MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | May 6
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
In the preceding paragraph, the word “worst” is doing a lot of heavy lifting considering, that Skenes gave up a trio of taters to the best offense in the league, though those were the only runs scored by the Chicago Cubs.
The 22-year-old also tied a career-high with four walks, yet still battled through five innings against the Cubbies. In his previous start, he blanked the Dodgers in Los Angeles for 6.1 frames, with nine strikeouts.
St. Louis has been a little above league-average this season against right-handed hurlers, though it isn’t anything that Skenes shouldn’t be able to handle. This will be the fifth-time in his career that the budding superstar has faced the Redbirds and the second time for the season.
The other anchor arm for Tuesday’s tilts is LHP Chris Sale at home against Cincinnati. The Reds are getting a ballpark downgrade from their home venue, plus the batters in the heart of the order, Elly De La Cruz (30.1%, 269 PAs), Matt McLain (27.6%, 29 PAs) and Noelvi Marte (36.6%, 71 PAs) have been happy with their hacks over the last season-plus against southpaws.
Sale can make his own magic, boasting a 31.5% combined strikeout rate in the same timeframe. Plus the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner tabulated 10 strikeouts in Coors Field on Wednesday, ceding just two runs and five hits in seven innings of action.
The Southsiders are fourth in the league with a 10.6% walk rate against right-handed pitching, but they are the third-worst with run creation and have the second-lowest advanced power metrics. Lugo is coming off a career-season, with the 34-year-old making his first All-Star team, earning his first Golden Glove Award and finishing second in the American League Cy Young Award race. The salary may seem a touch high, particularly compared to Sale on DraftKings, but it is definitely valid when considering all the variables.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Primary Target: Athletics
Injuries to Logan Gilbert and George Kirby have forced the Mariners to turn to RHP Emerson Hancock as a regular in the rotation. Even though he was the sixth-overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the soon-to-be 26-year-old has not shown much promise. He has a mid-90s fastball, but weak secondary offerings that lead to inefficient innings and worst case, walks. Most season long projection systems (ZiPS, Steamer, The Bat) have him in the 6.4-to-6.6 strikeouts per nine innings range, with 1.3-to-1.4 home runs per nine. Those are all the ingredients needed for a potential disaster against a power-laden team like the A’s.
The only knocks against the A’s are inexplicably keeping Miguel Andujar in the heart of the order and an overall lack of baserunners. The team has the sixth-most home runs thus far and the fifth-most total base, though they rank 14th for runs scored with 4.36 per game. Andujar is truly the only real weak link in the lineup, with a .290 wOBA and .089 ISO in his last 334 plate appearances against same-handed hurlers.
Youngsters Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz have decent contact and will develop power in time, with Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, JJ Bleday and catcher Shea Langeliers already polished producers.
Main Slate Secondary Target: Kansas City Royals
Kansas City has a very specific trio to target against right-handed pitching, with superstar Bobby Witt Jr., veteran Salvador Perez and slugger Vinnie Pasquantino. Typically the fourth player for stacks would be Michael Massey, though he has been in a season long slump against opposite-handed hurlers. In a twist, Maikel Garcia has been en fuego against fellow righties, with a wicked .380 wOBA and .194 ISO, compared to his anemic results last year with a .270 wOBA and a .086 ISO, he is like an entirely different player.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
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Gonsolin has never really had sustained success, since debuting in 2019 as a top prospect for the Dodgers. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, missing all 2024, aside from a couple rehabilitation appearances in the minors. This year he hurt his back lifting weights at spring training, keeping him out of action for more than a month to start the season. He will be celebrating his 31st birthday next week and the projected Miami lineup has a scant 18.1% strikeout rate against right-handed hurlers over the last season and change. Enjoy!
