MLB DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Sunday, May 14
Enjoy a Mother's Day brunch, and then get focused on the DFS slate for Sunday. I'm looking at the four games starting at 4:07 p.m. ET or later. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Andrew Heaney, TEX at OAK ($40): Finding a second pitcher for this slate Sunday was tricky (the pitcher below is the one I am more confident in), but Heaney does have a 2.31 ERA on the road. His issues with his new team have been at his new home ballpark. Oakland's park is pitcher-friendly, and the team that plays there is in the bottom five in runs scored, which is also in Heaney's favor.
Tony Gonsolin, LAD vs. SD ($38): Gonsolin has eased into the rotation, and he got over the five-inning mark for the first time in his last start, which is key when thinking about potential pitcher wins. He has an 1.93 ERA on the year and a career ERA of 2.48, making Gonsolin one of the more-underrated pitchers in MLB. The Padres have surprisingly struggled offensively, as they are down in the bottom 10 in runs scored.
Top Target
It qualifies as a "down" season by his standards, but Mookie Betts ($21) has slashed .250/.355/.493 with eight home runs, and those numbers still impress. Additionally, since 2021 the righty has a .928 OPS versus lefties and a .906 OPS at home. Ryan Weathers, a southpaw, has been called back up to start for the Padres. He owns a 5.11 FIP for his career and has allowed righties to hit .277 against him.
Bargain Bat
With a righty starting, things are looking up for Joc Pederson ($19). Since 2021, he's slugged .489 against righties and all five of his home runs in 2023 have come in those matchups. The first two MLB starts of Brandon Pfaadt's career have been a disaster. He has a 12.10 ERA and has allowed 5.59 home runs per nine innings.
Stacks to Consider
Red Sox vs. Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Masataka Yoshida ($20), Rafael Devers ($17), Justin Turner ($16)
Mikolas has a 5.40 ERA and has allowed 1.51 home runs per nine innings. The righty is getting batted around, and both lefties and righties have hit over .300 against him. Additionally, Mikolas has struggled on the road for a while, as since 2021 he has a 4.28 ERA in away starts.
Yoshida has paid off big time for Boston in his first MLB season. He's slashed .307/.390/.504 with six homers and two stolen bases. That includes a .929 OPS against right-handed pitchers as well. Devers has 11 home runs this season already, not to mention a career .513 slugging percentage. Since 2021, the southpaw has a .943 OPS versus righties and a .901 OPS at home. Turner is a career .289 hitter, and over his last three seasons he's posted an .815 OPS against his fellow righties. Since 2021, righties have hit .256 against Mikolas, so this matchup is to Turner's favor.
Cardinals at Red Sox (Corey Kluber): Paul Goldschmidt ($22), Nolan Gorman ($18) Nolan Arenado ($14)
Kluber, like many pitchers before him, seems to have held on for a season too long. Through seven starts, he has a 6.38 FIP, and he's allowed at least one home run every time he's taken the mound. Formerly a ground-ball pitcher, his groundball percentage in 2023 is a mere 31.5 percent. Hitters are making more contact and better contact against the 37-year-old pitcher.
Goldschmidt doesn't need the help, as he's been making hard contact his entire MLB career. This season he's slashed .310/.392/.535, and he has seven home runs after hitting over 30 homers in each of the least five full seasons of MLB baseball. He's also chipped in five stolen bases already this year for good measure. Gorman can't hit his fellow lefties, but he can mash against righties. In his career he's slugged .473 versus right-handers, and all 23 of his career homers have come in those matchups. After a slow start, Arenado has picked it up over the last week, including a home run Saturday. He's hit .271 and slugged .497 since joining the Cardinals, so he should turn it around.
