Time to start the week off strong with some winning MLB DFS Lineups! There is a 7-game main slate kicking off today at 7:20 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. After yesterday’s showcase of ace pitchers, we are back to a less stacked set of pitchers to choose from today. However, there are still a few pitchers you could probably consider aces with Luis Castillo, Charlie Morton, Corbin Burnes, and Cristian Javier. We have some big-name matchups happening today, with Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Atlanta Braves, as well as Rafael Devers with the Boston Red Sox facing Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout with the Los Angeles Angels. We have some great players to target today when building your DFS lineups so we can have a good Monday and make some cash! So let’s dive into today’s MLB DFS Playbook and be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS rostership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

MLB DFS Playbook: May 22

MLB Weather Updates

The summer weather is starting to take over! The second straight day of what looks like no threats of rain as well as no wind above 10 MPH. 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

A few of the top pitchers are strong candidates for building your lineup around today. I would avoid Charlie Morton at the price and having to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, but all of Cristian Javier, Luis Castillo, and Corbin Burnes are worth paying for on this slate. My recommendation would be to pick one of those three, with my favorite being Luis Castillo facing the Oakland Athletics, and then take one of my favorite cheaper options I have written up below of Bailey Ober and Brady Singer, or you could save your cash for hitters and play both of my favorite starters for the day. Coors is on this slate today, but considering it is the Miami Marlins who don’t have a very exciting offense facing the Colorado Rockies, I think there are good options outside of Coors to target if you don’t feel like going after the Rockies or Marlins. My favorite offenses to target today outside of those two are the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and the Atlanta Braves. I would also like to note my unique inclusion of two Atlanta Braves stacks. There is one incredibly expensive 4-man stack at the top of their lineup as well as a more affordable 2-man stack farther down the lineup. This is just showing two of the many iterations of an Atlanta stack you could do today, so feel free to mix and match with how it fits for you. 

 

 

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options for Strikeouts

Luis Castillo vs Oakland Athletics

Cristian Javier vs Milwaukee Brewers

Charlie Morton vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Edward Cabrera vs Colorado Rockies

Best Odds for a Win

Luis Castillo vs Oakland Athletics

Bailey Ober vs San Francisco Giants

Charlie Morton vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Edward Cabrera vs Colorado Rockies

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Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups

Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners

Luis Castillo was my preseason pick for the AL Cy Young, and I am still feeling pretty good about that despite the slight hiccup against the Boston Red Sox in his last outing. He has still been looking great and his last 5 outings have been the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. After facing those 5 offenses all in a row, the Oakland Athletics are going to be a welcome matchup today for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Castillo can get to the double-digit strikeout threshold for the first time this season and is easily my favorite pitcher taking the mound today. 

Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins

Bailey Ober has been awesome this year for the Twins. He holds a 1.78 ERA along with a 0.96 WHIP. He just managed 6 innings of 1 run ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers with 6 strikeouts. He now has 6 strikeouts in each of his last 4 starts, which isn’t very high, but at least has been consistent with about a strikeout an inning to go along with his great command. He now gets to face the San Francisco Giants, who have the 5th highest K% against right-handed pitching at 24.8%, so hopefully, he can break through that 6-strikeout mark today.  

Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals

Brady Singer has been less than awesome this year for the Royals. He did just toss back-to-back quality starts against the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres, so hopefully, this is the start of him turning things around. He gets to face the Detroit Tigers today, which should be a great chance for him to build off his last two starts. Even in his last two starts, the strikeouts have still been missing, which are really needed for him to excel in DFS, but he has shown quality strikeout stuff before. Hopefully, by building confidence and getting to face the Tigers today, he can both get another quality start and begin to add some more strikeouts. 

 

 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Miami Marlins vs Chase Anderson

Colorado Rockies vs Edward Cabrera

Atlanta Braves vs Gavin Stone

Los Angeles Angels vs Tanner Houck

Minnesota Twins vs John Brebbia/Sean Manaea

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Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups

Alex Kirilloff, 1B Minnesota Twins

The talent has always been there for Kirilloff, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. With some health finally, he has been hitting the ball great for Minnesota this month. Since his season debut on May 6th, he has slashed .341/.442/.614 batting near the top of the Twins lineup. John Brebbia is just the opener for the Giants, and then it will be switching to Sean Manaea, who will be a lefty-lefty matchup for Kirilloff but he has done well against lefties in his career and Manaea has not been good enough this season to shy me away from Kirilloff in this matchup. 

Eugenio Suarez, 3B Seattle Mariners

Eugenio Suarez hasn’t necessarily been tearing the cover off the ball this year, but don’t forget Suarez has the 5th most home runs in the majors over the last 5 years. He has been heating up a bit over their last two series, slashing .273/.370/.545 with two home runs. The Mariners get to face Kyle Muller today, who has been extremely hittable, holding a 1.95 WHIP and a 7.71 WHIP. Seattle should score plenty of runs today and in this series, and given Suarez has an .854 OPS against lefties in his career, I am going to bet on him taking advantage of this matchup. 

Carlos Correa, SS Minnesota Twins

Carlos Correa has been off to a painfully slow start this season, but I don’t think the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets should be taking a victory lap for not signing the super start his offseason quite yet. The worry was his health, not his talent, and he looks perfectly healthy with him still playing great defense and running great. Over the last 10 games, he has had 10 hits, including 4 doubles and a home run, giving him a 134 wRC+, not what you expect out of Correa, but not terrible. Despite the batting average at .206 for the year still, I am not worried about Correa at all and will happily take him at his price today in this good matchup for the Twins.   

Marcell Ozuna, OF Atlanta Braves

Gavin Stone, in his debut for the Dodgers, gave up 4 earned runs off 8 hits through 4 innings and only struck out one batter against the Philadelphia Phillies. While I do believe Gavin Stone is going to be a good pitcher, he has a long way to go. His fastball was extremely hittable, and the changeup just wasn’t there for him in his debut. The Atlanta Braves should take advantage of the rookie today. I think a heavy Atlanta Braves stack is very viable today, but Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, and Ozzie Albies are not cheap. While we are pretty far removed from his last great season, Marcell Ozuna is on an 8-game hitting streak with 2 home runs in that time and is a great option for getting a cheaper part of the Braves lineup, whether it is in a larger stack or just a one-off by himself. 

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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