Welcome to the MLB DFS Slate Breakdown! In this article, I’ll offer my favorite cash and GPP plays to go along with the top stacks on our slate. You can find all of our Core Plays throughout MLB Premium Package, or you can click here to join our free Discord!

 

Vegas Overview – Below is an excerpt from our sister site, Bet Karma. It has daily player props, live trends (below), and much more! Access all odds, trends, and line movement for all sports here: BetKarma Live MLB Trends

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NOTE: Tables are embedded in the breakdown and update LIVE. The various tables will update with starting lineups confirmation, when projections are edited in the projections portal(s), and every hour. If a table is showing an error message or is blank, please wait a moment and refresh the page and it should re-populate correctly. Thanks!

Pitching

MLB DK Pitcher Table

Ian Anderson

This could be one of very few slates on the season where it makes sense to save salary at both pitcher slots. Anderson owns a 3.61 ERA with a 3.94 xFIP and a 23% strikeout rate through 21 starts. He’s seen mixed results this season, but he’s coming off of a 25.1 DK point performance against the Miami Marlins. Anderson gets a plus matchup against the Colorado Rockies, who’ve recorded a .321 team wOBA and a 22.8% strikeout rate over the last 14 days. The Rockies feature one of the worst road offenses in the MLB, and Anderson is a -180 favorite in a game set at 8.5 runs. He’s a solid option in all leagues on this weaker slate.

Reynaldo Lopez

Lopez continues to throw well for the Chicago White Sox, recording a 2.05 ERA with a 3.87 xFIP and a 24.5% strikeout rate through 16 games (6 starts). He’s been struggling a bit in recent games, but you generally don’t get pitchers this cheap with 30 DK point upside. Lopez also gets an elite matchup against the Los Angeles Angels, who own a .282 team wOBA and a 25.1% strikeout rate over the last 14 days. He’s a -195 favorite in a game set at 8.5 runs, and he’s another outstanding salary relief option at pitcher on this slate.

Other GPP Targets: Kevin Gausman, Tyler Mahle

 

Top DraftKings Batters

MLB Top Batters

Top FanDuel Batters

FD MLB Top Batters

 

Batters

C

Yan Gomes

Gomes’ seen mixed results over his last 10 games, posting a .194 average with a .323 slugging percentage and a .587 OPS. He owns 2 extra-base hits (1 home run) and 4 RBIs over that span. Gomes has looked outstanding against left-handed pitching, though, and he gets a great matchup against Daniel Lynch today. He’s expected to hit fifth in the Oakland A’s lineup, and Gomes comes with tremendous upside in this matchup.

1B

Jose Abreu

Abreu’s had plenty of ups and downs in recent games, although it’s impossible to overlook his price tag today. Over his last 10 contests, he’s recorded a .229 average with a .400 slugging percentage and a .800 OPS. He boasts 4 extra-base hits (1 home run) and 5 RBIs in those games. Abreu is expected to get a matchup against Alex Cobb, who should be on a pitch count after returning from injury. The Chicago first baseman is hitting in the heart of their lineup, and he should be priced closer to $5k on this slate.

2B

Josh Harrison

Harrison isn’t going to come cheap, but he makes an outstanding option on this slate. He’s been struggling a bit, hitting for a .238 average with 2 extra-base hits and 8 RBIs over his last 10 games. He boasts more speed and power than he’s flashed recently, and Harrison can use that in a great matchup against Daniel Lynch today. He’s leading off for the Oakland A’s, who projects as one of the best offenses on this slate, and he can be used in all leagues.

3B

Yoan Moncada

Moncada continues to be underpriced on a daily basis. He’s hitting for a .324 average with a .514 slugging percentage and a .958 OPS over his last 10 games. Over that span, he posted 5 extra-base hits (1 home run) and 2 RBIs. Moncada gets a solid matchup against Alex Cobb and the Los Angeles Angels bullpen today. He’s expected to hit fifth in the Chicago White Sox lineup, and he can be used in all leagues because of his price tag.

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SS

Nicky Lopez

It’s amazing that Lopez continues to see such a cheap price tag on a nightly basis. He’s recorded a .422 average with a .556 slugging percentage and a 1.002 OPS over his last 10 games. He boasts 4 extra-base hits (1 home run), 5 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases over that span. Lopez gets a great matchup against Paul Blackburn, and he’s far too cheap tonight. He boasts tremendous speed, and his recent power surge adds to his overall upside. Lopez can be used in all leagues on this slate.

OF

Oakland A’s

The A’s have a plethora of outfield options projecting to start for them today. With that being said, there’s a clear hierarchy. Starling Marte is the best option, even for his price tag, followed by Mark Canha, who’s also extremely expensive on this slate. If you’re looking for a bit more salary relief, Chad Pinder and Khris Davis can be used for Oakland. Tony Kemp’s also been playing extremely well, and he’s the final option that can be considered, although I prefer him against right-handed pitching.

Max Schrock

Schrock is an extremely interesting option on this slate. He’s hitting for a .360 average with 1 extra-base hit, 1 RBI, and 1 stolen base over his last 10 games. He’s expected to get a plus matchup against Connor Overton tonight, and he’s found some success against right-handed pitching before. The most important part of this play is that Schrock is expected to hit second in the Cincinnati Reds lineup, and he’s the minimum price on this slate. If that’s the case, he’s an outstanding salary relief option in all leagues.

 

Stacks

“Team Batting Score” – A metric that quickly highlights overall team batting based on Runs Created (RC+) by team and comparing it to the average and standard deviation of all other MLB Teams

“Opp. Pitcher SP Score” – A weighted metric that evaluates today’s starting pitchers based on xFIP and Games Started (currently using partial end of 2020 data blended with the 2021 season)

“Opp. BP Score” – Similar to SP Score but weights the xFIP for the team’s bullpen

Team Batting vs. Opp. Pitch

DraftKings Team Stacks

DK MLB Stacks

FanDuel Team Stacks

FD MLB Stacks

“T2” (and T3/T4/T5) represents the Top 2 projected hitters for the team on the left (not necessarily the top 2 hitters in the batting order)

Stacking is an extremely important element to MLB DFS. In MLB, all of your players are correlated to each other. Outside of solo home runs, they need each other to succeed. If you look at the top of all of the big GPPs every night you will see stacks dominating the leaderboard.

When using our stacks chart, we want to identify teams that are projecting well but the ownership does not reflect their chance of success.

We only have a five-game slate today. Below are my three favorite stacks of the slate.

DraftKings 5-Man Stack Ideas

OAK – Harrison/Marte/Olson/Chapman/Canha

CHW – Anderson/Robert/Abreu/Jimenez/Moncada

CIN – India/Schrock/Castellanos/Votto/Moustakas

DraftKings 3-Man Stack Ideas

OAK – Harrison/Marte/Chapman

CHW – Anderson/Robert/Abreu

CIN – Castellanos/Votto/Moustakas

 

Written by Justin Bales (Follow @BalesSJustin on Twitter)