three points. Pederson's five hits in the last three games have churned out 38 DraftKings points. I want a piece of that against a rusty pitcher and struggling bullpen.
Seth Brown - OF, OAK at LAA ($2,900)
Brown hits righties hard. Tonight he gets to face one that has allowed 13 runs in his last two starts while only giving up one homer in that span! Brown has enough power to hit a homer, but I'm chasing the crooked numbers of multiple hits and runs/RBI just as much. Dylan Bundy obviously doesn't have anywhere near his best stuff right now. Brown in a great, cheap way to get exposure to a struggling pitcher.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Tampa Bay Rays at Dunedin/Toronto Blue Jays game stack
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. The corpses of Scott Kazmir and Nick Tropeano. Seriously! Who knew they were grave robbers???
- Chicago Cubs vs. Miles Mikolas
- Boston Red Sox vs. Spencer Howard
- Sneaky Stack: Oakland Athletics vs. Dylan Bundy
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