Welcome to our MLB DFS Building Blocks, DraftKings and FanDuel picks for 5/17/22! In this article, I’ll break down by top overall plays for today’s main slate. Last year was an extremely big year for the Karma team in MLB, and we are looking to continue that success in 2022. I will be providing Core Plays for every main slate (and day baseball) this season — you can gain access to that as well as our premium discord here. Let’s get to the plays…
Above is an example of the Core Plays given out to Subscribers on Friday May 13th
Pitcher
Tuesday profiles much like Monday in the SP section, we have a massive set of games, but a ton of lackluster options to choose from. Dylan Cease was supposed to start for the White Sox, but he was moved up to start Game 1 of their doubleheader. Lucas Giolito was projected to start tonight, but it actually looks like he will be starting tomorrow, and Chicago called up Davis Martin to take the mound in Game 2 tonight. That severely deteriorates an already bad pitching slate, and we are going to have to make some plays we don’t feel comfortable with.
On top of it just being a bad pitching slate, there’s just nobody with much strikeout upside. The few guys that do have K upside — Logan Gilbert and Nathan Eovaldi — are in the toughest match-ups on the slate. As of now, I don’t have two pitchers I feel confident in being in my Core Plays tonight. One guy that does stick out to me is JT Brubaker. Brubaker is one of the few guys on this slate with decent strikeout ability, and I like his match-up vs Cubs. There are a ton of strikeouts to be had in this Cubs lineup, and Brubaker is cheap enough to deliver a good performance even if he allows a few runs.
Overall, I’m usually much more set on SP when I write this article, but that’s not the case today. It’s a minefield at pitcher, and this is 100% where you’re going to win the slate. I will provide more updates in Discord throughout the day on my favorite pitchers.
Building Blocks
Aaron Judge
If you read this article, you know that Aaron Judge has won me more money than any other player in my DFS history and he is often featured as my top option. That is the case once again on Tuesday against Spenser Watkins. It’s another Coors Field slate, but we can’t ignore this match-up or the Yankees. He’s been one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the last two seasons sporting a 5.41 SIERA and just 13% strikeouts. He’s been abysmal against right-handed hitters this season allowing a .438 wOBA and .339 ISO. That is bad news against Aaron Judge, who has posted video game-like numbers even against righties in recent years. More importantly, Watkins throws a ton of fastballs, and Judge is one of the best fastball hitters in baseball. This is a top spot for Judge and the Yankees power bats on Tuesday.
JD Martinez
Martinez and the Red Sox also line up well tonight against Jose Urquidy. He has struggled to get out right-handed batters this season, which could be a problem against this Boston lineup. JDM has some of the best numbers vs righties in this lineup over the last few seasons, including in the power department. Urquidy throws mainly fastballs to righties — over 50% of the time — which is one of Martinez’s best pitches to hit. Over the last three seasons, he owns a .242 ISO and 55% hard-hit rate against the pitch. Boston features just a 4.5 run total tonight, so there’s a good chance we get Martinez low-owned on both sites despite slate-breaking upside.
Bold Call
Aaron Judge hits two homeruns tonight!
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
