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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on May 23rd, 2022. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Monday, Rotoballers! DraftKings and FanDuel start the week with the same 10-game schedule. It all begins at 7:05 pm Eastern, so check those lineups before the contests lock, and the action starts in Washington and New York. However, you'll have to stay up a bit later than usual to get a lot of your lineups in check, as four of the ten matchups start on the West Coast.
Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler come in as the standout aces on the slate. Cole is good on either site, but I especially prefer him on FanDuel as he's racked up five quality starts in his last five outings. Further down the list, I don't mind Luis Garcia or Miles Mikolas as guys who can pitch deep into games, but my favorite value is Alex Cobb. Finally, however, I would fade Triston McKenzie. He's an exciting and talented arm but facing a red-hot Astros team. He's the fourth most expensive pitcher on FanDuel, and there's no way I'm going there with the number of favorable options available.
You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter @EuanOrYouOut and fire away!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Zack Wheeler - P, PHI at ATL ($9,900 DraftKings; $10,300 FanDuel)
In hindsight, Wheeler was an obvious slow-starting candidate this season after an interrupted Spring Training. Now, however, he's put that start in the rear-view mirror and is back to the ace we all expected for the 2022 campaign. Over his last four starts, the Phillies ace is twirling a 1.04 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, with an elite 25 percent strikeout minus walk rate. That would be the best mark among any of the 20 starting pitchers on today's slate, and it's a big reason why I chose Wheeler over Cole as my SP1. Another reason is his opponent, the Braves. In May, Atlanta owns a 26.9 percent strikeout rate to RHPs, which is good (or bad) enough for the second-highest mark in baseball. So Wheeler's form, combined with Atlanta's free-swinging tendencies, forms a match made in heaven.
Alex Cobb - P, SF vs. NYM ($7,900 DK; $7,200 FD)
With Liverpool losing the Premier League title yesterday, I indulged in a few adult beverages to drown my sorrows. So when I woke up and saw Alex Cobb's price this morning, I thought my brain was playing tricks on me. Fortunately, for us DFS players, that is not the case! While Wheeler and Cole are elite options, I think Cobb is my favorite pitcher on the schedule. He didn't have a great first start back from the IL in late April, then received a demolition in Denver against the Rockies last week. However, between those two poor starts were two excellent starts. The Giants righty struck out 14 batters in 10.1 innings to come away with a 35.9 percent strikeout rate while also limiting hard contact to 13.6 percent. Taking on the Mets is a risk as they are an above-average offense (113 wRc+) versus righties, but I'm choosing to believe in a tiny sample size over the other for Cobb because his pricepoint is worth that kind of risk.
Others to consider (DK): Gerrit Cole vs. BAL ($10,500), Luis Garcia vs. CLE ($8,700)
Others to consider (FD): Gerrit Cole vs. BAL ($11,000), Miles Mikolas vs. TOR ($9,600),
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Rowdy Tellez - 1B, MIL at Nick Martinez ($4,200 DK; $3,200 FD)
Rowdy Tellez loves to destroy right-handed pitching. Rowdy Tellez has collected 19 extra-base hits this season, and 17 have come off right-handed pitchers. Nick Martinez is a right-handed pitcher. Nick Martinez has allowed six home runs this season, and all of them came when he was pitching at Petco Park. Do we all see where this is going? Yup, it's going to look something like this:
Rowdy Tellez - Milwaukee Brewers (9) pic.twitter.com/BpiTSepCGZ
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 21, 2022
Nolan Gorman - 2B, STL vs. Jose Berrios ($2,000 DK; $2,500 FD)
Grabbing rookies right as they get called up is one of my favorite things in DFS. Unfortunately, they won't stay this cheap for long! Gorman got the call to the majors and made his debut on Friday. Over the weekend, he went 5-for-12 with an RBI, two doubles, and four runs scored. Encouragingly enough, he only struck out once in his 12 at-bats after rocking a 34 percent strikeout rate in the minors this season. If he was selling out for power in the minors to get the call-up but is now reverting to the 19.2 percent strikeout rate he showed in 2021, we could have a star on our hands.
