Million Dollar Musings: Friday, May 12
CheeseIsGood, a two-time winner of a $1,000,000 first-place prize in DFS, is here to give you his musings on the upcoming MLB DFS slate. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Cheese has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his MLB DFS picks.
Happy Friday! We have ourselves a tricky slate tonight, with a huge batch of strong options on both the pitching and hitting sides. We have elite aces like Spencer Strider and Gerrit Cole priced up on the mound, while we have the Phillies visiting Coors Field leading the way on the hitting side. Past those couple of obvious things, I can make a case for a dozen or more different pitchers and offenses. I will narrow it down as best as I can, but I will tell you right away that this is a slate where I do not end up with any conviction on the hitting side once we get past the Phillies.
Let’s jump on into this big ole slate and see what MLD DFS picks we can find hiding behind the obvious.
Friday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings
THE TWO ACES
Gerrit Cole vs. Rays
Spencer Strider at Blue Jays
Gerrit Cole finally had a couple of home runs show up in his last start, and they will certainly not be the last ones he sees this season. As good as Cole has been for a long time, I’m just not overly ecstatic about seeing a 28.6% K rate and 7.9% walk rate. Those are still excellent numbers, but combined with a drop to his lowest swinging strike rate in seven years, I’m not confident that this is a can’t-miss shutdown ace with extreme upside in every start. He is still going to get the innings, and he will have those days when everything works and he gets back to that double-digit K level. But on a start-to-start basis, I see him more as a great, safe option with upside, more than some must-play. I think what I’m trying to say here is that he’s no Spencer Strider.
Strider’s worst start this season came with eight strikeouts and four runs allowed in five innings. Seriously, that’s his worst. Every other start has been 9+ strikeouts, with his 42.4% K rate blowing the rest of this slate, and the league, out of the water. But, but, what about the matchup? Matchup? Whoop-dee-doo! Strider has struck out 43% of righties in his career, and a lot of those righties have been good. Of course, it’s possible that the Blue Jays get to him and give him a ‘bad’ start—which would probably still come with 8 strikeouts—but if I’m spending for an ace tonight, I’ll take Strider ahead of Cole.
