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

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

We’re set for our usual jumbo-sized Friday night slate, one that offers us a bevy of options at every point on the salary scale and sees some of the biggest names in pitching on the bump. However, the interesting angle tonight is that a lot of those high-salaried arms are in particularly tricky matchups, setting up some tough decisions when building lineups.

On the hitting side, it’s always favorable when both TD Ballpark and Coors Field are among the venues hosting games, which is precisely the scenario Friday. I’ve taken advantage of that fact to suggest a couple of cost-effective ways to get exposure to those two hitter-friendly settings while also unearthing several other favorable one-off situations.

I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 5/21/2021. 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 read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like DraftKings, and other sports.

FanDuel DFS Pitchers

Cash Game/GPP Anchor Play:

Trevor Bauer – LAD at SFG ($11,800)

The Giants just scored 19 runs Thursday, but Bauer has been outstanding and will be operating on an extra day of rest and in a very pitcher-friendly park. The prized offseason acquisition has lived up to the hype with a 2.20 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 12.1 K/9 and average of 45.9 FD points. Bauer has already posted tallies of 58 and 61 FD points in his first nine starts and has posted less than 40 FD points just once. The Giants also don’t exactly present as a formidable threat, as they’ve posted a 26.6 percent strikeout rate, .227 average and .312 wOBA against righties at home in the last month.

Potential Alternate Play

Ian Anderson – ATL vs. PIT ($8,800)   

Anderson sports an appealing salary for a pitcher that’s averaging 32.8 FD points and has churned out four quality starts in his last five trips to the mound. The right-hander even has a 6.2-inning blanking of the Yankees on the road on his resume and also boasts a .214 BAA and .288 wOBA allowed across 23.1 home frames. The matchup against the Pirates is an appealing one as well, considering Pittsburgh has a meager .100 ISO, -8.4 wRAA and a .284 wOBA against right-handed pitching on the road over the last month of play (391 PAs).

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FanDuel DFS Infielders

C.J. Cron – 1B, COL vs. ARI ($3,300)

Cron has surged after a so-so start to the season, as he boasts a sizzling .393/.469/.696 slash line with two doubles, five homers and 12 RBI over the last month of play. The veteran slugger has an elevated 10.9 percent walk rate during that stretch as well, and Cron has been excellent in his hitter-friendly home park in particular with a .427 wOBA and .296 ISO across 64 plate appearances. He’ll get a vulnerable right-hander to feast on Friday, as D-Backs starter Seth Frankoff, who did pitch well against the Nationals in his first appearance of the season last time out but who’s essentially a career minor-leaguer who’s only two prior stints against big-league bats have resulted in ERAs of 9.00 and 16.88 in short samples. Meanwhile, Cron checks in with a .385 wOBA, .205 ISO and 41.4 percent hard-contact rate in same-handed matchups at Coors Field.

Jed Lowrie – 2B, OAK at LAA ($2,300)

Lowrie has a long and successful career body of work against left-handed pitching, so even though he’s struggled of late, he makes for an intriguing and likely very low-rostered tournament value play against Jose Quintana. The veteran southpaw has had a rough start to the season, even as some of his underlying metrics suggest he’s been nowhere near as bad as his 8.53 ERA would indicate. Quintana’s xERA of 4.65 is much more palatable, his 3.45xFIP is very solid, and he actually sports a career-high 14.6 K/9 in the midst of all his difficulties while also seeing a .429 BABIP against him that’s going to come down. Nevertheless, there’s no prettying up the fact Quintana has given up a .338 average and .402 wOBA in opposite-handed matchups while allowing a massive 32.1 percent line-drive rate when facing righties at home. In turn, the switch-hitting Lowrie has punished left-handed pitching early – extending a career-long trend – posting a .333 average, .350 wOBA and 34.0 percent line-drive rate of his own versus that handedness.

