Sunday, May 1, wraps up the weekend with a featured slate starting at 1:05 p.m. ET on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo MLB DFS & Fantasy Baseball home page for all the fantasy baseball content you need for any given slate.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Sunday, May 1
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Tampa Bay Rays vs. RHP Josh Winder — 4.7 implied runs
Today the Rays will be squaring off against 25-year-old Josh Winder. The right-hander spent three years pitching for VMI before being selected in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Like many pitchers arriving in The Show this season, Winder saw his 2020 development curtailed by the pandemic. Last year was his first action in the high minors, with 54.1 innings at Double-A and another 17.1 at Triple-A. Winder projects as a spot starter or multi-inning reliever, but he is getting a chance to stick in the rotation. The main challenge will be to see how well his strikeout stuff holds up the second time through the order.
Brandon Lowe ($15), Wander Franco ($19) and Ji-Man Choi ($17) are the trio to target at the top of the order. Each has excellent power with the platoon advantage, and that extra-base hit potential is coming in at a discount on Sunday. For full stacks, Josh Lowe ($13) or Kevin Kiermaier ($12) are options depending on where they land in the batting order.
Afternoon Slate: New York Yankees at LHP Daniel Lynch — 4.1 implied runs
The Yankees were relatively quiet Saturday night with a lonely double as their only extra-base hit in a 3-0 victory against the Royals. That is a far cry from Friday when they plated a dozen runners with four home runs and a pair of doubles. In his last 322 lefty-righty matchups, southpaw Daniel Lynch has ceded a .197 ISO and a 9.3% walk rate while inducing strikes just 18.9% of the time.
Since the beginning of last season, the projected lineup for New York has a .390 wOBA, .217 ISO and a minimal 10.7% strikeout rate. Focusing on the power first, Aaron Judge (.339 ISO), Giancarlo Stanton (.224), Josh Donaldson (.291) and Aaron Hicks (.260) will all be bringing the lumber from the right side of the plate. Tim Locastro (.226) and Kyle Higashioka (.243) can be used for discounted differentiation at the bottom of the order. Finally, Anthony Rizzo (.217) has a long history of success in same-handed matchups, and we know that gamers still avoid lefty-lefty matchups.
Late Slate: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez — 4.8 implied runs
This is not going to be a fun afternoon for lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. The 29-year-old veteran of seven MLB campaigns is still an above-average pitcher, but he will be running the gauntlet of terror today in the form of the Dodgers world-class offense. Rodriguez still has above-average strikeout potential, but his tendency to challenge hitters does lead to an elevated home run rate. For differentiation this afternoon, looking to the bottom third of the Los Angeles order may provide a little bit of differentiation, with Chris Taylor and Will Smith being the primary target. Otherwise, stick with the core four at the top of the order, with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Freddie Freeman being the most popular plays. Leaving one of that quartet out of stacks and replacing them with Max Muncy, who is outstanding in same-handed matchups, would be another way to be a little different.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Corbin Burnes vs. Chicago Cubs — 2.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $59 | FanDuel $10,700 | DraftKings $10,200
It should not take much to sell you on the reigning National League Cy Young winner against a middling Cubs offense. Across his last 746 batters faced, Corbin Burnes has an eye-popping 35.8% strikeout rate. Chicago’s projected lineup has a 28.1% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers. Enjoy!
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. Seattle Mariners — 3.6 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $48 | FanDuel $9,500 | DraftKings $8,800
While Seattle has been somewhat surprising on offense this season, they are slowing down with two or fewer runs in three of their last four. They have yet to face many top-caliber starters, so do not be caught off guard when their inevitable slump begins. Sandy Alcantara limits walks and power with an elite 52.1% ground ball rate while also striking out nearly one in four opposing hitters. While the swinging strike rate is not overly impressive at 12.9%, the 26-year-old starts off almost two of every three batters faced with an 0-1 count.
Late Slate – MLB DFS Picks Target: RHP Walker Buehler vs. Detroit Tigers — 2.9 implied runs
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $51 | FanDuel $9,600 | DraftKings $8,800
Last night all eyes were on Clayton Kershaw, who became the franchise leader for strikeouts. Once the three-time Cy Young Award winner left the game, Detroit broke loose with a three-run seventh inning and tacked on one more insurance run in the eighth on their way to a 5-1 victory. Most of the offense was the result of timely hit sequencing, as four of the seven runners who reached base after Kershaw hit the showers ended up crossing the plate.
This afternoon the Tigers will be facing a hard-throwing righty after dealing with a future Hall of Fame southpaw. That is a tough dichotomy and should help Walker Buehler cruise through the lineup the first time. Buehler does a good job of limiting power and strikes out nearly a quarter of opposing batsmen. Though projecting quality starts and victories is folly, Buehler should be in the mix for both today, as he has a 100-pitch ceiling.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & Weather Notes for the Sunday, May 1 Fantasy Baseball Slate
Baltimore carries some above-average risk of a shortened game, depending on when the precipitation arrives this afternoon. The games in New York and Pittsburgh may see a delay, though the risk of postponement is minimal. Considering the Mets and Phillies are the featured Sunday Night Baseball matchup, as long as it is not too wet, they will do everything they can to complete this game.