Alec Bohm - 3B, PHI at Tucker Davidson ($3,900 DK; $2,800 FD)
Locked into the No. 2 slot in this Phillies lineup, Alec Bohm is in an enticing spot on Monday. He's got the batting average (.289), but the power is still lacking. However, according to baseball savant, Bohm's slugging percentage (.406) is 105 points below his expected slugging percentage (.511), which is the sixth biggest difference among third basemen. So continue to trust the process, and Bohm will reward you with a bomb against left-handed Tucker Davidson.
Carlos Correa - SS, MIN vs. Elvin Rodriguez ($5,100 DK; $3,400 FD)
Correa's been loving life since he returned from a thumb injury last week. He went 5-for-15 with two doubles, three runs, and three RBI. The Twins shortstop hit the bench on Sunday, but he has been hammering the baseball. His 92.3 mph average exit velocity, 113.4 mph max exit velocity, and 53.1 percent hard-hit rate have him in the top eight percent of those categories. No offense to Elvin Rodriguez, but it's going a long way if Correa gets a hold of one tonight. I don't think many people will be looking Correa's way either for their lineups, so I expect his roster percentage to be low with a massive ceiling.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD at Joan Adon ($5,700 DK; $4,300 FD)
Another day, another @mookiebetts homer. pic.twitter.com/BR3gpklOxh
— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2022
Nothing to see here. Just a player with a 1.283 OPS and 11 extra-base hits (five homers) in his last 10 games. Mookie Betts' slow start feels like a nightmare right now. But he's put it firmly behind him and is smacking the baseball all over the park. Plus, he's facing a pitcher in Joan Adon, who's wearing a 6.38 ERA and 1.64 WHIP with a 13.5 percent walk rate. So even if Mookie doesn't clobber another one tonight, he's getting on base multiple times with an enormous chance of scoring.
Michael Brantley - OF, HOU vs. Triston McKenzie ($4,000 DK; $3,200 FD)
I wanted to write about Yordan Alvarez or Kyle Tucker here, but they are too pricey to go along with Mookie Betts. So I'll take it down a notch to Uncle Mike. As consistent as they come, Brantley's on an 11-game hit streak where he's come up with six runs, four doubles, a home run, and 8.7 DK PPG. Houston is destroying right-handed pitching this month, so I'm trying to get as many of their bats in as possible.
Darin Ruf - 1B/OF, SF vs. David Peterson ($3,600 DK; $2,900 FD)
While Rowdy Tellez is a crusher of right-handed pitchers, Darin Ruf may well be his equivalent with southpaws. He doesn't always get a full allotment of at-bats because the Giants love to switch it up at the end of games, but his current results mean he is worth a spot even in a limited role. Over Ruf's previous 10 games, he's 8-for-24, but eight of those hits have gone for extra bases. It's resulted in a .708 slugging percentage and a 1.223 OPS. With left-handed David Peterson on the mound for the Mets, it feels safe to assume Ruf will get at least a couple of at-bats on Monday.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets (David Peterson, LHP)
The Giants have become the National League's version of Tampa over the last couple of seasons. They love to play the matchups. They are producing a .226 ISO and a .346 wOBA against southpaws in May. Darin Ruf, Joey Bart, Austin Slater (if healthy), and the other San Francisco righties should be in your thoughts.
New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles (Jordan Lyles, RHP)
Jordan Lyles+Yankee Stadium=bad times for Mr. Lyles. The New York assets will be expensive, but they can be so explosive in that ballpark that I don't mind diving deep into the lower half of the order and finding a cheap, less-popular stack. Lyles pitched here on Apr 26 this season and allowed six earned runs on seven hits, with three of those seven being a home run.
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