MLB DFS Picks Today (5/9/22): Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks Monday
Monday, May 9, gets the week started with a seven-game main slate beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET on Yahoo and FanDuel. DraftKings is taking a different angle with a nine-game featured slate beginning at 6:35 p.m. ET. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks for pitchers and stacks for Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups. Make sure to visit the Awesemo MLB DFS & Fantasy Baseball home page for the best fantasy baseball content you need for tonight’s slate of games.
MLB DFS Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks | Monday, May 9
Yahoo Stack of the Day: Chicago White Sox vs. RHP Zach Plesac — 4.4 implied runs
Zach Plesac will be facing the White Sox tonight, and much like there being no “K” in his name, there are also no “K’s” in his game. Over his last 700 batters faced, Plesac has a combined 16.3% strikeout rate, which exacerbates his 43.0% hard-contact and 38.1% fly ball rates. In his last four starts, he has allowed four home runs at a rate of 1.8 per nine innings.
Tonight, Yoan Moncada (groin) is expected to make his season debut for Chicago, which just adds to its already imposing lineup. Even with Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn still on the shelf, there are hardly any easy outs in this batting order. The White Sox projected lineup boasts a collective .190 ISO against right-handed hurlers since the beginning of last season. Yasmani Grandal, A.J. Pollock and Gavin Sheets all have ISOs over .230 during this stretch, and even Adam Engel at the bottom of the order is over .200. Then there is Jose Abreu, who led the league in RBIs in both 2019 and 2020. Heck, not to bury the lede, but he was also the MVP of the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. That still leaves Luis Robert and Tim Anderson, who will be in the All-Star conversation this season. Be sure to have the ChiSox well represented in your player pool tonight.
Plesac is also someone who may be worth targeting in the MLB player props market. Today, Plesac has a 3.5 over/under for his strikeout prop and the Awesemo projections have him for 3.1, which means that the under has a 57% chance of success. Through five games, Plesac has recorded four strikeouts twice, three strikeouts twice and two strikeouts once.
Late Slate: San Diego Padres vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks — 4.0 implied runs
Tonight, 32-year-old Kyle Hendricks will be on the mound for the Cubbies, and to say he has struggled in his last two outings would be a major understatement. In matchups against the White Sox and Brewers, he allowed 10 runs with five home runs across 10 innings and a paltry four punchouts. Strikeouts have never been a major part of his game, but with a below-league average 16.5% rate against the last 475 batters faced, it is starting to become a dire situation. Lefties have also been getting to Hendricks for power with a .225 ISO since the beginning of last season.
The prime focus for Padres stacks should be Jake Cronenworth, Eric Hosmer and Trent Grisham, who will all be swinging the stick from the left side of the plate. Switch-hitter Jurickson Profar will, of course, be in the heart of the order, and we know that Manny Machado is still a force to be reckoned with against any pitcher.
Spotlight Pitchers
Top MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Carlos Rodon vs. Colorado Rockies — 2.5 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $11,100 | DraftKings $10,000
Carlos Rodon is off to a strong start for his new team with a 1.55 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 41 strikeouts, all of which rank in the top seven for starting pitchers. Colorado will roll out as many right-handed batsmen as possible tonight. However, aside from Connor Joe, Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron, none are particularly imposing — especially outside of Coors Field. Rodon has a 35.5% strikeout rate across his last 499 opposite-handed matchups, which is beyond elite.
Secondary MLB DFS Picks Target: Paul Blackburn at Detroit Tigers — 3.7 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $8,600 | DraftKings $7,500
Paul Blackburn looks like a solid SP2 option on DraftKings and Yahoo tonight. The FanDuel salary algorithm has been somewhat aggressive, and considering that Blackburn is still looking for his first quality start, he can be taken out of the player pool there. Over their last 14 games, the Tigers have only two victories while scoring barely two runs per tilt. Though he has not gone beyond the fifth inning this season, Blackburn has allowed only six earned runs across his five starts, with only three walks and one home run allowed.
Wild Card MLB DFS Picks Target: LHP Austin Gomber at San Francisco Giants — 4.1 implied runs
DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,900 | DraftKings $6,600
The Giants just knocked around lefty Steven Matz on Saturday, plating eight runs in the first two innings on the strength of three home runs. San Francisco will be rolling out a right-handed-heavy lineup, but there are still strikeouts available tonight for Austin Gomber. The other key perspective is to consider Gomber as an SP2 on DraftKings and Yahoo for his salary relief. Through five appearances this season, Gomber is striking out nearly one batter per inning while allowing just three home runs in 27.2 innings.
Final MLB DFS Thoughts & Weather Notes for the Monday, May 9 Fantasy Baseball Slate
After a rain-soaked Friday and Saturday, things are looking up with no precipitation issues in any locations today. Most venues will see game-time temperatures in the mid- to upper-60s, which is a pleasant departure from the recent cold snap across most of the country.
The post MLB DFS Picks Today (5/9/22): Spotlight Pitchers & Top Stacks Monday appeared first on Awesemo.com.
