Sunday, May 30, may lose a game or two with the continued dodgy weather, but there is still plenty of baseball. 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 30th
Yahoo Stack of the Day: New York Yankees at LHP Tarik Skubal — 5.0 implied runs
There is no doubt that Tarik Skubal is a talented young hurler with tremendous strikeout upside. In his last four starts spanning 21.0 innings, he has tallied an eye-popping 31 strikeouts. However, he has a long way to go honing his craft before he will be an ace, as evidenced by his 13 homeruns allowed, which is just one shy of the most in the league and he has pitched fewer innings than the two ahead of him on this list.
The play is to target Skubal with righties, as he has allowed an unsightly .370 wOBA and a .370 ISO with a 57.1% flyball rate across his 257 career opposite-handed matchups. Giancarlo Stanton is expected to be in the lineup today; he received the day off on Saturday after just one game back from his quad injury. It could have been for a maintenance day or a bruised ego, as he went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
D.J. LeMahieu and Aaron Judge are the top priorities. Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela both have above-average power, and they should be in the heart of the order. Finally, for some differentiation, look to Clint Frazier at the bottom of the lineup. Gary Sanchez stands out at $12 on Yahoo since he will knock out the catcher requirement, but he is just as likely to post no fantasy points because he is so dependent on home runs.
Afternoon Slate
Chicago White Sox vs. LHP Keegan Akin — 5.2 implied runs
This will be the fifth appearance of the season for Keegan Aikin, who is coming off a trio of three-inning relief appearances. Today he should be in the mix for 70 to 75 pitches. Aikin is not the prototypical fire-balling lefty, though if he can keep improving his breaking ball, he should be just fine as a back-of-the-rotation starter.
Now for the bad news, which is really good news for DFS gamers. The White Sox currently lead the league with a 133 wRC+ this season against lefties, 12 points better than the second-place Astros. Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu are the pillars for any stack today, along with Yoan Moncada. Yermin Mercedes and Andrew Vaughn have just 89 combined plate appearances against opposite-handed hurlers in The majors, but they are both knocking the cover off the ball. Fortunately, there will be no precipitation challenges in this game. The gift that keeps on giving is the Baltimore bullpen, which will be front and center once Akin leaves the game. They are among the worst in the league by most metrics, which is the perfect catalyst for some crooked numbers this afternoon.
Late Slate
Seattle Mariners vs. LHP Hyeon-Jong Yang — 4.5 implied runs
While this is the inaugural MLB season for 33-year-old Hyeon-Jong Yang, he has been a regular in the KBO for the Kia Tigers since he was 19. With a fastball that hovers just below 90 mph most of the time and no nasty breaking pitches, it is a bit of a surprise that he made the transition to The majors. Projection systems are not particularly fond of him, with an aggregated 1.42 HR/9, 7.8 K/9 and 3.31 BB/9.
Most gamers will be flocking to the Cardinals and Diamondbacks game, which is approaching a 10.0 run total even with the Chase Field roof scheduled to be closed. The Mariners provide a nice pivot, and the top of their order is particularly well placed to take advantage of a crafty lefty this afternoon.
Mitch Haniger is a tremendous hitter who is hiding in plain sight with Seattle. He already has 14 homeruns, which is just two off the league lead and putting him on pace for a mid-30s total, which will crush his previous career high. Kyle Seager is outstanding in lefty/lefty matchups, posting a .240 ISO in his last 282 opportunities. Righties Kyle Lewis and Ty France are far from household names, but they are both above average against southpaws and employing them this afternoon is not going to break the bank. If Tom Murphy is behind the plate, his is a solid option that will fulfill catcher obligations on Yahoo and DraftKings. Finally, though rookie Jarred Kelenic is going through an adjustment period, he is considered a top-five prospect in all of baseball.
Final Thoughts for the Sunday, May 30th MLB DFS Slate
While there are fewer weather issues Sunday than the last two days, the games in Washington, Boston and New York are all at risk of postponement. The six teams involved in these matchups will all be on the move beginning new series tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how long the decision makers let the weather play out. 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.
