DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 5/31/19

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If you've been reading my articles, you may know that I am a Rockies fan. That was by no means my motivation here, as I maintain a totally unbiased view for fantasy purposes. What we can't overlook is the fact that Colorado is projected for nearly eight runs here. Not only is that the highest projection of the season, it actually doubles many of the other team totals on this slate. That says a lot about how much we like the Rockies and picking the right ones will be key in a slate like this. 

Pitchers

Joey Lucchesi FD - P 7600 DK - SP 8800
Opponent - MIA (Caleb Smith) Park - SD
FD - 32.04 DK - 16.83

This FanDuel price is hard to understand, considering on we Lucchesi should be closer to a $10,000 value. Vegas completely agrees with us, making the southpaw a -160 favorite in a game that has a total of 7. That alone makes him a great bet for a quality start, as he should cruise right through this lineup. So far this season, the Marlins rank last in wOBA, xwOBA, xSLG, OPS and runs scored. Lucchesi appears to be finding his form too, posting a 0.68 WHIP over his last three starts while striking out 21 batters across 19 innings. 

Caleb Smith FD - P 9800 DK - SP 9700
Opponent - SD (Joey Lucchesi) Park - SD
FD - 36.75 DK - 19.86

It's rare for us to recommend two pitchers from the same game but we absolutely love both of these guys. Before an ugly start against the Nationals in his most recent outing, Smith was arguably the best pitcher in the NL. In fact, Smith pitched to a 2.38 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over his first nine starts while striking out 71 batters across 53 innings. That's ridiculous and he should have no problem against an offense like this. Not only does San Diego rank 25th in runs scored, they also sit 27th in K rate and 28th in xwOBA. 

Don't forget about Trevor Bauer, who has a 30 percent K rate dating back to last season and faces a White Sox team who has the worst strikeout rate in the Majors in that same span. 

Catcher/First Base

Daniel Murphy FD - 1B 3900 DK - 1B 4800
Opponent - TOR (Edwin Jackson) Park - COL
FD - 15.35 DK - 11.79

Alright, here's the start of it and you'll see a lot more Rockies coming. Let's kick it off with Murphy, who hit a walk-off single on Thursday. That game-winning hit extends his best stretch of the season, with the second baseman going 13-for-34 at the plate over his last 10 games while providing five walks and nine RBI. That's the guy we've been waiting for all season long and it appears he's finally fully healthy. We also love him against a righty, with Murphy posting an OPS north of .900 since the beginning of 2016 against right-handed pitching. 

Steve Pearce FD - 1B 2500 DK - 1B/OF 2900
Opponent - NYY (J.A. Happ) Park - NYY
FD - 9.82 DK - 7.41

Pearce will almost always find his way into our articles against left-handed pitching, as he's one of the best southpaw smashers in the Majors. Last season, Pearce posted a .559 SLG and .959 OPS against left-handers while accruing an .849 OPS against southpaws for his career. Boston knows all of this, as they traditionally get Pearce into the heart of their order when facing a lefty. He appears to be finding some rhythm at the plate too, collecting two doubles and one homer over his last 22 at-bats while hitting .363.  

If you're in need of a catcher, don't forget about Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters as part of our Rockies stack. 

Second Base

Nicky Lopez FD - 2B 2900 DK - 2B 3700
Opponent - TEX (Ariel Jurado) Park - TEX
FD - 12.08 DK - 9.25

Lopez is one of the Royals top prospects and it's easy to see why when looking at his minor league numbers. Before being called up this year, Lopez posted a .457 OBP and .422 ISO at the Triple-A level. Lopez has shown some of that consistency at this level too, scoring at least 8.0 DK points in seven of his first 14 games. The fact that Kansas City has been batting him leadoff over the last six games shows that they have full trust in him and that makes him hard to fade at this price in such a promising matchup. While Ariel Jurado's 2.28 ERA and 1.18 WHIP look good, his 4.68 xFIP and this 10.5-total indicate otherwise. 

Jason Kipnis FD - 2B 2700 DK - 2B 3400
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 11.27 DK - 8.58

Kipnis is definitely in play if he bats second, as the Indians are one of the best plays on the board against Dylan Covey. The Chicago righty is pitching to a 5.47 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this season, which is pretty much what we expect with his ugly career numbers. That's why Vegas has Cleveland projected for five runs here and getting the second-hole hitter in that sort of circumstance is huge, especially at this price. Kipnis is traditionally better against righties too, posting a .789 OPS against them for his career. 

