Monday’s MLB DFS main slate is highlighted by a couple of games in immaculate hitting conditions and very few top-end pitchers from which to choose from. On DraftKings and FanDuel, a ton of roster percentage should focus on one pitcher, and there are several paths to a potential tournament-winning hitting lineup. Once again, how we choose to handle the Marlins and Rockies game in Coors Field should go a long way to determining how we perform on this slate.
If you have any thoughts or recommendations for how we can better cover MLB DFS in 2023, reach out to us on Twitter or send me a message (@CableBoxScore). I’m always happy to talk a little DFS throughout the day, and let’s win some slates together! Let’s start by looking at weather issues for Monday as well as the best hitting and pitching environments on the main slate.
More great fantasy baseball advice and analysis: Waiver Wire & FAAB Recommendations | Daily MLB Injury Report | MLB DFS Picks | Line-up Analysis | Dynasty Rankings and Strategy | MLB Bullpen Updates | MLB Player Props | Prospect Rankings & Analysis | Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
MLB DFS Picks and Plays for May 22
Today’s analysis covers the seven-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel at 7:20 PM ET.
Weather Concerns:
- There is presently rain in the forecast for the first game of the slate in Atlanta. The Braves host the Los Angeles Dodgers in a highly anticipated series, so check weather reports before first pitch.
Best Hitter’s Parks:
- Coors Field
- Truist Field
- Angel Stadium
Best Pitcher’s Parks:
- T-Mobile Park
- Kauffman Stadium
- Target Field
DraftKings Top Plays
High-Dollar Pitcher
Cristian Javier ($10,000) vs. Milwaukee Brewers – With Corbin Burnes’ rollercoaster start to the season, Javier is the clear best pitcher on this slate, especially when you combine strikeout ability with the strikeout tendencies of his opposition. Javier has almost a 29% strikeout rate this season and the Brewers are fourth in the league with a 25.2% strikeout rate as a team. They also rank 20th in slugging percentage in 2023 despite a recent power surge from the top of their lineup. Javier can give up some fly balls, we can be assured strikeouts and a low WHIP will be mixed into that as well.
Value Pitcher
Bailey Ober ($8,100) vs. San Francisco Giants – The Giants remain one of the easiest teams in the league to strike out this season (25.5%, just a shade behind Seattle, who is first at 25.7%) and their team on-base percentage has plummeted to 18th in the league over the last two weeks. Ober has a streak going of four straight games with at least six innings (OK, one of them was just 5.2 innings), six strikeouts, and five total earned runs. For just $8,100, he should be one of the most popular value hurlers on the slate.
High-Dollar Infielder
Rafael Devers ($5,900) vs. Chase Silseth – First, the bad news. Devers is in an 0-for-7 slump over the last two games and his batting average dropped to just .254. But the good news is he was on quite a heater with games of eight, 10, 16, and 32 DK points over his five games prior to Saturday and Sunday. Plus, he gets to match up against Chase Silseth who has a 5.40 ERA, walks 4.63 batters per nine innings, and allows a slugging percentage 200 points higher to left-handers than he does to right-handers.
Value Infielder
Xavier Edwards ($2,700) vs. Chase Anderson – I won’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Xavier Edwards before today. He has just six games under his MLB belt but is a wunderkind at the plate with incredible contact skills and game-breaking speed with his legs. Edwards has three different minor league stops with an average of over .314 and four stops with double-digit steals. After going 2-for-4 Sunday, his average now sits at .333 since his call-up and he can play several positions across the diamond.
High-Dollar Outfielder
Julio Rodriguez ($5,600) vs. Kyle Muller – There are plenty of expensive outfield options on Monday, even some above $6,000. But I’ll stick with a guy who is certain to get five plate appearances against a terrible Kyle Muller and an even worse Oakland bullpen in a home game. J-Rod’s .204 average and .656 OPS don’t bother me one bit as the Oakland pitching staff can be a huge dose of medicine to any number of hitting sicknesses. Muller has a 7.71 ERA and is striking out fewer than seven batters per nine innings.
