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Happy Friday, RotoBallers! I love getting to write about the Friday slate. It's always a 13 or 14-game slate, and the massive amount of games offers so many exciting ways to build your DFS lineups. We'll go through some of those today, but we've got to check the weather first. It looks like Chaac, the Mayan god of rain, will be visiting Baltimore because, as of this writing, there is already a 70 percent chance of precipitation. So we will want to keep an eye on that report as the Boston bats may be a popular stack against Matt Harvey. Meanwhile, New York will be battered by strong winds and will more than likely affect the Diamondbacks-Mets and Nationals-Yankees tilts.
There are a lot of intriguing arms among today's pitchers, but nothing blows me away. Jack Flaherty and Trevor Rogers (see below) are my favorite guys to roster, but that's where the list ends as far as pitchers I have no doubts about. Blake Snell ($10,200) may go four innings with eight strikeouts and carry many risks. I have a bad feeling about Carlos Rodon ($10,000) in Kauffman Stadium for some reason, and while Julio Urias ($9,700) will have a good chance at a win versus Griffin Canning ($7,500), the Angels could do some damage to him in the process. For a more in-depth look at Friday's arms to target, I really can't recommend our DFS Pitching Primer enough.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/7/2021. 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
Jack Flaherty - P, STL vs. COL ($9,400)
After an Opening Day shellacking at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, Flaherty settled down and is cruising through the 2021 campaign. In his last five starts, the 25-year old is 5-0 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and has rung up 32 strikeouts in 30 innings. Tonight, Flaherty will go for his sixth-straight win against a weak-hitting Rockies lineup.
On the road, Colorado is allowing opposing starters to score 19.19 DraftKings fantasy points per start. Two bad outings weigh that number down from Julio Urias and Zac Gallen. However, in the first game away from Coors, Johnny Cueto racked up 32.5 DK points with 8 2/3 innings and seven strikeouts, while Anthony DeSclafani threw a complete game nine-strikeout shutout for 44.85 DK points. Flaherty is in a fantastic spot versus Colorado and has a chance to finish as the best pitcher on the entire slate.
Trevor Rogers - P, MIA vs. MIL ($8,800)
Unlike George Costanza and his chip-dipping ways, it's okay to double-dip in the aces pool. There are many big names on Friday's schedule, and that's why we get Rogers at $8,800. The rookie is having a sensational start to his MLB career, and he'll meet the oft-swinging Brewers for the second time this season. In his first battle with Milwaukee, Rogers went six innings with six hits allowed, zero walks, and seven strikeouts for 27.9 fantasy points. The Brewers are 21 percent better against lefties than league average in weighted Runs Created plus, but their collective 29 percent strikeout rate to southpaws is too enticing to resist.
Other options: Sean Manaea vs. TB ($9,200), Jameson Taillon vs. WAS ($8,300), Charlie Morton vs. PHI ($7,700)
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Salvador Perez - C, KC vs. Carlos Rodon ($4,700)
Many people will be on Rodon tonight because the general group think is Kansas City is not a good offense. However, they don't strikeout, and I think they have the potential as a sneaky leverage play against a popular arm. Perez is a big reason for this line of thinking because he is hitting the ball well and is about to see some regression against southpaws. Over his last 10 tilts, the six-time All-Star owns a .927 OPS with three doubles, two home runs, and six RBI. Sal doesn't walk, so if he's scoring points for us, it's because he's putting the bat on the ball, and he's been doing it with some oomph recently. Perez has a 98 wRC+ against left-handers for his career, but, through 32 plate appearances to lefties in 2021, it currently sits at -16. That's going to move back to his average sooner rather than later, and with the way he is swinging the bat right now, I'm betting it begins against Rodon.
Jared Walsh - 1B/OF, LAA vs. Julio Urias ($3,700)
With Anthony Rendon (foot) on the shelf and Albert Pujols DFA'd, Walsh is a lock for everyday at-bats. Truthfully, he was already in that position, but now the Angels have no excuse not to play him as much as possible. With Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the team, Walsh finds himself as the third-best bat on the Angels and is coming off an impressive 10-game stretch. The first baseman is slashing .389/.452/.611 in his last 10 with four extra-base hits and eight RBI. The 27-year old has a tough matchup against Urias and the Dodgers, but he is talented enough (and discounted enough) to be worth a spot in your lineups.
