Matt Olson MLB Picks At Sleeper Today, 5/17: Baseball Projections
The Saturday MLB slate brings us a full 15 games and another strong opportunity to win some money on Sleeper Fantasy with our MLB DFS pick ’em picks!
With seven of the 15 games sitting with a 9-runs or more game total, we’re expecting some serious offensive output and with hurlers on the mound like Kyle Gibson, German Marquez and even Reds' primary Chase Petty on the mound, we’re expecting some fireworks. But don’t worry, guys like Zack Wheeler will help keep things in check as well. Let’s dive in and see what looks good for our MLB pick ‘em picks today.
Sleeper Fantasy Picks for Saturday, May 17: MLB DFS Projections
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Matt Olson Sleeper Fantasy MLB Pick: More Than 0.5 Hits (1.34x)
He’s been a little inconsistent at the dish, but I’ll happily invest in Olson and his ability to put the hurt on a mediocre hurler like Lucas Giolito. Yes, that’s right – mediocre. The guy’s popularity is based on name-recognition alone these days and I’ll focus more on the .362 wOBA lefty bats are posting against him so far.
It’s been a tough road against righties for Olson through the first month of the season, but his .370 career wOBA and even his BvP against Giolito – 5-for-10 with three home runs – has me thinking he comes up with at least one hit today.
Carmen Mlodzinski Sleeper Fantasy MLB Pick: More Than 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed (1.55x)
While the Pirates' righthander has settled down a bit and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in each of his last three starts, we’re going to use a tough Phillies lineup against him today. The Phillies have outstanding plate discipline, posting a strikeout rate under 20-percent against righties, but, more importantly, they have the second-highest walk rate (10.4-percent) against them as well.
Now, Mlodzinski throws strikes and doesn’t walk a ton of guys; he’s likely to be careful with this lineup and that could get him in trouble, particularly with some of the left-handed bats. I’m looking at the Phillies team total with a -160 for over 4.5 runs and feel like most, if not all, should come early against the righthander.
Total Multiplier: 2.07x
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Player News
Orioles top C prospect Samuel Basallo remains at Triple-A Norfolk.
Baltimore has opted to bring up David Bañuelos on the taxi squad ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Atlanta while Gary Sánchez nurses a right knee issue. It’ll be Jacob Stallings handling the catching duties for now as the injuries continue to pile up at the position. The Orioles even picked up Alex Jackson in a trade with the division-rival Yankees to bolster their injury-ravaged catching situation. The 20-year-old top prospect holds a .920 OPS with 16 homers through 57 games this season at the Triple-A level. He’s one of the few prospects left in the minors that could make some serious noise for fantasy purposes in the second half.
Orioles selected the contract of C Alex Jackson from Triple-A Norfolk.
Well, that was fast. Jackson gets the call to join Baltimore’s catching mix just a few hours after being acquired from the Yankees in a small trade with Gary Sánchez hitting the injured list with a right knee sprain. The 29-year-old backstop has appeared in 124 games in the big leagues, mostly in a reserve role, since 2019.
Orioles placed C Gary Sánchez on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain.
It’ll be Alex Jackson, not top prospect Samuel Basallo, coming up to join Baltimore’s catching mix behind Jacob Stallings. It’s a perplexing situation, but clearly the Orioles want to keep Basallo in the minors and get through the All-Star break when it’s possible Adley Rutschman will be ready to return from the injured list.
Orioles transferred INF/OF Jorge Mateo to the 60-day injured list.
It’s merely a procedural move as Mateo is going to be sidelined until at least late August with a hamstring strain.
Jordan Westburg is on the bench for Sunday morning’s showdown against Atlanta.
No surprise here given the quick turnaround on Sunday morning and Westburg continuing to manage an ongoing finger issue. The ailment clearly hasn’t impacted the 26-year-old infielder’s on-field performance since he’s gone 4-for-8 with a pair of home runs in two games since returning to Baltimore’s lineup. It’ll be Ramón UrÃas at the hot corner on Sunday in his place.
Gary Sánchez (knee) is absent from the lineup for Sunday’s game against Atlanta.
Sánchez will sit out Sunday’s contest after making an early exit from Saturday’s tilt with right knee pain. The 32-year-old backstop figures to avoid the injured list for the moment. Jacob Stallings will handle the catching duties with David Bañuelos coming up to join the club’s taxi squad in case of an emergency.