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Is this the last Saturday of Spring? Temperatures across the continent are set to heat up next week so enjoy some moderate weather this Memorial Day weekend and, of course, a whole bunch of baseball.
Today we get the bulk of the games in the afternoon, so I am covering the ten-game "early slate" on DraftKings as the main slate for the day. And naturally FanDuel either forces you to play a 15-game "all-day" slate or separate smaller slates at 1:05 and 4:05. Maybe one of these days they will stop chopping up the slates so small.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/27/2023 and the slate locking at 1:05 pm ET. The lineup picks will range from some elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Framber Valdez @ OAK ($10,700 DK, $11,600 FD)
Let's start our morning off with a cup of obvious as it should go without saying (but I am saying it anyway) that Framber Valdez is the top option on this early slate against the miserable Oakland offense. The A's are actually better against lefties, but Valdez just dominated them in their last meeting as he pitched a CGSO, allowing only four hits without a walk while striking out seven.
Valdez has been one of the safest starters to use on a nightly basis as he brings a solid floor just about every time out. There are some other arms you can pivot to in tournaments, but Valdez really should be the guy in cash games and I'd rather match the field there with his high rostership than try to get cute. He's really good, and Oakland is really bad...it's not brain surgery...or rocket science...or whatever.
Luis Severino vs. SDP ($7,000 DK, $9,000 FD)
The Yankees have to be thrilled to have Sevvy back in the rotation, now let's just hope he can stay healthy. He had an encouraging debut last week against Cincy as he struck out five Reds over four and two-thirds innings. He got his pitch count up to 75 pitches, so perhaps we see him for 80-85 today, which could be enough for 5-6 innings if he is efficient. At 7k, he feels like a bargain when you consider he scored 15 DK points in that first start without finishing the fifth inning or picking up a win.
The Padres are a tough draw, but there are plenty of strikeouts in that lineup and Severino is good enough for me to play him at this discount in pretty much any matchup. You FanDuel folks might think twice about using him as your only starter, however, being that he is clear to still have some limitations with a hard pitch count.
Also consider: Logan Webb, Tyler Glasnow (DK)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Anthony Rizzo - 1B, NYY vs. Michael Wacha ($5,100 DK, $3,300 FD)
Rizzo and Wacha are quite familiar with each other as they battled it out in the NL Central as members of the Cubs and Cardinals, respectively, for many years. Rizzo has some excellent history against Wacha from those days and would have faced him most recently when he was playing for division rival Boston the last few seasons, too.
You have to be careful with BvP for sure, but larger sample sizes are always good. And it certainly helps that Rizzo is in great form as well. He's been the best non-Judge hitter in the lineup all season and has been particularly hot over the last month. He has his average up over .300 now and has 11 home runs on the season. The short porch in right field is calling his name and with Wacha giving up over 50% fly balls to lefties, it certainly seems like a good chance that Rizzo deposits one in the outfield seats.
Ryan Mountcastle - 1B, BAL vs. Andrew Heaney ($4,500 DK, $3,400 FD)
Speaking of BvP, we have the opposite of the Rizzo situation here. Mountcastle has an incredibly small sample size of at-bats against Heaney, but just incredible results as he's gone 3-4 with two HR and a double. My little BvP lesson goes as follows - BvP is the result, not the cause, so if we are pointing to it as a way of justifying a good matchup, we need to make sure that the actual matchup is that good and that the results were not, in fact, fluky.
So let's do that. Mounty has a .421 wOBA and .400 ISO against left-handers this year, while Heaney has some strong platoon splits, too, allowing a .324 wOBA and .200 ISO to RHH while being really tough on lefties. He also has a fly-ball lean against RHH with 43% of batted balls being hit in the air.
A quick check of the batted ball profile shows that Mounty hits all three of Heaney's offerings well (4-seamer, changeup, and slider) but he is especially good against 91-92 MPH fastballs. If he gets one where he wants it, he's going to drive the ball and hopefully hit another one out today. But Heaney could adjust and throw him more offspeed stuff, too, (I know I would if a guy is absolutely crushing me). So it's never all that simple, you see? I like Mountcastle and the Orioles today because I always like betting on "bad Heaney" to show up because when he's not at his best, he's often really, really bad.
