MLB DFS: Best/worst plays for Tuesday, May 25th

Good morning all! Another day, more MLB DFS content right here at Fake Teams. Here are the players who stuck out to me over my morning coffee, for one reason or another.

As always, I’m around in the comments or on the Twitter @HeathCapps if anyone wants to haggle over who we are playing (or not playing) today. Full disclosure, I do hope to purchase a new car this morning, so it might be later afternoon before I reply to you. But I’d love to hear any thoughts. Let’s do this! Enjoy my random headings today.

A CHEAP CATCHER

C James McCann vs. LHP Kyle Freeland ($3,400)

McCann got unlucky on a hard hit ball right to Charlie Blackmon yesterday, but he followed that up with a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. He also made an epic diving play at first base, in his first start at that position as a big leaguer. In short, he was feelin’ it on Monday, and he should slot into the No. 3 spot in the lineup given the dearth of MLB talent on New York’s roster right now. Related, does anyone need a job?

CHEAP OUTFIELD OPTIONS

OF Anthony Santander @ Jose Berrios ($3,000)

Santander was $3,300 on Monday and managed 12.0 DK points by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Sure, Berrios is a solid MLB hurler, but he’s not scaring me away from this power bat at this price point. Santander is a switch-hitter who is stronger from the left side, and Berrios has been far more susceptible to lefty bats in 2021—he’s allowing a .313/.394/.578 slash with four of his six homers allowed so far. This is just too cheap for a hitter like Santander, especially batting cleanup. He’s got double-digit DK points in three games running (12.0, 10.0, 28.0). I’ll have him at some point, I’m sure.

Jarred Kelenic ($3,900) homered yesterday, as did Trevor Larnach ($2,700). Alex Kirilloff ($4,000) also fits this bill. The youth movement is strong in the outfield ranks right now. I’d check that Minnesota batting order against Dean Kremer. With an implied total of 5.62 currently, that’s a team I’m looking at for sure.

PITCHING

Kevin Gausman @ Arizona Diamondbacks ($7,200)

I agree entirely with this sentiment:

Aaaaaaand I’m still playing him on DraftKings. Building around him, actually. The price point is just too low. I don’t see a line yet on the Diamondbacks, but I can’t imagine their implied run total will be threatening. Arizona is middling in strikeout rate versus RHP, at 23.6%. They are 24th in stolen bases (11), 18th in ISO (.150), 19th in wOBA (.300), and 22nd in wRC+ (87). It’s just not a threatening group. Opposing starter Corbin Martin also doesn’t inspire much fear—I’d say there’s a good bet that Gausman is pitching with a lead here. If he’s highly owned today, I say it’s for good reason.

Stacks to Consider

Right-handed bats have beaten up on Steven Matz this year, swatting six of seven homers against him and slashing .271/.338/.450 with a .344 wOBA and a non-threatening 20.8% strikeout rate. The Yankees have righty bats aplenty, and paying down at pitcher means I can afford them today.

Call me crazy, but I like a three-man Mets stack against the returning lefty Kyle Freeland. Freeland isn’t a bad pitcher, but I’m mostly zeroed in on how concentrated the offense for New York should be. The 2-3-4 hitters in Francisco Lindor, James McCann, and Dominic Smith don’t break the bank given how cheap McCann and Smith are, and the rest of this lineup is just abysmal. I can’t bring myself to consider Freeland given the other cheap options today, so I think I have to consider some Mets. If I was paying way down at pitcher, I’d much prefer the mercurial Andrew Heaney at $6,200. He could blow up either way, but the matchup against the Rangers is worth taking a shot on given Heaney’s ability to miss bats.

Have you guys seen the Angels’ lineup? Like the Mets, it is overall atrocious. I dig the two-man stack of Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon. Maaaaybe consider Justin Upton against a lefty if he actually hits leadoff. But you can grab the bulk of that offense in just two hitters.

I may not go crazy with my Braves today given that Garrett Richards has been pretty stellar over his last five turns (4-0 with a 2.27 ERA). Morton enters this one coming off of a solid showing, too—I wonder if that game is a bit of a letdown offensively. All that said, Austin Riley ($4,000) is still too cheap. You know what to do.

Who are YOU playing today, ladies and gents?