Tommy Edman - 2B/OF, STL vs. Austin Gomber ($4,400)
Edman will bat at the top of a Cardinals lineup set to batter Austin Gomber at Busch Stadium. As a team, St. Louis is slashing .282/.358/.471 against lefties, and they are 27 percent better than the league average in wRC+. The Redbirds haven't been as explosive as they should be with a 2-3-4 lineup of Dylan Carlson, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado, but I think they use this opportunity to tee off on Gomber and get some crooked numbers on the scoreboard. That will only mean great things for Edman and his .409 on-base percentage from his previous 10 games. The utility man is even showing some pop recently with three doubles and a triple in the same stretch.
Rafael Devers - 3B, BOS at Matt Harvey ($5,300)
Devers is on a torrid tear at the moment, and strolling into Camden Yards will be a return to where his season kicked into high gear. During the Red Sox last series in Baltimore from Apr. 8-11, Devers went 6-for-16 (.462 batting average) with five runs, four home runs, and nine RBI. That form has continued since that series, and, over his last 10 games, the third baseman sports a 1.012 OPS with six doubles, one home run, and seven RBI. His advanced metrics are at the top of the leaderboards, and a return to the friendly confines of Baltimore should take Devers from good to great on Friday.
Didi Gregorius - SS, PHI at Charlie Morton ($3,700)
The $3,700 price tag for Gregorius in Atlanta is deserved. The infielder hasn't blown anyone away with his season, but he's showing some signs of life over the last five games. In that handful of tilts, the veteran shortstop has a 1.074 OPS with four runs, a double, two home runs, and eight RBI. He and the Phillies will see Charlie Morton for the third time already this season. Over his last four starts, Morton has a 5.96 ERA and allowed at least one home run in each game. Philadelphia is rolling into town after a four-game sweep of the Brewers, and with Gregorius hitting in the heart of the order, I think he and the Phillies will continue their good form in Atlanta tonight.
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Giancarlo Stanton - OF, NYY vs. Patrick Corbin ($5,100)
I watched Stanton go from the "He's heating up" stage to "He's on fire" this week against the Astros, and now he faces the extremely hittable Patrick Corbin. Pitchers have a tough time keeping Stanton off the basepaths recently, whether it's trotting around them after a home run or lacing a sound-barrier breaking single through the infield. In his last three appearances, the 2017 National League MVP is 8-for-13 with three runs, two doubles, three homers, and eight RBI while averaging 25 fantasy points. The Yankees opened with a slate-leading implied run total of 5.5 runs against the Nationals tonight, and I would put my money towards Giancarlo "Don't Call Me Mike" Stanton accounting for at least a couple of those.
Dylan Carlson - OF, STL vs. Austin Gomber ($3,400)
This St. Louis lineup should do some significant damage off Austin Gomber tonight, and I'll make it a priority to grab the two bats at the top of the lineup. While Carlson struggles (.514 OPS in his last 10), he's much closer to his season-long line than his recent performances. He's going to see his fair share of hittable pitches batting in front of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, and he will need to take advantage of those on Friday. Carlson needs to become a more patient batter, but he's shown he can hit it far with seven doubles, two triples, and three home runs in 31 games.
Andrew Benintendi - OF, KC vs. Carlos Rodon ($3,000)
I'm prepared for it to blow up in my face, but I can't shake this feeling that the Royals can get to Rodon. If that's the case, then I'll gladly roster Benintendi at $3,000. On Apr. 20, Benintendi was slashing .193/.270/.246 and not looking like the bounceback candidate some in the fantasy baseball world had hoped for in the preseason. However, in the 13 games since then, the former Red Sox top prospect has reached base in all 13 games and owns a 1.070 OPS to go with 12 runs, two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, and two steals. People seemed to give up on Benintendi, but he's finding his footing in Kansas City after a couple of rough weeks to begin the year and is turning into an under-the-radar DFS option.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies (Austin Gomber, LHP)
- New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals (Patrick Corbin, LHP)
- Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Matt Harvey, RHP)
- Sneaky Stack: Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox (Carlos Rodon, LHP)
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