MLB DFS Slate Preview: Monday, May 29
Erik Wardenburg previews the Monday, May 29th slate, breaking down his favorite MLB DFS picks, the top stacks, and some optimizer values at DraftKings & FanDuel. Sign up for MLB Premium to build DFS lineups like a pro!
It’s an early Memorial Day main slate with six games starting at 1:05PM EST. We have a nice mix of strong, average, and terrible SPs going, with Eovaldi looking like the ace of the slate and Kauffmann the joker to stack against.
Lets get to some news, notes, and MLB DFS picks so you can get those lineups in early and enjoy the holiday!
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel & DraftKings
This daily article highlights some of RG’s most helpful MLB DFS tools, including our industry-leading MLB DFS projections and MLB DFS optimizer, with some picks and analysis along the way. I will focus on the main slate of the day, but you can still find plenty of other tools, content, and analysis on RG for other slates.
MLB DFS Weather Check
Before we look at the projected lineups and MLB DFS picks for the day, it’s crucial to understand how the weather will impact the slate. Then we can better understand if we want to target certain games with ideal hitting conditions, for example, and possibly avoid games at risk of delay or postponement. Two tools to use are the MLB Weather Report and MLB WeatherEdge, which are both managed by RG’s Chief Meteorologist, Kevin Roth. You should also be following Roth on Twitter for his important weather news and updates.
- CLE/BAL is our only rain concern today, as it has a YELLOW/ORANGE rating with a pretty good chance of a delay. Roth is confident this game will get played eventually, with the main question being if it’s a late start or they just play and hope to avoid any heavy showers.
- TEX/DET & KC/STL are going to be very hot with temps in the mid 80s. TB/CHC will be in the mid 70s with 10mph wind blowing in.
- COL/ARI & MIN/HOU are today’s dome games.
MLB Projected Lineups – Analysis & Top Stacks
There are ways to get edges in MLB DFS, such as stacking a lineup or targeting guys higher in the order (since they are more likely to see an extra at-bat). We should always look for value bats that arise each slate. They allow us to fit those extra one or two players into our lineup who are likelier to hit home runs and get us those ceiling games we need to win tournaments.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at MLB Starting Lineups to see what the likely batting orders are for this slate, which teams I’m looking to stack, and any other interesting notes. Going forward, the projected lineups will usually be pretty consistent daily, with the main changes being based on the opposing pitcher being a righty or lefty. Also, certain players are more likely than others to get a day off if playing a day game after a night game.
- Austin Hays is up to the 2-hole today for Baltimore, as Rutschman is getting a day off with McCann catching. Bell is getting a day off for the Guardians, so Ramirez will DH with Naylor at 1B.
- With Duran on the IL for TEX, Bubba Thompson will get his first start in a long time against the lefty Boyd.
- Max Kepler is back from the IL, with Wallner returning to AAA. Royce Lewis will make his season debut after being activated from the 60-day IL, playing 3B and hitting fifth today. Buxton will get a day off so Kirilloff will handle DH.
- The Cubs have dropped Dansby Swanson all the way down to 5th today and moved Mastrobuoni up to leadoff. Morel is getting a day off as Edwin Rios is in there at DH.
- Marte is getting a day off for ARI, so Rivera will get a rare start against a righty.
- Blackmon is going on the bereavement list for COL, so Profar will hit leadoff, Grichuk will move to RF, and Doyle is back in the lineup at CF after missing a few games.
- Arizona is my top stack today, as they get a home matchup with Kauffmann, who has 9 ER, 13 hits, 5 walks, and just 6 strikeouts over his first two career starts. TEX, STL, and MIN are other favorite stacks today.
Make sure to follow the RG MLB Twitter feed for confirmed lineups, as well as our DFS Alerts page for important news and analysis.
MLB DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Optimizer Picks
With a good feel for the projected lineups, weather, and strong stacks to consider, let’s check out the RotoGrinders MLB DFS optimizer, LineupHQ. With this tool, you can create up to 300 MLB DFS lineups in seconds, all of which will adhere to the custom settings you input. For insight into how one of the best MLB DFS players uses LineupHQ, read this article and watch the embedded videos from the GOAT himself, CheeseIsGood.
