Monday, May 31, looks to be leaving most of the wet weekend weather behind. There are a variety of slates today with the holiday, so there should be a little something for everyone. 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, Monday, May 31st
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Oakland Athletics vs. RHP Logan Gilbert — 5.0 implied runs
While the Mariners will be careful with the pitch count for Logan Gilbert, who is one of their better prospects, they are throwing him into the deep end of the pool. Prior to the pandemic-shortened season, Gilbert logged 50 innings at Double-A and then had one start this year for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate. This will be his fourth start in The majors, and he will likely be in for 70 to 80 pitches. He is holding his own with 11 strikeouts through 10.2 innings, but he is still getting knocked around, with a 7.59 ERA. The strikeouts are in line with most projection systems, but so too are the homeruns, with the key prognosticators giving him between 1.50 and 1.65 home runs per nine innings.
There is no shortage of power in the Athletics’ lineup, and gamers should start stacks with Matt Olson, who has a .279 ISO in his last 702 lefty/righty matchups. Mark Canha and Matt Chapman both have a .220 ISO in their last 600-plus plate appearances against same-handed hurlers. Seth Brow is a little spendy at $15 on Yahoo, but he is a promising talent who likely will be batting cleanup this afternoon. Finally, look to Mitch Moreland for differentiation, as he still can get it done with the platoon advantage. Gamers will have to choose between him and Olson at first base, and most will eschew Moreland even with his significant discount compared to Olson.
Early Slate
Minnesota Twins at RHP Jorge Lopez — 4.8 implied runs
It has been a pretty rough go for Jorge Lopez this season, and a meeting with the Twins is not going to make things any easier. While Lopez is not a complete gas can, he does pitch to contact in order to get groundballs and allow his defense to take care of things. The Orioles are a mediocre collection of fielders, and they are not always able to erase baserunners. With Max Kepler on the injured list, Minnesota will be limited with regards to batters swinging the stick from the left side of the plate. Switch-hitter Jorge Polanco will likely be leading off, which should all but guarantee him five plate appearances. Youngster Alex Kirilloff does not have much of a track record, but he will likely be batting third or cleanup.
Nelson Cruz has always hit well in Camden Yards both as a visitor and in his lone season with Baltimore. In 480 plate appearances across 114 games, he has a .284/.352/.500 triple slash line, which includes 49 extra-base hits. Josh Donaldson does not get enough credit for his success against same-handed hurlers, but he has a .252 ISO in his last 711 matchups. Finally, consider Miguel Sano, who is a wind machine with a 39.1% strikeout rate against righties, but he also makes them pay when he connects, with a .300 ISO over the last two-plus season.
Late Slate
Kansas City Royals vs. RHP Chad Kuhl — 5.0 implied runs
There may be scattered showers in Kansas City this evening, but it is unlikely that this game is at risk of a postponement. Chad Kuhl is on track to be activated from the injured list after missing a month with soreness in his right shoulder. In two rehabilitation outings with the Pirates Triple-A affiliate, he threw 42 pitches on May 19 and then 64 last Tuesday. Kuhl will likely be good for 65 to 70 pitches tonight, and he has a long history of getting knocked around by lefties with a .252 ISO over the last two-plus seasons.
Carlos Santana, Andrew Benintendi and Adalberto Mondesi are the trio to target, as they will be swinging the stick from the left side of the plate against Kuhl. Whit Merrifield is $5,100 on DraftKings, but he is a steal on Yahoo ($14) and FanDuel ($2,900). He leads the league with 15 stolen bases, which is a nice hidden upside. Jorge Soler is dinged up, but he and Hunter Dozier are cheap power options at the bottom of the lineup. The Pirates bullpen had a fair amount of usage this weekend, and the likely relievers coming in after Kuhl are a shaky group of righties, including Chris Stratton, Duane Underwood and Nick Mears.
Final Thoughts for the Monday, May 31st MLB DFS Slate
There are 14 new series starting today, which brings a fresh batch of matchups to start off the week. As always, be mindful 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.
