MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Tuesday, May 21
Published: May 21, 2024
We have another great day of baseball here on Tuesday with DraftKings and FanDuel giving us an 8-game main slate for our MLB DFS action.
Before building your DFS lineups here today make sure you check out the MLB DFS Preview Show with myself and Howard Bender as we give you a first look at today's DraftKings main slate and break down our top plays, values and fades before building an example lineup at the end of the show.
There are Lots of great players to talk about, so let’s just dive right into today’s playbook and some of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!
MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, May 21
MLB Weather Today, 5/21
Atlanta Braves vs Chicago Cubs
- Warm and 20mph wind blowing out at Wrigley Field here tonight. Great hitting weather.
Baltimore Orioles vs St. Louis Cardinals
- Rain storms during the game could cause delay or outright PPD. Check back in closer to roster lock.
MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
The weather in St. Louis is a bit disappointing as we were certainly ready to stack the Orioles against Lance Lynn but with this game looking less likely to play we have to change our focus when it comes to lineup construction. For me, that means two things. First, I'm looking at the Houston Astros against Griffin Canning. The Astros offense is starting to click and Canning has struggled this season. Second, it's hard to ignore the offensive upside that could come from the hitting conditions in Chicago here tonight. Both the Braves and Cubs could do some real damage if the windy conditions remain throughout the game.
Pitching is a bit interesting, we don't have the $11,000 pitcher on DraftKings to worry about spending up on and the top priced pitchers are facing eachother with Garrett Crochet and Yusei Kikuchi taking the mound for the White Sox and Blue Jays.
There isn't a ton of obvious value today but Cal Quantril was highlighted during the preview show as a cheap pitcher that is pitching well right now that will allow you to get some of the expensive bats in your lineup this evening.
Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options For Strikeouts
- Clarke Schmidt vs Seattle Mariners
- Yusei Kikuchi vs Chicago White Sox
- Garrett Crochet vs Toronto Blue Jays
- Charlie Morton vs Chicago Cubs
Best Odds For A Win
- Kyle Bradish vs St. Louis Cardinals
- Cristian Javier vs. Los Angeles Angels
- Clarke Schmidt vs Seattle Mariners
- Yusei Kikuchi vs Chicago White Sox
- Charlie Morton vs Chicago Cubs
Core MLB DFS Pitchers
Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays
Kikuchi has some of the best “win” odds today at +155 and has the highest strikeout prop at 6.5 here today in his matchup against the White Sox.
Backing those numbers are the White Sox hitters as Chicago ranks dead last in wOBA, dead last in batting average and dead last in ISO against southpaws with a 24.2% strikeout rate.
Cristian Javier, Houston Astros
Javier recovered nicely from his disastrous return start from the IL to shutout the Athletics over six innings while racking up eight strikeouts.
Today he faces an Angels offense that boasts a 24% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching while ranking towards the middle of the pack in wOBA and batting average.
Javier currently has +135 odds to get the win here today which really helps his fantasy appeal.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers
Another pitcher with some nice win equity but far more risky due to his lack of strikeout upside.
Stone has pitched really well this season, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.46 ERA and having the Dodgers offense behind him is helpful.
His opponent today has already struggled against right-handed pitching this season with the Diamondbacks ranking 26th in wOBA, 25th in average and 26th in ISO on the year.
If Stone can go 6+ innings while limiting the runs and getting 4+ strikeouts we are golden.
Cal Quantrill, Colorado Rockies
Sometimes you gotta ride the hot hand and right now that hot hand is attached to the right arm of Rockies starter Cal Quantrill who has allowed just two earned runs over his last 19.2 innings while striking out 19.
Going back even further, Quantrill has allowed no more than one earned run in five of his last six starts, with him lone blemish being a home start against the Houston Astros.
Today he faces the Oakland Athletics in a pitcher friendly venue and if he can continue to limit the damage while racking up a handful of strikeouts then he will be the key to unlocking the slate.
