Sunday, May 2, provides a leisurely day of baseball with every team in action spread across four slates. That will bring a couple of aces to the mound, but as always, it also means a lot of targetable bats getting targetable pitching matchups. Today stacks like the Red Sox and White Sox look like quality MLB DFS picks. Let’s break down the hitters to roster on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo.
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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Sunday, May 2nd
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Boston Red Sox at RHP Mike Foltynewicz— 4.6 implied runs
This was a close choice as to whether to feature the Rangers against Garrett Richards or the Red Sox against Mike Foltynewicz. Ultimately, J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts present too strong a middle of the order. Heading into the weekend, Martinez was leading the league with nine home runs, and Devers was just behind with seven himself. Bogaerts is no slouch either with four, and he has 13 total extra-base hits.
Meanwhile, the Rangers pitching staff leads the league in home runs allowed, paced by Foltynewicz, who has allowed eight, followed by Jordan Lyles with seven. It is going to be in the upper-70s for first pitch in Arlington, so it is likely the roof will be open, and there is an 8 to 10 mph breeze heading out to left-centerfield, which is not going to help the pitchers.
In addition to the aforementioned trio of Martinez, Devers and Bogaerts, look to Alex Verdugo, Christian Arroyo and Hunter Renfroe, who all have posted .200-plus ISOs since the beginning of the 2019 season. By looking to Renfroe ($7) and someone like youngster Bobby Dalbec ($10), who has demonstrated power prior to his callup, or even Enrique Hernandez ($10) if he is leading off, gamers can work in the more expensive Red Sox options without breaking the bank.
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Mid-Afternoon
Chicago White Sox vs. RHP Zach Plesac — 4.5 implied runs
The last three starts for Zach Plesac have been pretty rough. Back on April 14, he suffered the embarrassment of not making it out of the first inning while allowing six runs on six hits and only one home run across 70 pitches. Then, in his next start against that same team, he made it five innings, though he allowed two home runs and another six earned runs (with four strikeouts). That team is also Sunday’s opponent, which likely led to a restless night for Plesac. To be fair, he did hold the Twins in check on Monday over 7.2 innings, ceding one round-tripper and three earned runs.
Back to the White Sox, they have tremendous power in their lineup even with Yasmani Grandal in an epic slump. Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada both can mash pitchers of either handedness, and Tim Anderson is much more than just a lefty killer. When healthy, Adam Eaton is an effective hitter against righties, and he is still a pest when on the base paths as a stolen base threat. Luis Robert is a lottery ticket, but a home run or extra-base hit with runners in scoring position is a fine reward.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics vs. LHP Bruce Zimmerman — 4.4 implied runs
Sunday afternoon looks like it will be 69 degrees in Oakland at first pitch, and there is a 10 to 12 mph breeze out to left field. Bruce Zimmerman seems to be going backwards with each start — after winning his MLB debut against the Red Sox he has lost four straight. In these five games, he has allowed at least three runs in all but one and home runs in all but one. The game where he allowed just two runs was against Seattle, both of which came on solo shots.
Matt Olson is unlikely to play for the Athletics, as he is recovering from taking a batting practice ricochet off his orbital area. This means that the A’s will be rolling out a very righty-heavy lineup, which does not bode well for Zimmerman. Across 107 lefty/righty matchups, he has ceded a .390 wOBA and a .295 ISO with a subpar 17% strikeout rate.
Since the beginning of the 2019 season, Mark Canha (.200), Ramon Laureano (.213) and Matt Chapman (.275) have all surpassed the .200-plus ISO benchmark. They are the power trio to target, with Jed Lowrie and whoever is behind the plate serving as differentiation options.
Final Thoughts for the Sunday, May 2nd MLB DFS Slate
Sunday looks to be a fine weather day across the cities hosting games. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a home run play on Yahoo may be a below-average MLB DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