If we click on the “P/$” column header in the LineupHQ grid, it will rank all of the available players from highest to lowest based on their expected fantasy points per dollar of salary on the specific DFS site you have selected — this is one of the best starting points for finding value on every slate. Let’s do that now and see what stands out on FanDuel and DraftKings.
- Nathan Eovaldi has two complete games over his last five starts, along with two starts of 8+ IP in that stretch. He also has 5+ strikeouts and 2 or fewer walks allowed in every start this year, so against Detroit today, he is my SP1 of the slate. Sonny Gray gets a tougher matchup with Houston, although he did have his best start of the year against them in April with 13 strikeouts, so he’s definitely worthy of GPP exposure. Allen and Wells are a nice hedge facing each other, along with Bradley and Stroman facing off in Wrigley. France, Wainwright, and Nelson are cheaper SPs with some upside in GPPs.
- With a 5.5 team total, I’m loading up on Arizona bats in cash games. Corbin Carroll and Pavin Smith are my priorities hitting 3rd and 1st, while Josh Rojas and Emmanuel Rivera are solid value options.
- The Rockies only have a 4 run total, but they still offer some great value against Nelson, who did allow 6 ER against them a month ago (in Coors). Ryan McMahon ($2,600) is a slam dunk cash game bat for me today at either 2B or 3B, as his price dropped $500 overnight after hitting an HR in his third straight game. I also like Bryant ($2,700), Diaz ($2,800), and Profar ($2,900) for more COL value.
- STL has the highest projected total of the slate at almost six runs, so if you can fit a couple of their bats in your main build, I would try to do it. Contreras and Donovan are the best value options under $3k, while Nootbaar and Arenado are strong targets for $3.4k. If you have the salary to spend up, Goldschmidt or Gorman are huge upside plays but will cost you almost $4k each.
- Other value bats I like today include Royce Lewis ($2,000), Austin Hays ($2,800), Ramon Urias ($2,700), Nick Pratto ($2,900), MJ Melendez ($2,800), Brandon Lowe ($2,900), Ian Happ ($2,900), Edouard Julien ($2,500), and Carlos Correa ($2,900).
- Eovaldi is still the SP1 on DK, while cash game SP2 could go a few different ways. Gray is expensive but does bring a high floor/ceiling combo even against Houston, and Wells is a bit cheaper with just as much upside. If you want to go super cheap and stack more bats, then France or Wainwright would be my targets.
- Carroll ($5,100) and Smith ($3,000) remain my top bats of the slate, while Rivera ($2,900) and Rojas ($4,000) are other solid value options from Arizona.
- McMahon ($4,600) remains a priority for me at that price, while Profar ($4,100) and Grichuk ($4,200) are solid OF options. Castro ($2,700) is a decent 2B/OF option for super cheap too.
- Austin Hays ($3,700) is one of the best p/$ plays again, and teammate Ramon Urias ($3,000) is a fine value bat from BAL at either 2B or 3B.
- Melendez ($3,400), Pratto ($3,200), Massey ($2,200), and Donovan ($3,000) are solid value options with the platoon advantage from KC/STL. Edouard Julien ($2,900) is a solid value option at 2B that I’d make sure to have GPP exposure to if he doesn’t make your main build. Royce Lewis ($2,000) is a top value bat of the slate now that he’s confirmed starting and hitting fifth.
MLB Premium subscribers will have access to all of this data in LineupHQ, so be sure to keep checking there as we start getting the confirmed lineups and projections update. The very best P/$ plays tend to be pretty consistent throughout the day for MLB. That being said, projections can always change if someone is hitting higher in the order than initially projected or if a player with a low salary gets a spot start for an injured/resting player.
MLB DFS – RotoGrinders Premium Tools Pre-Lock
If you have any tough last-minute decisions or need some quick MLB DFS picks, our MLB Premium package also contains Consensus Value Rankings, an Expert Survey, and daily LineupHQ Premium tags from our MLB DFS experts.
And for up-to-the-minute news and analysis leading right up to lock, make sure to watch MLB Crunch Time later in the day.
Good luck today!