Recommended MLB DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
- Atlanta Braves vs Javier Assad
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs Brandon Pfaadt
- Chicago Cubs vs Charlie Morton
- Kansas City Royals vs Casey Mize
- Houston Astros vs Griffin Canning
Core MLB DFS Hitters
*Note: Will Be Updated As Official Starting Lineups Are Released
Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros
A mainstay of the MLB DFS playbook this season, Tucker continues to have a monster season, hitting .288 with 15 homers and an OPS of 1.039.
Today he faces off against Griffin Canning who has struggled against left-handed hitters this season, allowing a .367 wOBA and .505 slugging percentage and surrendering 1.6 HR/9.
I like all of the Astros offense here today but you can't make a stack without including Tucker this evening.
Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs
If you read the weather section above then you saw that this Cubs/Braves matchup is primed for offense with the warm air and wind blowing out in Wrigley Field here today.
Bellinger isn't cheap but if you wanted to stack Cubbies here today, like Tucker, you can't do so without one of the team's hottest hitters with Bellinger hitting .317 with an OPS of .914 over the last 10 games.
Baltimore Orioles
It's rare that a team makes the Core Hitters section but I wanted to mention them here because this game might not happen.
HOWEVER, if this game plays, the O's are one of my favorite stacks of the day as they run up against Lance Lynn who has done a better job of keeping the ball in the park but is still giving up a lot of hits and runs.
Pay attention to the weather here before roster lock.
Jake Meyers, Houston Astros
Yes, another Astros outfielder here but we shouldn't be ignoring the value given the run that Meyers is on right now as the righty is hitting .361 with an OPS of 1.036 over the last 10 games. Meyers hits for a ton of power against lefties but it has actually been the right-handed matchups where he has had a ton of success this season at the dish, hitting .333 with a .400 wOBA and a .217 ISO on the year.
Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs
Very cheap punt play here as Swanson was just activated off of the IL. Now, yes, Swanson had struggled to begin the season but again, given what could be the offensive potential in this matchup today due to the weather it would make sense to plug Swanson in your lineups so you can spend up at the other position and fit someone like Cody Bellinger in your lineups here today.
Tune in for the 4pm ET Livestream and Get Your Questions Answered
PLAYER POOL WILL BE UPDATED PRIOR TO 4PM LIVESTREAM
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Yusei Kikuchi  $10,500 |  Freddie Freeman $3,500 |  Jose Altuve $3,700 |  Christopher Morel $3,500 |  Gunnar Henderson $4,400 |  Kyle Tucker $4,600 |
 Clarke Schmidt $9,900 |  Salvador Perez $3,400 |  Ozzie Albies $3,600 | Jordan Westburg $3,300 | Mookie Betts $4,300 | Marcell Ozuna $4,100 | |
| Matt Olson $3,300 | Bobby Witt $4,100 | Shohei Ohtani $4,500 | ||||
 Juan Soto $4,200 | ||||||
| Medium | Cristian Javier $8,500 |  Brendan Donovan $3,000 | Maikel Garcia $3,400 | Jeremy Peña $3,300 | Cody Bellinger $3,400 | |
| Alec Marsh $8,700 | Michael Massey $2,900 |  Alex Bregman $2,900 |  Bo Bichette $3,000 | Yordan Alvarez $3,800 | ||
 Cal Quantrill $8,600 |  Josh Rojas $2,900 |  Brent Rooker $3,500 | ||||
| Gavin Stone $8,300 |  Tommy Pham $3,100 | |||||
| Mike Tauchman $3,100 | ||||||
| Low |  Spencer Torkelson $2,800 | Abraham Toro $2,800 | Dansby Swanson $2,700 | Lars Nootbaar $2,900 | ||
| Michael Busch $2,800 | Michael Harris $2,900 | |||||
| Ryan O'Hearn $2,800 | Colton Cowser $2,800 | |||||
| Jake Meyers $2,700 | ||||||
 Luke Raley $2,600 | ||||||
| Alec Burleson $2,500 |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.