MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters & Stacks for Sunday, May 9th

Sunday, May 9, has a hefty 11-game main slate where potential piñatas abound. There are aces, those aforementioned gas cans along and some tricky looking weather spots. Fortunately, the Astros, Yankees and Padres do not have any precipitation to worry about. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for hitters and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel.

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MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Hitters and Stacks, Sunday, May 9th

Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Yankees vs. RHP Joe Ross — 5.4 implied runs

After starting off the season with 11.0 shutout innings, Joe Ross has allowed six home runs in his last three starts. Over these 15.2 innings, he has just 12 strikeouts and is allowing 1.56 baserunners per inning. While there could be some late-game rain, the Yankees are still worth targeting this afternoon.

Ross does not allow mammoth power, posting a .180 ISO over his last 534 batters faced, but he is not able to keep the bases clear with his 10.1% walk rate. While New York does strike out at an above-average rate, they make up for it with lots of extra-base hits and a solid 11.0% walk rate for today’s projected lineup.

No one needs to be told that D.J. LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are the trio to target first. However, on Yahoo there are some nice savings with Mike Ford ($7) and Clint Frazier ($9). Depending on where they are in the lineup, they can be utilized them as part of a wrap-around stack or by starting one off with Gleyber Torres ($10), who will likely be hitting fifth. Finally, though he is not going to hit his weight, Gary Sanchez ($7) is a cheap way to fill the catcher requirement with a little upside, along with some synergy in stacks. Yesterday Gio Urshela left the game early with a knee issue, so the batting order could be tweaked without him in the cleanup spot. Likely Judge or Stanton will move back, or Torres could move forward. If Miguel Andujar or Brett Gardner are in the lineup, they are also at the minimum salary of $7 on Yahoo.

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Mid-Afternoon Slate

Houston Astros vs. RHP Nate Pearson – 5.4 implied runs

There is no weather to worry about in this matchup, and it is likely the Minute Maid Park roof will be open with temperatures in the upper-80s today. Nate Pearson took the mound for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday and threw 78 pitches. This is a good indication that he is back to health after dealing with a groin injury. In that outing, he struck out eight and allowed only one run. Pearson has an outstanding fastball that can touch 100 mph. However, he did struggle with control last year, posting a 6.50 BB/9 rate in five appearances over 18.0 innings for the Blue Jays. With just 127.0 innings in the minors across three seasons and this week’s start, he still needs a lot of seasoning, and on-the-job training is going to be tough against the Astros. Last year his fastball averaged 96.4 mph, though until he gets an improved secondary pitch, he could have some rough outings.

Today the focus should be on the lefties first, with Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker leading the way. Pearson has been dominant against same-handed hitters in his brief time in the majors, but the plate discipline from Alex Bregman, who has a 15.9% walk rate and a low 13.5% strikeout rate, will be a challenge for Pearson. The Blue Jays needed just three relievers yesterday, and over the last 48 hours, nobody in the bullpen has tossed more than 22 pitches. Pearson will probably make it through the third inning before giving way to the relief corps.

Late Slate

San Diego Padres at RHP Johnny Cueto — 5.0 implied runs

Those who read this article series last season know the crazy theory that the offseason renovations prior to the 2020 season at Oracle Park actually turned the best pitching venue in the league into essentially Coors Field West. The main aspect was relocating the bullpens and changing up a couple of the outfield viewing areas. Dead center was moved in by eight feet to 391, left-center came down by five feet to 399, and Triples Alley came in from 421 feet to 415. Also, the center field wall was lowered by a feet. While all of this does not seem like much, the changing of the terraced viewing area had the more dramatic effect.

Last year in 33 home games, the Giants scored 180 runs and allowed 158, which works out to 10.24 runs per game. Yes, the Giants had a bad bullpen and horrible starters, but they actually outperformed the visiting teams. Part of the runs increase was likely due to the universal designated hitter rule employed last season, but this is still a hefty total. In 2019, the final 30 home games of the season averaged 7.8 runs, and in 2018 it was just 6.3 runs per game for that same timeframe.

Today this will be one of the warmer games, with temperatures in the mid-60s and a 12 to 15 mph wind going out to center field. On the mound is 35-year old Johnny Cueto, who is on the downward slope of his career after 14 seasons. At best he is a league-average pitcher these days, and at worst he will be throwing batting practice.

San Diego has a projected lineup today that has compiled a .209 ISO against righties over the last two-plus seasons. Fernando Tatis Jr., Trent Grisham, Manny Machado and Wil Myers are the core four to target. Gamers can roll out a full stack by adding Eric Hosmer. For differentiation, Jake Cronenworth and Jurickson Profar both have some pop in their bat, and as the less-known options, they should have their popularity suppressed.

Final Thoughts for the Sunday, May 9th MLB DFS Slate

Posting this analysis early in the day often leaves some questions regarding the weather. Watch the radar for the games in Cleveland, Detroit, St Louis, Chicago and New York. Even if those games escape the moisture, it is going to be in the mid-40s to low-50s in several of those Midwest locations, which will impact fly balls. As always, 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.

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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