MLB DFS Main Slate Advice | Picks, Stacks, Strategy Projections Today May 19th | Fanduel Draftkings

Get your MLB DFS research started with DFS Army’s Full Count! Pitching advice, stack strategy, home run calls, and everything you need.

Welcome to another year of the DFS Army MLB Full Count! You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article out on Twitter as well as inside our coaching forums.  With that said, let’s get it started!

Full Slate Breakdown Picks for MLB DFS 5/19:

My Take on an Optimal MLB DFS Process – Looking at Pitchers

I always start an MLB DFS slate by looking at pitching, not only do you get a grasp on who the pitchers are that you want to target, but gives you a holistic look at the slate as well. Breaking down pitching also gives you an idea of what offenses are in good spots against bad/vulnerable pitchers. I start my research by going straight to the  MLB Carnage Report this is where we can analyze all the pitchers on the slate in a compact, yet detailed manner. Below are the three pitchers that jumped out to me at first glance, good or bad.

• Chris Bassitt  – Carnage Report ranking TBD
  • Bassitt looks like a top raw option on the day. I don’t love the matchup with the Cardinals, but they’ve been better against lefties on the season which makes me like Bassitt regardless. He has a 26.9% strikeout rate on the season and looks like a great option here.
• Zac Gallen – Carnage Report ranking TBD
  • I want to like Gallen a lot more than I currently do and it’s because of the potential wind in Wrigley. Right now it looks like it’ll be blowing out to left around 15 mph… but if he can avoid that or that changes, he’s been unreal to start the season with a 1.05 ERA.
• Framber Valdez – Carnage Report ranking TBD
  • Valdez is another pitcher that looks great on the main slate. The Rangers aren’t really a lineup I’m afraid of unless they run hot and start hitting some home runs, but I trust Valdez to limit that in this one.

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Early MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:

New York Yankees (-212) @ Baltimore Orioles (+177)

Implied Run Totals:

Yankees – 4.8 IRT

Orioles – 3.4 IRT

Rundown:

We’ll start in Baltimore where Jordan Montgomery will take the mound in a nice matchup against the Orioles. He has at least 12 DraftKings points in five of his last six starts even though his numbers won’t blow you away. I think he looks like a solid option on this early slate at the very least. Bruce Zimmerman will start for Baltimore and is a guy that has looked solid to start the season as well, that said, his matchup is MUCH worse than Montgomery’s. This Yankees lineup is crushing the ball and probably not a pitcher I want to get to in anything outside of a hedge.

NYY 5-star plays: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton

4-star plays: Anthony Rizzo, Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres

GPP Note: The Yankees will look like a great stacking option on the early slate, all-day slate, whatever slate you’re playing, they’ll look.

BAL 5-star plays: Cedric Mullins

4-star plays: Trey Mancini, Jorge Mateo

GPP Note: More of a mini-stack to get some leverage against Montgomery.

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San Diego Padres (+101) @ Philadelphia Phillies (-120)

Implied Run Totals:

Padres – 4.0 IRT

Phillies – 4.2 IRT

Rundown:

Yu Darvish will get the ball for the Padres in a tough matchup with the Phils. Darvish has been a bit volatile this season coming off of a rough start last time out. That said, he has just a 19.6% strikeout rate on the season, I expect this to regress in a positive way back up to his career norm around the high-20’s and will be a guy I like in this spot. Kyle Gibson will start for the Phillies and is another guy who’s coming off of a rough start. It was against the Dodgers so at least it was a good hitting team, but he’s shown some massive home/road splits on the season. At home, he’s averaging 24.1 DraftKings points per game while on the road he’s at just 5.7 DraftKings points per game in similar innings as well. I’ll like him here against a Padres team that doesn’t exactly scare me.

SDP 5-star plays: Manny Machado

4-star plays: Jake Cronenworth, Eric Hosmer, Luke Voit

GPP Note: This team has enough firepower to stack up and makes sense in all formats if you’re not quite on the Gibson train

PHI 5-star plays: Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber

4-star plays: Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos

GPP Note: I like Darvish to start turning it around, but there’s no arguing the number of good bats in this lineup.

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St. Louis Cardinals (+150) @ New York Mets (-175)

Implied Run Totals:

Cardinals – 3.1 IRT

Mets – 4.1 IRT

Rundown:

Dakota Hudson will start for the Cardinals as they head into New York. Hudson bounced back nicely last time out after having two down games on the road. He’s just not a guy I think I want to get to here, he has just a 13.5% strikeout rate on the season and I’ll be looking for a bit more upside than that. Chris Bassitt will get the ball for the Mets and stands out as the best raw option on the slate. He has a 26.9% strikeout rate on the year and I like this Cards lineup a lot better against lefties, Bassitt will look like a great option in this one.

STL 5-star plays: None

4-star plays: Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill

GPP Note: Just leverage or a hedge stack against who I view as the best pitcher on the early slate.

NYM 5-star plays: Francisco Lindor

4-star plays: Brandon Nimmo, Peter Alonso, Dom Smith

GPP Note: I think the Mets could be sneaky here and are a team I like the upside on.

