FanDuel MLB DFS Lineup Picks (5/11/21): Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice

May 11, 2021

Mark Strausberg highlights the top FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks for 5/11/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.

Welcome Rotoballers to another set of Tuesday FanDuel lineup picks! We have practically a full slate of games on the main slate tonight. There is one late afternoon game, followed by two games in the 6' o'clock (EST) hour. If you have questions about those three early games, feel free to hit me up on Twitter with questions (@MarkStrausberg). I will add that if you are playing the all-day slate, I would certainly take some hitters from the early games as I expect those to be some high-scoring games.

But the focus will be on the main slate.

Read below to find out what player I will be suggesting for your lineups, as I provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 5/11/2021. Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. With that out of the way, read my picks, and let your feelings guide you....

FanDuel DFS Pitchers

Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:

Walker Buehler - LAD vs SEA ($10,800)

Let me start by saying this--I am NOT paying $11K for John Means. I had him for his no-hitter last week and I think he is a decent pitcher. You don't record a no-hitter if you are a gas can. But Means should never be that high of a salary. Especially against a team that currently has the fewest amount of whiffs and 11th most walks.

Buehler however will be taking on team that has struck out the seventh most amount of times (331) and the third lowest OPS (.658) in the league. And Buehler will be at home, in the spacious confines of Dodger Stadium.

And last time I checked, Buehler is pretty good. A 3.13 ERA and 0.95 WHIP confirms that. He is more than just a control artist, having struck out 39 batters in less than 38 innings. The Dodgers unfortunately have not given him a ton of support as he has only one win to show for his efforts. Yet he has given up a pair of runs or fewer in five of his six starts this year. He has at least 28 FanDuel fantasy points in every single game he has pitched this year. Buehler is a bit on the chalky side, but he's the obvious play tonight.

GPP Play

Dylan Cease, CHW vs MIN ($8,200)

Buehler brings the consistency we want in our cash lineups, but Cease has the kind of variability we embrace in a GPP entry. Cease could not even make it to the 5th inning in his first four starts this year. However, he has been absolutely dominant his last two outings. He went seven strong innings on April 29th, blanking Detroit and striking out nine Tigers. He followed that up with another strong performance in his most recent outing against a more formidable offense.

Reds ranks against RHP coming into tonight

HR%: 1st
ISO: 1st
wOBA: 1st
wRC+: 3rd

Dylan Cease against them tonight: 6 IP, 11 K, 3 BB, 1 H, 0 R pic.twitter.com/jpZUL1pYQu

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) May 5, 2021

Yet he made the Reds look even worse than Tigers, blanking them as well and striking out eleven Cincinnati batters. Like the Detroit game, he walked only one batter, but he also gave up only one hit.

Minnesota has begun to find its offensive stroke recently, but Cease's 2.37 ERA is evidence of just how good he has been this year. There's some obvious downside here, but the ceiling on Cease might be even higher than Buehler's.

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FanDuel DFS Infielders

Matt Olson - 1B/3B, OAK @ BOS ($3,200)

Olson can be a bit streaky, but he seems to love facing Boston, as evidenced by his .308 average against them. But he seems to enjoy facing them even more at Fenway. Olson has a career .333 average at Fenway and his second-highest OPS at any stadium, a whopping 1.333.

Olson is averaging over 11 Fan Duel fantasy points per game and has seven round-trippers. The left-handed Olson will be facing the right-handed Nathan Eovaldi, owner of a 4.62 ERA. Olson hasn't homered in over a week but has three walks in the last two days. The only reason I see him not standing on base at all on Tuesday night is that he's doing a home run trot around all of them.

Alec Bohm - 1B/3B, PHI at WSH ($2,800)

Bohm has recently been looking a lot like the potential ROY candidate many expected him to be this year. As good as Bohm might be, I know that opposing pitcher Erick Fedde is never going to be great. He currently sports a 5.27 ERA and this is a mismatch I will be taking advantage of on Tuesday.

Mike Brosseau - 2B/3B, TBR vs NYY ($2,400)

Brosseau is always a potential play when the Rays face a lefty. Jordan Montgomery is a lefty, making Brosseau worthy of a start. Given that Montgomery has a 4.41 ERA makes it even more enticing. Brosseau went long in his last game and I wouldn't be surprised if he does so again on Tuesday.

Marcus Semien - SS,  TOR @ ATL ($3400)

We have to go back nearly a month ago to find the last time Semien put up a donut. So we know he brings an extremely high floor. But it's not just a hit there or a walk there. He is hitting .262 on the year and has jacked eight out already as well.

Marcus Semien is enjoying his return to Oakland. pic.twitter.com/MvxUuLhNWM

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2021

I will be starting Semien and you should too.

FanDuel DFS Outfielders

Dylan Carlson - OF, STL @ MIL ($2,600) 

I know, you're probably sick of me touting him. But Carlson continues to impress. He's hitting .303 on the year and has ten hits the last nine days. That's not the kind of consistency typical of a player with his lack of major league experience. At $2600, he remains a bargain.

Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs SEA ($4,100)

As much as I like Carlson, he is still not yet an elite play. Mookie Betts on the other hand is an established stud. Betts is actually off to a bit of a slow start, but is still averaging over a dozen FD fantasy points a game. Betts is starting to turn things around, having hit .400 (4-for-10) with four walks and a homer in the three-game series against the Angels. He will be facing the left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, whose 4.30 ERA is indicative of his struggles so far this year.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - OF, TOR @ ATL ($2,300)

Toronto's offense is cruising right now, having scored 35 runs their last five games. That's seven runs a game for those who are mathematically challenged.  Gurriel is a cheap way to get access to that lineup and if they put up seven runs again, I'd be surprised if Gurriel is not a part of that!

Good luck with your entries!