Sunday, May 23, brings plenty of action with all 30 teams slated to take the field. There are aces as well as gas cans in search of a match, along with nice weather across the board. 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 23rd
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Washington Nationals vs. RHP Matt Harvey — 5.5 implied runs
Once more it will be a warm and humid day at Nationals Park. This gives a boost to hitters as the ball tends to stay in the air a little longer and go a little farther in these conditions. On the mound is Matt Harvey, who certainly seems like he is closer to a 42-year-old pitcher than a 32-year-old pitcher. Over his last two starts, Harvey lasted just six innings, recording 13 earned runs, 17 baserunners and just five strikeouts. Three games ago he had four innings without an earned run, but Boston plated four unearned runs, so things are even worse than the standard statistics indicate. Baltimore’s bullpen is one of the worst in the league, and with the continuous poor performance of the starters, they are called upon frequently.
Trea Turner and Juan Soto are always in play, but gamers can also look to the switch-hitting Josh Bell and lefty Kyle Schwarber, who are both shaking off the early-season doldrums and rounding into form. If looking for a full stack, then do not be shy about including Starlin Castro, who is on the downside of his career but still not an easy out. For differentiation, look to the bottom of the order with Victor Robles, who will be batting ninth since Washington has been slotting in their pitchers in the eight hole this season. Robles has yet to put it all together, though he does have a little pop in his bat and speed on the base paths for additional upside. The Yahoo salary algorithm has done a good job with the Nationals bats today, and this should help dissuade the masses from loading up on Washington.
Mid-Afternoon Slate
Houston Astros at RHP Michael Foltynewicz — 5.1 implied runs
While Michael Foltynewicz has managed to avoid homeruns in his last two starts, his 11 allowed this season are the second most in the league. This will be the second time in the last 10 days that he has faced Houston, which generally favors the hitters. Gamers can target batters from either side of the plate against Foltynewicz. Since the beginning of the 2019 season, he has allowed a .248 ISO to lefties with only a 17.6% strikeout rate. Same-handed hitters have produced a .213 ISO and a 43.8% hard-hit rate.
The usual suspects are in play, with Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez leading the way. Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa excel against same-handed hurlers, and Kyle Tucker can also be worked in for some discounted differentiation, particularly on FanDuel. Michael Brantley is one of the best-kept secrets in all of DFS, as gamers never seem to land on him and he just chugs along putting most balls in play, nickel and diming his way to solid fantasy production.
Late Slate
Oakland Athletics at RHP Dylan Bundy — 4.3 implied runs
Over his last two appearances, Dylan Bundy has been crushed by opposing batsmen. He was facing two of the best offenses in the league in the Red Sox and Dodgers, but 7.1 innings with 13 earned runs is just a disaster from any viewpoint. While his velocity and pitch mix are essentially the same as they have been all season, perhaps he is tipping his pitches — or just seeing a run of bad luck.
The A’s have plenty of power in their lineup, even though they are not loaded with household names. Matt Olson and Matt Chapman lead the way and will be popular. Gamers seemingly shy away from Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano, as they feel they are too expensive. However, both have produced ISOs over .220 in righty/righty matchups over the last two-plus seasons. Seth Brown is locked in and has home runs in each of his last two games. There is a good chance he will be in the top third of the order, as Oakland relies heavily on the platoon advantage. Sean Murphy is a solid catcher option, and veteran switch-hitter Jed Lowrie continues to be pesky.
Final Thoughts for the Sunday, May 23rd MLB DFS Slate
Once more there is excellent weather across the country, with the exception of potential roving showers in Kansas City. Focus on the games in Washington, Colorado, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto’s Florida spring training facility. 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.