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Chicago White Sox (-147) @ Kansas City Royals (+125)

Implied Run Totals:

White Sox – 5.3 IRT

Royals – 4.4 IRT

Rundown:

Vince Velasquez will start for the White Sox and is always a guy I look to stack against, so probably not a guy you want to get to here as a pitching option. He struggles with his command and isn’t great at limiting hard contact and against a team with speed and power upside, they could be running for days. Carlos Hernandez will get the start for the Royals and is another guy I love stacking against. He’s given up 12 earned runs over his last two starts, making the White Sox stack look great here. I think a full game stack is fully in play with these two pitchers on the mound.

CHW 5-star plays: Luis Robert, Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu

4-star plays: Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Gavin Sheets, Andrew Vaughn

GPP Note: Love this spot for the White Sox, they’re an elite stack.

KCR 5-star plays: Whit Merrifield, Bobby Witt Jr.

4-star plays: Andrew Benintendi, Hunter Dozier, MJ Melendez

GPP Note: The Royals look great here as well, no issue with both sides of this game.

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Main MLB Slate Player Projections and Stacks:

Seattle Mariners (+113) @ Boston Red Sox (-133)

Implied Run Totals:

Mariners – 4.1 IRT

Red Sox – 4.6 IRT

Rundown:

Onto the short main slate tonight and we’ll start with George Kirby as he heads into Fenway to face this Red Sox lineup. Kirby definitely passes the eye test as one of the better pitching prospects in the MLB. In his brief MLB career (10 innings), he has a 20.5% strikeout rate but in the minors, he was right around that 30% range, so I think that number comes up and will be a solid option in all formats. Rich Hill will start for the Sox here and gets a nice matchup against a below-average Mariners lineup. Hill has been serviceable as of late with at least 24 FanDuel points in three straight and looks like a solid enough option here.

SEA 5-star plays: Julio Rodriguez

4-star plays: Ty France, Jesse Winker

GPP Note: More of a mini-stack team, but Rodriguez adds a lot to this lineup as a whole

BOS 5-star plays: Rafael Devers

4-star plays: JD Martinez, Trevor Stroy, Xander Bogaerts

GPP Note: I do like Kirby quite a bit, but we’ve seen young guys get blown up before, so no issue with this hard-hitting Red Sox lineup.

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Arizona Diamondbacks (-113) @ Chicago Cubs (-105)

Implied Run Totals:

Diamondbacks – 4.1 IRT

Cubs – 4.1 IRT

Rundown:

Zac Gallen will get the start in a rough spot as he heads into what looks to be a wind game in Wrigley Field. At this moment, it looks like the wind will be blowing out to left at about 15 mph in this one. Keep an eye on the Weather Station in case this changes, but makes these pitchers a bit more risky as the wind can easily turn flyouts into home runs. All that said, Gallen has been excellent as of late with a 1.05 ERA and at least 20 DraftKings points in five straight starts. Marcus Stroman will start for the Cubs and is less impacted by the wind due to his high ground ball tendencies, so he’ll look like a nice option against a below-average lineup.

ARI 5-star plays: Ketel Marte

4-star plays: Daulton Varsho, Christian Walker

GPP Note: Wind is blowing out at Wrigley if any of these guys can get under one of Stroman’s pitches. I like this spot for both teams regardless of the pitching.

CHC 5-star plays: None

4-star plays: Willson Contreras, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Jonathan Villar

GPP Note: I like the spot a lot for this Cubs team, but Gallen has been really good this season, so more of a secondary stack.

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Texas Rangers (+180) @ Houston Astros (-215)

Implied Run Totals:

Rangers – 3.3 IRT

Astros – 4.9 IRT

Rundown:

WE’ll round out this slate with Glenn Otto taking the mound against this Houston lineup… it’s gonna be a no from me dawg on the Otto pitching option. This Astros lineup is swinging some hot bats and Otto is sporting a 6.38 ERA on the season. Framber Valdez will start for Houston and looks like a solid option in all formats against a boom or bust Texas team. I will say, this Rangers lineup does have some pop if they can run into a couple of hard-hit balls.

TEX 5-star plays: None

4-star plays: Eli White, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia

GPP Note: More of a GPP stack than anything for me.

HOU 5-star plays: Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarezz

4-star plays: Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel, Jeremy Pena

GPP Note: This Astros stack looks great and will make for a top stack on the main slate.

MLB season is here! DFSArmy VIP Members had a big season last year and are in for some big things again this season! We will have cheat sheets, breakdowns, and many other tools to help make you successful in one of the more volatile fantasy sports.

Stacks of the Day: All Slates

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Houston Astros
3. Kansas City Royals

MLB DFS Dinger of the Day – Luis Robert (DK – $4.3k; FD – $3.8k)

I just love the matchup for Robert here against a gas can in Hernandez. This White Sox stack is my top stack of the day and Robert will not be left out of it, he looks like a great option in all formats and I’m going to call my first double dong of the season here! Tweet me (@MadnessDFS) your dinger predictions and if you’re right I’ll give you a shoutout on Twitter, let’s have some fun with this!

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