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Hello there, MLB DFS grinders! It's Thursday, and that means we have yet another split slate of MLB games today with five games in the afternoon and six games on the evening slate.
While most of our MLB DFS coverage here at RotoBaller is geared towards the main slate, I wanted to give you some of my favorite pitchers and bats for these early games. I'll highlight my favorite pitching options here first and then give you some hitters at each price tier to consider as well as my favorite teams to stack up AND some sample lineups for both sites!
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel and DraftKings early-only slates that lock at 12:20 PM on 5/13/2021. 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 MLB DFS lineup picks for the main slate here, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
MLB DFS Pitchers
Corbin Burnes vs. STL ($10,800 FD, $10,600 DK)
Burnes is ready to return to the hill today and was looking like a Cy Young candidate through his first four starts before finally showing he is a mere human against Miami with four earned runs allowed in five innings (but mind you, he still struck out 9). He had COVID and missed one turn through the rotation, but apparently was asymptomatic so we can probably still fire him up here in a good spot against the Cardinals. Brewers' pitchers have dominated the Cards so far this series with Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff pitching gems in each of the first two games, and Burnes is arguably the best of the three when he has his best stuff. I think it makes sense to pay up for one of the two arms from this game which leads to our pivot play, Jack Flaherty.
Jack Flaherty vs. MIL – ($10,500 FD, $9,400 DK)
Flaherty comes into this game in excellent form and has won six straight starts, allowing three runs or fewer in each of those wins. His 25% K rate isn't anywhere near Burnes' 45% K rate, but his matchup here against Milwaukee hitters is better (28,4% K rate compared to the Cardinals' 24% K rate to RHP). Flaherty isn't much cheaper on Fanduel, but on DraftKings, he's a full 1200 less, and going with him is going to allow you to upgrade several bats. I am not opposed to playing them both together in tournaments, either, and hoping for a 1-0 game.
Others to consider: Zach Eflin ($9,500 FD, $8,200 DK) is my preferred SP2 on DraftKings to pair with Burnes or Flaherty.
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MLB DFS "Bats Worth Paying For"
Rhys Hoskins – 1B, PHI ($3,100 FD, $4,000 DK)
Hoskins has an excellent matchup today with lefty Patrick Corbin, who is giving up over three HR/9 this season and getting barreled up at a 12% rate. Hoskins is a lefty-masher who has a .437 wOBA and .315 ISO against LHP over the last two seasons and already has eight homers this year. He crushes sinkers and Corbin has had his primary pitch (a sinker, or two-seamer) teed off on so far this season. He's cheaper than I expected him to be and is a prime cash play or the first click into your Phillies stacks today.
Ronald Acuna Jr. – OF, ATL ($4,400 FD, $5,800 DK)
Acuna is having just an awesome start to 2021 with 11 homers and 32 runs scored through the first month and a half of the season. He's swiped six bags, too, and is always a threat to steal a base on a nightly basis giving him a high floor. I love the Braves today and I want to pick on Stripling with right-handers especially. Acuna's batted ball profile matches up well with Stripling's pitch mix and I think we see him make a lot of great contact today, hopefully resulting in some extra-base hits and a bunch of fantasy points.
Jose Abreu - 1B, CWS ($4,200 FD, $4,400 DK)
The White Sox are red hot right now on offense their star first basemen might be the hottest of the bunch. He's 6-12 over his last three games with a homer and eight RBI. I don't mind picking on Michael Pineda today with some CWS bats as he is home-run prone and I think Abreu's ability to elevate the fastball means he has a great chance of taking one out of the yard. He's really cheap on DK compared to his FD tag and I love the idea of playing Abreu and Hoskins in some two-1B lineups on FD.
MLB DFS Values
Robbie Grossman – OF, DET ($3,000 FD, $3,500 DK)
I don't love the idea of using Detroit bats today as they've been horrible against LHP, but the young rookie Daniel Lynch has looked really overmatched so far in his first two big-league starts and this Detroit offense provides us some really nice value to use with our expensive pitchers and bats. Grossman leads off and is a great contact hitter. He also takes walks and can steal bases. I like him as a cash game play or as part of a sneaky Detroit stack here.
Jonathan Schoop – 2B, DET ($2,200 FD, $2,700 DK)
Schoop has five hits over his last two games and is a guy with solid career splits against LHP. He should hit somewhere in the top half of the order here and is really, really cheap at a position that I want to pay down at usually - the middle infield. Give him a hard look if you need a punt or if you are willing to make a full Detroit stack against Lynch.
Andrew Vaughn – OF, CWS ($2,300 FD, $2,200 DK)
The young slugger finally got his first homer last night and our very own Bubba Dentrek called it on his podcast and in our premium values article. He's still dirt cheap here and facing a hittable pitcher in Pineda. He's making better contact lately and definitely a threat for another homer, or at least some extra-base hits.
MLB DFS Hitter Stacks
Atlanta Braves vs. Ross Stripling
This is a great chance to hop back on the Braves' bats. They have struggled this series against two good left-handers in Ray and Ryu and have been miserable against LHP this season. But against RHP, they are a top-5 offense and they happen to be facing a reverse-splits pitcher in Stripling who is also a fly-ball pitcher. Atlanta has the highest implied team total on the early slate with 4.7 runs and I have to agree with Vegas that they are the offense in the best position to score well today. We can target their entire lineup here, but my main focus would be on the top half of the order with Acuna, Freeman, Albies, Ozuna being the big four power bats.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Patrick Corbin
Another day that Corbin is pitching = another day for me to stack against him! I have been beating the "Corbin is declining" drum since last season and so far his results this season prove that to be true. He's a fly ball pitcher who has seen a sharp decrease in his strikeout rate which is never a good thing. Opposing hitters are making great contact against him (37% hard contact, 12% barrel rate) and he's already been shelled a few times this year. Give me some RHH from this Philly lineup today with the aforementioned Hoskins being the most important piece. Andrew McCutchen is hitting well right now and we can add in Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto (if he starts) for a nice top-of-the-order stack. You can always include Bryce Harper in an L/L matchup, too, but I am not sure I will have the salary left to fit him in there.
Other stacks: Detroit Tigers vs. Daniel Lynch
Good luck, RotoBallers, in your DFS contests, and make sure you keep coming back for all your MLB DFS content this year!
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