Value Outfielder
Bryan De La Cruz ($3,700) vs. Chase Anderson – Before he cooled off with an 0-for-4 on Sunday, De La Cruz had at least 11 DK points in five of his last seven games and no fewer than six in any of them. He hit three home runs over the last eight days and those were in pitcher-friendly parks like Oracle Park and Nationals Park. De La Cruz has hit fourth or fifth in the order every game since May 9th and is the 13th-best fantasy producer over the last seven days.
Best DraftKings Stack
Seattle Mariners vs. Kyle Muller – The Marlins, Rockies, and Red Sox are all in good positions on Monday, but there is nothing quite like the Oakland pitching staff this season. Their starters are 1.2 runs of ERA worse than the 29th-ranked team this season. Their bullpen is a full run worse than the White Sox for worst in the majors. Only the Guardians and Nationals strike out fewer batters and Oakland allows one more walk per nine innings than any other team. This is the series where Seattle breaks out of its offensive funk and they only have one starter projected to cost more than $4,600.
FanDuel Top Plays
High-Dollar Pitcher
Luis Castillo ($10,500) vs. Oakland Athletics – Castillo has not posted a quality start since an April 16th matchup against the Colorado Rockies. But to his credit, he faced the Astros, Cardinals, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Rangers in that span. Now it gets much better for Castillo who gets one of baseball’s worst offenses at home. Oakland is 27th in the league in slugging percentage against right-handers this year (.354). Castillo is $300 less than Javier and does make for some nice leverage considering the matchup.
Value Pitcher
Brady Singer ($7,400) vs Detroit Tigers – Let’s be clear, Brady Singer has not been good this year. But the low salary, combined with the matchup, combined with some very encouraging signs in his last two starts has me wanting to take some shots here. A pitcher for $7,400 on FanDuel is a pure gift, and he can out up a third straight quality start with 5-6 strikeouts, he will more than pay off the investment. The Tigers are eighth in strikeout rate as a team and are now dead-last in on-base percentage this season.
High-Dollar Infielder
Matt Olson ($4,100) vs. Gavin Stone – Gavin Stone is a good prospect coming up to pitch on Monday, but Matt Olson is certainly a better hitter than Stone is a prospect. Against right-handers this season, Olson has a .407 OBP and a .619 slugging percentage. Playing at home is just another advantage in favor of Olson over the very raw rookie.
Value Infielder
Luis Arraez ($3,300) vs. Chase Anderson – Luis Arrraez is very unlikely to hit you a home run on Monday night, but that does not mean he can’t still pile up the fantasy points for you in Coors Field. Arraez has 10 hits in his last seven games plus a couple of walks, so he is always on base. At this low salary of $3,300, just watch him get on base, score some runs, and the fantasy points will start pouring in. His .382 batting average and .437 on-base percentage once again lead all of baseball.
High-Dollar Outfielder
Shohei Ohtani ($3,800) vs. Tanner Houck – There is not too much to try and over-analyze here. Shohei Ohtani is one of the best hitters on the planet and is under $4,000 against a supremely mediocre right-handed pitcher. Houck’s slugging percentage allowed is 200 points higher to left-handers than it is to righties. Ohtani, you might expect, is destroying right handed pitchers. He is slashing .290/.361/.573 against them this season.
Value Outfielder
Brenton Doyle ($3,200) vs. Edward Cabrera – Brenton Doyle was an outfield injury fill-in originally, but he has stuck in the lineup even with Randal Grichuk returning. And he is producing almost every day. Doyle started in seven of the last eight games and has already compiled four homers and six steals in just 21 games this year. He might strike out a lot in the majors, but the 25-year-old has a .508 slugging percentage and should be a fixture in the lineup.
Best FanDuel Stack
Miami Marlins vs. Chase Anderson – When all is said and done, Miami should check in with one of the highest implied totals on the slate. Chase Anderson is a journeyman amongst an entire rotation of journeymen for Colorado. The Miami lineup features no player over $3,700 on FD, so this can stack this team any way you want, grab your favorite pitcher, and still have room for decent one-off bats or a second stack. Anderson has a grand total of 10 innings pitched this season and is coming off three straight injury-plagued years with an ERA over 6.30.
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