Jeimer Candelario– 3B, DET at KC ($2,700)

The switch-hitting Candelario has been one of the few bright spots on a mostly punchless  offense, and he’s particularly thrived versus left-handed pitching. Candelario gets a southpaw Friday in Mike Minor, whose uneven start to the season includes a 5.02 ERA, 4.55 xFIP and 1.5 HR/9, as well as 14 extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple, six home runs) in 28 total hits yielded to right-handed hitters. Candelario checks in with a .360 average and .371 wOBA versus right-handed pitching, as well as tallies of between 24.7 and 38.1 FD points in three recent games that provide a glimpse at the impressive upside he offers at a very reasonable salary.

Trea Turner – SS, WSH vs. BAL ($4,200)

Turner has been putting together his typically stellar all-around numbers, punishing either handedness of pitcher with regularity over first month-plus. Friday, he draws an appealing matchup against Orioles right-hander Jorge Lopez, who’s typically had issues with left-handed hitters prior to this season but has shown reverse tendencies thus far in 2021. Lopez has seen righty bats touch him up for a ..299 average, .859 OPS, 2.1 HR/9 and .374 wOBA, while Turner has been doing his usual damage in same-handed matchups to the tune of a .304 average, .371 wOBA and .208 ISO, along with a 27.9 percent line-drive rate when drawing righties at home. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Turner also comes in wielding one of the hottest bats in the majors in all of May, with a .355/.398/.566 slash thus far this month. Orioles relievers are also an appealing target when Lopez exits – they’ve pitched to a 6.55 ERA and allowed a .346 wOBA to righty bats thus far this month.

FanDuel DFS Outfielders

Andrew Benintendi – OF, KC vs. DET ($2,600)

Speaking of a pitcher who’s traditionally had difficulties against left-handed bats, Urena certainly fits the bill. The veteran right-hander has given up a .343 wOBA to lefty bats over his career, and he’s yielded a .318 average, .350 wOBA and 4.97 xFIP to that handedness this season specifically. For his part, Benintendi has been a hit in his new Royals digs, showing some much-needed improvement in plate discipline with a 19.3 percent strikeout rate after posting a 32.7 percent figure in 2020, generating a career-best 41.4 percent hard-hit rate per Statcast, and antagonizing right-handed pitching for a .304 average and .348 wOBA. It’s also noteworthy that Benintendi has a long track record of success against Urena’s trademark sinker, posting a .301 average, .808 OPS and .355 wOBA against the pitch; meanwhile, he has a .317 average and .361 wOBA versus the curve, Urena’s second-most often thrown offering.

Randy Arozarena - OF, TB at TOR ($3,500)

Arozarena is never a bad option to deploy in a hitter-friendly park, and such is the scenario Friday with the Rays visiting the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Arozarena already comes in on a serious upward trajectory at the plate over his last five games, a stretch during which he’s posted a .458 average, 1.375 OPS, a double, three home runs and nine RBI. The slugger takes aim at a left-hander in Anthony Kay on Friday, with the southpaw coming in with a 7.24 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 1.3 HR/9. Arozarena’s work against left-handed pitching includes a .286 average, .369 wOBA and .196 ISO, along with a 33.3 percent line-drive rate and 43.8 percent hard-contact rate when facing southpaws on the road.

David Peralta – OF, ARI at COL ($3,600)

Peralta gets an opposite-handed matchup versus a pitcher he knows extremely well in German Marquez, who he’s slashed .357/.400/.619 with five doubles and two home runs against across a robust sample of 45 career plate appearances. Marquez has also opened the season in poor form, especially at Coors, where he’s pitched to a 5.19 ERA, .284 BAA and .348 wOBA while also issuing 5.5 walks per nine innings. Marquez has also given up a .297 average and .363 wOBA to left-handed hitters overall, while Peralta is putting together yet another stellar season against right-handed pitching that includes a .280 average, .344 wOBA, minuscule 13.9 percent strikeout rate and .807 OPS.

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