Wednesday, May 19, has a two-game afternoon precursor to the 12-game main slate. There was another no-hitter last night, which brings the total to five nine-inning no-nos. Not to fear; there are pitchers to target tonight, but clearly the adjustments made to the baseball are a new variable. 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, Wednesday, May 19th
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Boston Red Sox at RHP Ross Stripling — 4.9 implied runs
While there is a wind blowing in from left field today in the 15 to 20 mph range, do not let that dissuade from looking for offense in this game being played at the Blue Jays spring training facility. Ross Stripling has reasonable strikeout ability, but his hard-hit and barrel rates have increased each of the last four seasons. Additionally, his pitch mix has remained relatively unchanged over that timeframe, which may be part of the reason batters are zeroing in on “their pitch,” particularly the righties. Across his last 358 same-handed matchups, Stripling is allowing a .233 ISO with a 1.83 HR/9.
The main focus today for Boston should be J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts, both of whom mash same-handed hurlers. Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers are also excellent in lefty/righty matchups, and it is not like Stripling shuts down opposite-handed batsmen. While this quartet is not coming at a discount, there are plenty of options on Yahoo with single-digit salaries that can facilitate the Red Sox stack. For some differentiation, look to Hunter Renfroe, who has light-tower power against fellow righties, along with Bobby Dalbec at the bottom of the order.
Afternoon Slate
San Diego Padres vs. RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez — 4.7 implied runs
There is a decent chance that Fernando Tatis Jr. will be returning from the health and safety protocol along with Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers. This would be a major boost in the Padres lineup for their afternoon outing against Chi Chi Gonzalez. With just four teams on the slate, gamers will be flocking to this matchup for good reason.
Gonzalez has below-average strikeouts and issues with walks. This is exacerbated by his mediocre groundball rate and his propensity to allow untimely extra-base hits. Additionally, these poor results are not a product of pitching his home games in Coors Field, as his home/road splits are very similar over the last two-plus seasons.
Look to the big bats from the Padres, particularly Manny Machado, Trent Grisham and Tatis. It looks like Tommy Pham may be working his way out of the early-season doldrums, and he is coming at a nice discount if he even remotely performs along his career norms.
Late Slate
Detroit Tigers vs. RHP Logan Gilbert — 3.7 implied runs
Yes, gamers can absolutely look to the top of the Mariners order against lefty Tarik Skubal, even though they suffered the ignominy of their second no-hitter in the last 14 days on Tuesday. However, a few of the Tigers batsmen are worth more of a look on tonight’s late slate with most gamers likely to shy away with their sub-four implied run total.
On the mound will be Logan Gilbert, who is one of the Mariners’ better pitching prospects. While he does have an excellent fastball and projects as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, he lacks experience, having just 50 innings at the Double-A level. Most of the notable projection systems have him with close to a strikeout per inning this season, but they also have him allowing between 1.50 and 1.65 home runs per nine innings.
The Tigers are not an offense to be feared, however, they are also incredibly cheap across the DFS sites. Look for power first with Jonathan Schoop, Nomar Mazara and even Miguel Cabrera. While Cabrera is a shell of his former self, he still is capable of producing extra base hits. There is no need to go here on the main slate, but this is a nice differentiation spot on the short late slate.
Final Thoughts for the Wednesday, May 19th MLB DFS Slate
Gamers will want to monitor the weather in the Midwest tonight, with potential weather risks in Minnesota, Kansas City and Chicago. 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.