Shortstop

Trevor Story FD - SS 4600 DK - SS 5800
Opponent - TOR (Edwin Jackson) Park - COL
FD - 17.59 DK - 13.35

Here's our second Rockie, with Story easily the best shortstop option on the board. After collecting a double and triple on Thursday en route to four hits, Story now has eight extra-base hits over his last 11 games. He's also provided 12 runs scored, four homers, seven RBI and two steals in that span while hitting nearly .350. Story absolutely rakes at home too, posting a .944 OPS at Coors Field for his career. The main reason we want all of these Rockies is because they face Edwin Jackson and we'll go over that more in our outfield write-up. 

Brandon Crawford FD - SS 2600 DK - SS 3100
Opponent - BAL (Andrew Cashner) Park - BAL
FD - 9.07 DK - 6.98

This play isn't going to excite me or many readers but Crawford is a great value in this price range. Any time someone is batting in the heart of the order against the Orioles, they're worth considering. While Andrew Cashner has probably been their best pitcher, he's still posting a .365 xwOBA and has been letting lefties kill him all season long. That's why Crawford could be a sneaky fit, as his cheap price tag could make it much easier to get Rockies into your build. 

Third Base

Jose Ramirez FD - 3B 3300 DK - 3B 4100
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 12.42 DK - 9.4

Ramirez has been downright terrible this season but he's too good of a player to be priced this cheaply. We're talking about a guy who finished Top-3 in fantasy points last season and he'll eventually get closer to those numbers. Recent results are definitely promising, with Ramirez providing four hits, two doubles, two RBI and two steals over his last two games. That's a tiny sample size but baby steps in the right direction are all we can ask for. We really like him because he gets to face Covey though, with the White Sox righty posting a .420 xwOBA so far this season. 

Nolan Arenado FD - 3B 4800 DK - 3B 5900
Opponent - TOR (Edwin Jackson) Park - COL
FD - 17.83 DK - 13.42

How can we possibly fade Arenado if we're stacking Rockies? The stud third baseman is undoubtedly the hottest hitter in the league right now and he's easily the best play on the board. Over his last six games, Arenado is hitting .522 while providing four homers and 11 RBI. His hot stretch extends much longer than that too, with Arenado collecting 38 runs scored, 12 doubles, 15 homers and 30 RBI over his last 38 games while hitting close to .400. 

Outfield

Raimel Tapia FD - OF 3500 DK - OF 4600
Opponent - TOR (Edwin Jackson) Park - COL
FD - 15.11 DK - 11.78

David Dahl FD - OF 4000 DK - OF 4700
Opponent - TOR (Edwin Jackson) Park - COL
FD - 16.48 DK - 12.62

After waiting forever to hear about why we love Rockies, we're finally here. Edwin Jackson is simply one of the worst pitchers in the league right now and him pitching in Coors Field spells disaster. In his first three starts of the year, Jackson is pitching to a 9.00 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. That's really no surprise when you consider the fact that he has a 4.97 ERA and 1.44 WHIP dating back to 2016. That's why he's played for so many teams and it's a wonder why Toronto even signed him. 

Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about these outfielders. We expect Tapia to hit atop the Rockies order with Charlie Blackmon out and that makes him tough to fade in the $4,000-range. That's why he enters this matchup in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak, as he'll likely stroll into value without having to do much. Dahl is the way more talented hitter and he's easily one of the best values on the board. Over his last eight games, Dahl is hitting .420 while collecting nine runs scored, two homers and four RBI. His 1.017 OPS at home and .867 OPS against right-handed pitching for his career only emphasizes what a good play he is too. 

Jake Bauers FD - OF 2900 DK - 1B/OF 3400
Opponent - CHW (Dylan Covey) Park - CHW
FD - 11.55 DK - 8.72

For our final play of the day, we're going to finish our Indians stack strong. All of the aforementioned numbers from Covey puts all of the Cleveland bats in play and that really makes Bauers an intriguing option. Not only does Bauers get the platoon advantage from the left side, he actually has three extra-base hits over his last seven games. That definitely makes him worth considering in the $3,000-range and he pairs beautifully with a Rockies stack at this dirt-cheap price tag. 

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