MLB Daily Plays: Thur. May 22nd
MLB has given us one of the best split schedules of the year. We have a five game slate in the morning with some real high over/unders, as well as a eight game slate at night. There are plenty of options across the games to choose from, which should make for a great Thursday of DFS.
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Pitcher
Early Plays
Yu Darvish – Darvish continues to be one of the most dominant pitchers in the league and has shown us that it doesn’t matter what team he takes the hill against. Today, he has a tough matchup against the Tigers, but has rolled through Toronto, Boston and the Angels in his last 3 games. Even though he did not get the win against the Blue Jays he went 2-1 with 5 total runs and a ridiculous 32 strikeouts in those 3 games. A guy with a 2.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.77 K/9 is always going to be a top option regardless of opponent. In the 78 at bats these tigers have seen against Yu, they are hitting only .218 against him. If you have the salary, pay for him today.
Sonny Gray – If you cannot pay up for Yu, Gray makes a nice pivot play against the Rays. He is a small favorite this morning and has been pitching very well on the season. He has yet to have a real terrible performance as he has given up 3 or less earned runs in all of his 9 starts this season, while keeping a respectable 7.8 K/9.
Late Plays
Zack Greinke – Greinke is my top option for the late slate of games and for good reason. He currently holds a 2.01 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP on the season. He will be taking his 10.29 K/9 into a pitcher friendly park and team in the New York Mets. Greinke is a nice favorite in a game with a 6’ over/under. Fire away as the safest cash game play of the night.
Other Pitchers I like are Lance Lynn Eric Stults
CATCHERS
Early Plays
Buster Posey – This one is pretty simple for the morning slate. Posey against a LH pitcher at Coors makes for a great option. De La Rosa has been pitching well at Coors in his 3 starts, but Posey hit LH pitching for .357 and a 1.033 OPS over the last 3 years. If he is playing, start him with confidence. If not, Hector Sanchez has been a nice cheap option in Coors the last two days.
Others I like Wilin Rosario
Late Plays
Yadier Molina – Molina comes into this game hitting .335 with an overall OPS of .826. He is one of the most consistent hitting catchers every day and has a great matchup against the struggling Wade Miley. Miley has allowed 10 home runs already on the season and 3 or more earned runs in 7 of his 10 starts this season.
Others I like Yan Gomes
FIRST BASE
Early Plays
David Ortiz – Buehrle continues to pitch well this season, but his one hiccup did come against these Boston Red Sox. In late April, the Sox put up 6 earned runs against Buehrle including an Ortiz bomb. For his career against Buehrle, Ortiz is 25/76 with 5 home runs and continues to be one of the hottest hitters this month.
Edwin Encarnacion – I will be using a lot of both of these guys. E squared is on a 5 bomb in the last 22 at bats heater. He has a tougher matchup than Ortiz, but I think both are the top options for the morning slate.
Late Plays
Chris Davis – This one is easy for the late slate. Davis is in a game with a 9 over/under and gets a matchup rookie pitcher Travis Banwart (likely starter this morning as I am writing this). Davis bombs in bunches, and a hot streak is looking to be on the horizon here. Crush makes a great cash and GPP play today as I think he should take advantage of this rookie pitcher and take him deep tonight.
Others I like Freddie Freeman Justin Smoak
SECOND BASE
Early Plays
Dustin Pedroia – Pedroia is always a very consistent option to play at 2nd base on any day. He has reached base successfully in his last 10 games and, like Papi, has great numbers against Buerhle (14/36). Pedroia has always mashed LH pitching as he was .354 against them last season. I expect a big day out of this Red Sox lineup.
Others I like Elvis Andrus
Late Play
Robinson Cano – I think it is time to start jumping on the Cano bandwagon if you have not yet recently done so. Cano has 11 hits in his last 5 games including his 2nd home run of the season yesterday. I am hoping that this may begin a trend going forward and he starts to go yard more consistently. He is hitting RH pitching for .321 so far this year and is my top option at 2nd for the late slate.
SHORTSTOP
Early Play
Troy Tulowitzki is, at this point, always the top option at the position. Use him if you can fit him into your lineups, but there are other plays at the position you may be forced to use due to salary.
Jimmy Rollins – This Philly team may be getting Alvarez at the right time as he has struggled recently giving up 9 earned runs in his last 2 games. Rollins on the other end has 6 hits in his last 4 games including 2 home runs. If you are not paying up for Tulo, Rollins makes a great pivot play today.
Late Plays
Hanley Ramirez – Jon Niese has pitched well this year, but is still allowing RH batters to hit .274 against him on the season. Hanley has struggled a bit so far this year, for his standards, but last year he mashed LH pitching for a 1.142 OPS when he was healthy. Plug him in for a depressed salary tonight as he should start to heat up soon.
Others I like Asdrubal Cabrera
THIRD BASE
Early Plays
Pablo Sandoval – Sandoval’s price is very low at many sites due to his poor April. He is beginning to really heat up in May as he is hitting .286 during the month and gets a great matchup in Coors. He bombed last night and will hopefully bring some momentum into this day game.
Others I Like Adrian Beltre
Late Plays
Pedro Alvarez – Alvarez will get the rookie Blake Treinen today who has struggled mightily versus lefty bats in his first few innings this year. It is a small sample, but LH batters are hitting .455 against him. Alvarez is always a great boom or bust type player and recommend him of course for GPPs only.
Others I like Carlos Santana
OUTFIELDERS
Early Plays
Hunter Pence – Even though this game has some decent pitching, the total is still set at 9’ runs due to the Coors factor. De La Rosa has given up 2 home runs in 19 at bats to Pence, and Pence is coming off a Coors Dong last night. Pence has crushed LH pitching so far this season for a .997 OPS and .379 AVG. I like both the lefty Rockies outfielders today as well, but due to price and matchup, Pence gets a bit of a boost over those two.
Others I like Angel Pagan Alex Rios Giancarlo Stanton Carlos Gonzalez Charlie Blackmon Shane Victorino
Late Plays
Andrew McCutchen- McCutchen gets to face off against the rookie RH pitcher tonight and should look to continue his consistent season. Cutch is hitting over .300 against RH pitching this season and is raking at home for over a 1.076 OPS. Play him with confidence tonight.
Other outfielders like are Denard Span Jason Heyward Adam Eaton Nick Markakis Matt Holliday Allen Craig Nelson Cruz