Home Run Derby - MLB DFS Community Contest: Friday, May 20th

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Happy Friday, Grinders! The home run totals are up with each article. A not-so-great pitching slate on Friday means we might see more than normal. With another busy sports weekend ahead, let’s enjoy a powerful Friday night and hunt for home runs. Let’s start with a quick scan of the May leaderboard.

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With 27 home runs on Tuesday, the leaderboard saw plenty of moving and shaking. Multiple players found three home runs — fueled by the scorching hot Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, and Mike Trout. I added a bit of highlighter to identify who is atop the board with only four slates left in May. Based on our recent track record, anything can happen with several players hitting multiple home runs over the last week.

Batter up!

Rules, Tiers, and Prizes

Here are the cliff notes from the introductory rules and guidelines set forth in our opening article. If you want a bit more clarification, here is the first article with a more developed explanation for the contest.

In short, pick three players in the comments for tonight’s DraftKings Main MLB slate. You may pick one player from each of the tiers below.

Luxury Box – $5,000 and above

Promenade – $3,500 – $4,900

Bleachers – Below $3,500

You will collect home runs for every home run your batters hit that night. Selections must be made prior to lock time in the comments section. At the end of each month, prizes will be award to the community members with the most home runs. At the end of the season, additional prizes will be awarded to those members who put together the best totals for the entire season (ending in August).

The following prizes will be awarded to players based on their home run total for the month (April, May, June, July, August)

First Place – One month of RotoGrinders MLB Premium
Second Place – RotoGrinders T-shirt
Third Place – One week of SAO Premium

The following prizes will be awarded to players based on their home run total for the entire baseball season (April – August)

First Place – One month of RotoGrinders Combo Premium
Second Place – RotoGrinders Swag Pack
Third Place – One month of SAO Premium

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments or send me a message on Twitter.

Friday, May 20th MLB DFS Slate Notes

We have twelve games tonight on the DraftKings main slate. Three games will be played in domes. Coors Field will be on the slate.

Weather seems to only be an early concern in New York and Colorado — ironically two of the more power-rich environments of the night. We need to let Kevin Roth do his thing and guide us through the rain.

Where is all the pitching? The highest-priced pitcher on the slate is Nestor Cortes. I am a Yankee fan, but… I mean… That tells us the quality of the arms on the slate. Tarik Skubal takes the bumps off coming off of his best start of the season but will see the Guardians. Robbie Ray seems to be returning to pre-Cy Young Robbie Ray form. He will face a right-handed heavy Red Sox lineup in Boston. Martin Perez? Tyler Wells? Michael Wacha? Daniel Lynch? Erick Fedde? Let’s get after it tonight.

How about some environments? I love when the Rays travel to Baltimore. Tyler Wells is not a threat and all of these dormant bats that normal play in a power-suppressive park are free to roam in the friendly confines of Camden Yards. Lefties must be considered.

Ranger Suarez is giving up more than a home run per inning this season and gets to do battle with the Dodgers tonight in Philadelphia. Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and any of the lefties could be in play if things get out of hand early.

Mike Trout

Those two words say enough but we might revisit that in a moment.

Friday, May 20th MLB Home Run Picks

Luxury Box – Mike Trout – OF – $5,700

So, Mike Trout. Paul Blackburn seems to be an effective pitcher. Fair enough. Does that matter, though?

Of course it doesn’t. Mike Trout leads the MLB in average batted-ball distance in 87 measured events. I am only stating this because I feel like you deserve more than just two words. In actuality, though, I don’t need to justify this pick.

Yet, if you go to our RotoGrinders Lineups page and filter for hitters above $5,000, you quickly realize that the options are a bit slim tonight. If weather becomes an issue in New York, the robust quantity of power bats might slip a bit. I think it’s best to just lock in the best and not worry about weather. If it worked the other night, why not again? Am I right?

Promenade – Trevor Story – 2B – $4,400

The price on Trevor Story hasn’t adjusted yet after a titanic performance at home against the Mariners. We waited a very long time for Trevor to start flashing the power we witnessed over the years in Coors Field. Perhaps, the cork is popped and the home runs will start flowing.

Robbie Ray consistently gave up fly balls and hard hits to righties last season even in an exceptional season. Story is a fly ball guy, through and through. Even in a small sample, Story is close to 60% fly balls against righty in a ballpark shaped perfectly for right-handed fly balls. I am a bit nervous that J.D. Martinez can take advantage of this in the same range but I can only pick one.

I already used my Story pun earlier in the year, so, I got nothing. A home run or two would suffice.

Bleacher Seats – Nate Lowe – 1B – $3,000

This range is pretty tough or I am struggling to find the diamond in the rough. Cristian Javier pitches at home against the Rangers this evening. I am not sure if that makes him a suitable DFS but I know that his fly ball tendencies make him a suitable target for power.

Nate Lowe hit two home runs earlier in the week on the bench of my fantasy team. I am so good. He sticks out to me as a left-handed hitter that hits the ball very hard even if they aren’t always in the air.

What do we really want in this range? Nobody is going to feel like a smash. Maybe we get lucky and Lowe runs into one.

Enjoy a great sports weekend filled with home runs, birdies, and playoff victories.

Thanks so very much for reading. Give me a follow on Twitter for sports betting banter, golf tidbits, and professional wrestling reactions. We will see you again on Tuesday for a recap, leaderboard, and home run calls.

Player Image Credit: Imagn

About the Author

joeycis
Joe Cistaro (joeycis)

A high school mathematics teacher from New Jersey, Joe Cistaro (aka joeycis) is a lifelong fantasy sports fan. As a member of the RotoGrinders community, Joe cut his teeth writing for the website through the blogging program. Previously engaging the community with articles such as Home Run Derby and Finding Paydirt, Joe now focuses his time on sports betting content for both the NFL and the PGA TOUR. Follow Joe on Twitter – @ JoeCistaro