Jose Altuve - 2B, HOU vs. Hogan Harris ($5,300 DK, $3,200 FD)
Altuve is back at the top of this Houston lineup and already starting to get back in the groove. He had his first multi-hit game last night as he finished 2-4 with a double. We haven't seen any power yet, but we know it's there and it's coming from the mighty little man.
Harris is probably just going to pitch a couple of innings, I don't think he's stretched out. And then the Houston hitters will see the worst bullpen in baseball. I cannot overstate how bad this bullpen has been, they are a full run worse in SIERA than any other bullpen in the big leagues. They get used far too often and they continue to just get beat up. Altuve's price on FD is a great value and I think he should be a lock for cash games.
Also consider: Josh Jung (3B), Jose Caballero (2B)
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Julio Rodriguez - OF, SEA vs. Vince Velasquez ($5,700 DK, $3,600 FD)
J-Rod is finally showing some signs of life after having a relatively disappointing start to the season based on the sky-high expectations that everyone had for him in his sophomore campaign. He took my guy Mitch Keller deep in his first at-bat last night and finished with two hits and three RBI.
Julio Rodriguez - Seattle Mariners (8) pic.twitter.com/AMmALvY8rP
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 27, 2023
That's his third straight multi-hit game and his fourth in his last five games. I love his matchup here today against Vince Velasquez, who has been decent for Pittsburgh but is coming off the IL, and at some point I am convinced he is going to implode and give up a bunch of dingers. That could be today and is there is one guy I like to hit one off him, it's J-Rod as VV has struggled against righties for most of his career.
Lane Thomas - OF, WAS vs. Brady Singer ($4,200 DK, $3,200 FD)
We have a theme going with guys who homered last night here for our outfielders, but I don't think I am chasing with these picks by any means. Thomas has been red hot now for the last two weeks. He's riding a 10-game hitting streak and has been the catalyst at the top of this Washington lineup that has got them scoring more runs lately.
Lane Thomas - Washington Nationals (8) pic.twitter.com/0hx0QMX1LE
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 27, 2023
Brady Singer walks too many guys and has been getting barreled up like crazy this year. Thomas is going to be on base one way or another and once Singer exits, he should have a few at-bats against a poor KC bullpen, too. We saw both of these teams combine for a bunch of runs last night and I wouldn't be surprised if that happened again.
Leody Tavares - OF, TEX vs. Dean Kremer ($3,200 DK, $2,900 FD)
Is Tavares the best 9-hitter in baseball right now or what? He's hitting .310 with an OPS of .809 as the Texas Rangers roll right along as the best offense in the league. He homered last night for his second dinger of the season and has five stolen bases as well this year to showcase his speed.
Leody Tavares gets it over the wall in right and the Rangers take a 2-1 lead!pic.twitter.com/heolsWgtmM
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 26, 2023
I love stacking the bottom of the Texas lineup and wrapping it around. Heck, you should probably be stacking Texas on almost every slate at this point, they just refuse to stop hitting. Using some cheaper pieces like Tavares and Grossman (both homered and were in my DK lineup last night) is one way to make your Texas stack different.
Also consider: Andrew Benintendi, Nick Pratto, Jarred Kelenic
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
1. Houston Astros vs. Hogan Harris + Oakland Bullpen
I mentioned it earlier, but the Oakland bullpen is so bad this year and Houston is starting to heat up with Altuve back in the lineup and two bonafide studs Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez hitting right in the middle of the lineup.
2. Baltimore Orioles vs. Andrew Heaney
I like the Rangers in this game, too, but I think they might be more popular. The Orioles can be deadly against LHP and Heaney has struggled against them recently. Heck, you can game stack this with bats from both sides if you want.
Also Consider: Texas Rangers (every slate!), Washington Nationals (sneaky)
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