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Jorge Pucks highlights the top FanDuel and DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks for the "Early" slate on 5/8/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.
Hello there, MLB DFS grinders! It's Saturday, and that means we have yet another split slate of MLB games today with six games in the early afternoon and seven games on the main 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 slate at 1:05 PM on 5/8/2021. 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
Tyler Glasnow at OAK ($11,500 FD, $10,000 DK)
While it might not be one of the smarter ideas to attack one of the top teams in baseball, it can certainly be done by using Tyler Glasnow against the A's. Glasnow is one of the best young pitchers in the game and is off to a hot start as he is 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA. Through his first 43 innings of work, he is producing an insane 38.3% strikeout rate and a 13.2 strikeout per nine innings pitched rate. Glasnow has one game already under his belt against the A's and in that game, he went seven innings with 10 strikeouts while also getting the win so it makes sense to go back to him in the same matchup. Oakland has struggled against right-handed pitchers as a whole this season as they are batting .208 and are striking out 23.6% of the time against that-handedness.
Jose Berrios at DET ($8,700 FD, $9,300 DK)
At this point in the season, we start picking up trends and one trend right now is that the Tigers struggle mightily against right-handed pitching. On the year, they are batting .215 and have struck out the second-most times against this handedness (247 strikeouts, 10 behind Milwaukee for the lead). Jose Berrios is a top pitcher for the Twins and is off to a strong start to the year despite only having a 3-2 record. He has a .6 home run per nine rate which is the lowest in his career and is sporting a 1.01 WHIP which is also a career-best. His strikeout rate is up to 33% on the yeat which is a career high and this could be due to him throwing his curveball and sinker more often than in recent years.
Others to consider: Carlos Martinez vs. Colorado, Joe Musgrove vs. San Fran, Kevin Gausman vs. San Diego
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MLB DFS "Bats Worth Paying For"
Trea Turner – SS, WSH @ NYY ($4,000 FD, $5,400 DK)
While there are several high-priced options at the shortstop position on this slate, Trea Turner should always be considered. While Kluber has strung back-to-back solid starts, Turner looks to profile well against him which could easily cause trouble for Kluber. Kluber primarily throws his cutter, sinker, and knuckle-curve pretty often to right-handed batters (All average above 24% of the time) and Turner sports an ISO of .200+ against all three pitches.
Kris Bryant – 3B/ OF, CHC vs. PIT ($4,400 FD, $5,700 DK)
Bryant is having an incredible start to the season as he is batting .306 on the year with nine home runs. He has been seeing right-handed pitching pretty well as he is averaging .277 against the handedness and has hit five home runs against righties. Wil Crowe has dominated lefty batters but has struggled against righties as they are batting .273 against him while having a .455 slugging percentage.
Nelson Cruz – OF, MIN @ DET ($3,600 FD, $5,500 DK)
Cruz has been crushing right-handed pitchers this season as six of his eight home runs on the season have come from right-handed pitchers. Urena throws his sinker over 50% of the time against righties which bodes well for Cruz as he has a .247 ISO and a .461 XwOBA against that pitch.
MLB DFS Values
Colin Moran – 1B/3B, PIT @ CHC ($2,900 FD, $4,500 DK)
While the price point is somewhat moderately high on DK, Moran looks to be a good value over on FD. He is carrying a .186 ISO against right-handed pitchers this year which leads the Pirates team and has a .340 wOBA against that handedness. What makes Moran really attractive in this matchup against Trevor Williams is that Williams throws his fastball over 50% of the time to lefties while also throwing his changeup 24% of the time and Moran has a .302 and a .250 ISO and above a .400 XwOBA against those pitches.
Jake Cronenworth – 1B/3B, SDP @ SFG ($2,500 FD, $3,500 DK)
Cronenworth has been on a little bit of a hot streak lately as he has gotten a hit in seven out of the last 10 games played. Gausman has been pitching well but lefties have been the handedness that has been doing better against him as they have a .314 slugging percentage and a .180 ISO. Gausman throws either his fastball or splitter for a combined 90% of pitches against lefty batters which bodes well for Cronenworth who has an XwOBA against his fastball type and a .308 ISO.
Kyle Schwarber – OF, WSH @ NYY ($2,600 FD, $3,300 DK)
If you're wanting more of a tournament type of play that should come in lower owned, Kyle Schwarber could be one to look at and consider. He is priced down on both sites and has struggled against righties this year as he is batting .143 against them with 20 strikeouts. Kluber throws a variety of pitches but throws his cutter and sinker against lefties for a combined 54% of the time and Schwarber carries a .402 against sinkers against righties while making contact 84% of the time against cutters.
Also Consider: Matt Adams vs. Carlos Martinez, Harrison Bader vs. Chi Chi Gonzalez
MLB DFS Hitter Stacks
Minnesota Twins vs. Jose Urena
The Twins are a team that could pop off at any given moment and they could be in a good spot tomorrow against Urena. While Urena is tough against right-handed batters, he is getting roughed up from the left side of the plate which makes Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, and Jake Cave all in play. Lefties are hitting .299 against him this year and have a .58 slugging percentage so starting with the Twins lefties would be the place to go first. One could argue that with Buxton and Arraex out of the lineup, you could consider throwing Urena out there as a tournament option for how well he does against righties so this would be an ideal spot to where if you go heavy on the Twins, you should at least make one lineup hedging yourself with Urena on the bump.
St. Louis vs. Chi Chi Gonzalez
While the Cardinals don't carry the best batting average against right-handed pitchers, they are able to do damage as they have hit the third-most home runs against righties this season as a team (33). Gonzalez is allowing both sides of the plate to have a 38% hard-hit percentage and lefties have done the most damage to him as they are batting .328 against him this year with two home runs. Edman and Carlson are great options to consider and of course rostering Goldschmidt and Arenado would be good choices to round out a Cards stack.
Other stacks: Chicago Cubs vs. Crowe, Tampa Bay vs. Montas
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