The week kicks off on this Monday, May 24, with a solid six-game main slate. There are several excellent pitchers taking the mound today, though there are still a couple to target with bats. 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 24th
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Detroit Tigers vs. LHP Sam Hentges — 4.5 implied runs
The Tigers are shaping up to be a decent contrarian stack even with just six games on the docket. Gamers have been trained over the last few seasons to discount their offense, as they tend to bring out the best in opposing pitchers. Today they have a matchup with rookie Sam Hentges, who replaced Logan Allen in the Cleveland rotation. Hentges is stretched out enough to see 80-ish pitches, but the results so far have been mixed at best. While he does have an above-average fastball, his secondary pitches leave a lot to be desired. In 15.1 innings of action across two starts and four relief outings, he has allowed five home runs on his way to a 6.46 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP. The 15 strikeouts do show his promise, but the nine walks are direct evidence that he is still honing his craft.
In a surprising twist, over his last 198 matchups against southpaws, 38-year-old Miguel Cabrera has tallied a .404 wOBA and a .206 ISO. Though he has only two extra-base hits in his last 13 games, he did have hits in 10 of those outings, including six multi-hit games. He also had a pair of home runs in one game, one of which was a grand slam. There is some opportunity cost with using Cabrera ($13) at first base with Jose Abreu and Matt Olson in nice spots, but that should keep his popularity in check.
Jonathan Schoop is a true discount dandy at just $10 on Yahoo, but Yahoo only allows one first baseman, so the choice will be between him and Cabrera for Detroit stacks. Switch-hitting Jeimer Candelario is an intriguing option at $17, and he can be included with rookie Eric Haase ($13) as the backstop, as this duo will likely be on either side of Cabrera in the batting order. In the event Haase is not in the lineup, turn to veteran Wilson Ramos ($9) to fulfill the catcher requirement. He has a solid history against lefties and still has some pop in his bat.
Late Slate
Chicago White Sox vs LHP Kwang-hyun Kim— 4.9 implied runs
With just over a quarter of the season in the books, everyone should be aware that rolling with the White Sox against lefties is definitely a positive situation. Kwang-hyun Kim will be making his 14th start in The Show tonight, and he has put together a solid season so far. In his MLB debut season last year, he had just a 5.5 K/9 rate across 39.1 innings. This year that has jumped to a 9.2 K/9 rate, but his pitch mix and velocity have remained the same over both seasons. The truth likely is somewhere in between, and most of the key projection systems have him settling in with a K/9 rate between 7.7 and 8.2.
Kim has done a nice job of limiting power, though the 286 batters faced is still a pretty small sample size. Chicago is loaded with lefty mashers, with Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, Yermin Mercedes, Yasmani Grandal and Andrew Vaughn all boasting ISO marks over .220. To be fair, Vaughn and Mercedes have just 77 career at-bats against southpaws in the big league, but Anderson, Abreu and Grandal all have long histories of sustained success. The White Sox will be a popular stack on all slates today, but gamers will want to follow the masses with this one.
Final Thoughts for the Monday, May 24th MLB DFS Slate
The weather is mostly clear on Monday, but keep an eye on the game in Minnesota. 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.
