Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, including an awesome Paul Skenes debut on Saturday and Mother’s Day on Sunday. 

We have another week full of baseball ahead as we continue into May! Let’s keep things going strong this week with some more winning MLB DFS lineups!

 

 

 

We have a nice, big schedule for Monday, with a 12-game main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:10 PM ET. 

Unfortunately, once again, this means there are no day games to help you through your Monday, but that gives us plenty of time to perfect our lineups for this evening’s slate. Let’s dive into today’s playbook and some of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, May 13

MLB Weather Today, 5/13

There will be consistent rain all day here. It is light, so they may be able to play through it, but I would be careful with this one and consider avoiding it altogether unless things change. 

Thunderstorms and rain starting this afternoon and into the evening. This one really worries me; I would probably avoid this game.  

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There are many great ways to build your lineups today with this 12-game slate with some top-tier pitchers and some good offenses to target. The top two pitchers on the slate are in a game facing some weather concerns, which makes things a bit more interesting, but there are still plenty of options that I like. 

I would likely be in on Shota Imanaga even against the Braves if there weren’t the weather concerns but with weather issues and having to face the Braves I am sadly staying away. Beyond my favorites, I will also give some honorable mentions today to Brady Singer, Zach Eflin, Spencer Arrighetti, and Cristopher Sanchez.

On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Guardians

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

 

 

 

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners 

This isn’t the most ideal matchup for George Kirby, with the Kansas City Royals having the second lowest strikeout rate against right-handers, but they are still a below-average team production-wise against righties. George Kirby is good enough to dominate any team, and I trust him here today despite not delivering quite what we want from him in his last two outings.  

George Kirby has only had 3 and 4 strikeouts in his last two outings, but he struck out 12 the game before that against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He still holds an over 25% strikeout rate on the season, and I think we see him get more strikeouts today than in his previous two outings, even with it being the Royals.

Kutter Crawford, Boston Red Sox 

Kutter Crawford put up another strong performance in his last outing, striking out 6 through 6 innings against the Atlanta Braves while giving up only 2 earned runs. He has now had 4 straight quality starts and has at least 6 strikeouts in 6 of his 8 starts this season. 

This is a good matchup for him against the Rays (although the Rays are starting to get a little life in their bats, they still don’t scare me). I think we get another quality outing from him today and at least 6 strikeouts yet again. The win potential is a little tough with him facing Zach Eflin, but it can easily be done if the Red Sox can provide Kutter with some run support.

Jordan Montgomery, Arizona Diamondbacks 

Jordan Montgomery is making his fifth start of the season today, facing the Cincinnati Reds for the second time in a row. The Reds are not a scary offense right now, especially against lefties and especially on the road. Jordan Montgomery had a quality start and a win last time out against the Reds, going 7 innings and giving up only 2 runs. The issue was that it came with only 2 strikeouts.

I think we see the strikeouts come back a bit today and that we get a similar line from him today with a great chance at another win and quality start, but hopefully with at least 5-6 strikeouts as well. 

Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels

If you want to save some money and get a cheap pitcher with some upside, I think Soriano is the best option. He has shown that he has some strikeout upside, with at least 6 strikeouts in 4 of his last 6 starts. 

The St. Louis Cardinals offense still can do some damage, but they have been underperforming all season. They have an over 24% strikeout rate against right handers and with the struggles of Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras hurt I think Soriano can attack them pretty easily today.  

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

Core MLB DFS Hitters

*Note: Will Be Updated As Official Starting Lineups Are Released

Jake Cronenworth, 1B San Diego Padres

Sure, it isn’t in Colorado, but facing the Colorado Rockies and Dakota Hudson is still a gift. Jake Cronenworth is normally a pretty boring option, but he is having a great season, and it has continued to improve into May. While there are a lot of good first base options today, Cronenworth is my favorite of them. 

Over his last 14 games, Cronenworth has a 1.027 OPS and 4 homers. He hits third every day in a very strong lineup, and in a matchup like this, the Padres should score plenty of runs.

Marcus Semien, 2B Texas Rangers

Marcus Semien has hits in 13 hits over his last 6 games, along with 2 homers, 8 runs, and 7 RBIs. Granted, that was three games against Oakland and Colorado (in Colorado). However, it is still an impressive stretch of hitting that I think Semien can continue today.

Tanner Bibee has given up 10 runs over 9 innings in his last two starts, and that was against the Angels and the Tigers. If he can’t make some changes for his start today, the Rangers could feast on him and continue this stretch of strong offensive production after scoring 37 runs in their last 6 games. 

Oneil Cruz, SS Pittsburgh Pirates

After a disappointing start to the season for Oneil Cruz, he appears to have righted the ship. In his last eight games, he has four homers, three doubles, and four multi-hit games. Now, suddenly, he is slashing .265/.312/.449 on the season despite only slashing .239/.289/.345 at the end of April. 

Collin Rea has been pitching decently this season, but it appears to be some good luck with some regression due. We have still seen him have a few bad outings, giving up 5 runs to the Yankees and 4 runs to the Royals in two of his last three starts. I don’t know if I am ready to start stacking Pirates yet, but I am certainly ready to start playing Oneil Cruz. 

Kyle Tucker, OF Houston Astros

We might be watching Kyle Tucker’s first MVP season right now. He is now the sole home run leader with 13 homers after smashing 5 in his last 6 games and 8 in his last 13. We are 13 days into May, and Kyle Tucker doesn’t have a non-homer hit this month. Sure, it is with a .176 average, but who cares when it is still a .349 OBP and .706 SLG (1.055 OPS). 

Facing Ross Stripling today it will almost be surprising if Kyle Tucker doesn’t hit another home run today (unless they just don’t pitch to him at all, which might be the smart option right now even when it means facing Yordan Alvarez next). I like an Astros stack today, but Kyle Tucker is likely finding his way into my lineup regardless of whether I am stacking them.

 

 

 

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