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We have a 12-game main slate on tap tonight, and it is relatively wide open. Sure, Coors is likely in play, but there are some other really great spots to pivots for bats and a lot of different strategies for starting pitchers. The mid-priced pitching range is intriguing with Pablo Lopez, Bumgarner, Chris Bassitt, Robbie Ray, and others. Arguments can be made for many. The same goes for stacks outside of just Coors. Make sure to listen to MLB DFS Quick Hits to get the full DraftKings breakdown of tonight's slate.
The slate starts with the fun decision of stacking Coors, which is hard to avoid with the discounts on so many bats. After going yay or nay to Coors, it's about the other major stacks (most listed below). With so many quality pitching options, I am good at building with my bats for the most part and then filling in pitching. Go and get your main stack or a couple of mini-stacks and then see what pitchers work for you. It is gonna be a pretty fun slate tonight.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/11/2021. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also check out today's FanDuel MLB DFS lineup picks and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter @bdentrek.
DraftKings DFS Starting Pitchers
Brady Singer - P, KC at DET ($5,700)
I could have discussed some of the chalkier, pricier options, but QH has that info; let's have some fun with a value arm for tonight's slate. Singer has been very hot and cold this season but overall has been quite productive. He has thrown at least five innings in four of his last five starts while allowing no more than three runs and one or less in four of the last five. The only start he went less than five innings was when a comebacker hit him in the heel, and he had to leave the game. Over the last five games, Singer has a 23.7% strikeout rate to go with a 47.1% ground ball rate and 2.10 ERA. The quality of contact has been great as well, as Singer is only allowing a 1.4% barrel rate and 31.4% hard-hit rate over the last five games. Singer takes on a Tigers' team that strikes out 28% of the time versus RHP this season to go with a .222 average and an 88 wRC+. There is always a risk with punt pitchers, but Singer brings a strong ceiling into tonight's action and should be considered a great value at SP2.
Shohei Ohtani - P, LAA at HOU ($7,400)
It's Shohei Ohtani night on the mound, which means another night where DK misprices an ace caliber arm. Sure there is always the risk of how far Ohtani will go tonight, making him pretty much out of cash game considerations, but the ceiling he brings to your DK lineups at his price point is ridiculous. Ohtani has thrown five innings in each of his last two starts, even went into the sixth in his last start but was pulled after a few walks. Ohtani has had some control issues with five to six walks in three of four starts, but the strikeout upside makes him extremely GPP relevant. Ohtani has seven or more strikeouts in each start, good for a 35.7% K%. He is also forcing opposing hitters to hit the ball on the ground to a tune of 59.4%. Ohtani has a tricky matchup tonight versus the Astros. A team that strikes out around 20% of the time versus RHP. Ohtani brings a lot of volatility into your DK lineups tonight, but the floor should be overall stable for $7400, but his ceiling could lead the slate at SP.
Other Options: Walker Buehler (LAD vs SEA) $9,800, Madison Bumgarner (AZ vs MIA) $8,700, Marcus Stroman (NYM vs BAL) $9,100
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DraftKings DFS Infielders
Danny Jansen - C, TOR at Bryce Wilson ($2,600)
Jansen has never been a major batting average asset, and good for us DFS players to not care about batting average. All we care about is fantasy points, and power production plays a large role in DFS scoring. Since Alejandro Kirk went down to injury, Jansen has slid into the starting role and has produced nicely. He is only hitting .208 over the last eight games but has hit three home runs to go with a .375 ISO and 122 wRC+. Jansen's 11.1% barrel rate and 44.4% hard-hit rate really stand out for the previous offensively challenged catcher. Tonight he faces Wilson, who has allowed RHH to hit .309 against him in his career (LHH .333). Wilson has also walked nearly 15% of the RHH he has faced in his career and given up 2.63 HR/9 to RHH in his career. Jansen is the punt-catching option tonight and should be considered in a tasty Jays stack.
Other Options: Yan Gomes (WAS vs PHI) $4,100, William Contreras (ATL vs TOR) $3,600
Matt Adams - 1B, COL vs Dinelson Lamet ($2,600)
This is strictly a value Coors Field play. C.J. Cron was put on the IL, which means it's all about Adams or Connor Joe ($2,400) at first base for the Rockies. Well, that's as long as the Rockies do not go full Rockies and mix things up. Adams is strictly used for his power, and you combine that with Coors; big things can happen. In his career, he has hit .269 versus RHP with a .214 ISO and 114 wRC+. He has mashed RHP in his career and gets Lamet plus some Padres bullpen tonight. Enjoy the Coors Field discount with Adams or Joe tonight.
Other Options: Matt Olson (OAK at BOS) $4,100, Josh Bell (WAS vs. PHI) $3,600, Eric Hosmer (SD at COL) $5,000
Whit Merrifield - 2B, KC at Matt Boyd ($5,300)
I do not usually spit out BVP stats, but Merrifield absolutely owns Boyd. Whit is 25-51 (.490) versus Boyd with 10 XBH and a .216 ISO. A 1.124 OPS against Boyd is not too shabby and justifies that high price tag. Whit is having a great season, running wild on the base paths while throwing in some power as well. So far in May, he has hit safely in eight of nine games with four XBH and two stolen bases. He will face Boyd tonight, who has been better this season, resembling the Boyd of his all-star season, but I will take my chances with Whit over Boyd tonight. Merrifield fills the stat sheet game after game and should be locked into cash lineups and Royals stacks tonight.
Other Options: Jake Cronenworth (SD at COL) $4,400, Mike Brosseau (TB vs NYY) $3,100
Didi Gregorius - SS, PHI at Eric Fedde ($3,800)
It has been an up-and-down season for Didi, but he appears to be on one of those nice upswings. He has hit safely in six of his last eight games for a .226 average. Yep, a whole .226 average. That is not great, so why am I discussing Didi? I am discussing Didi because he is hitting for power and driving in runs which stuffs the fantasy stat sheet and racks up those DK points. Over the last eight games, he has four XBH, including two home runs, six runs scored, and eight RBI. Didi has a .258 ISO and a .484 SLG to back up the uptick in power production. Lastly, Didi has been hitting 4-6 in the Phillies lineup, prime for run production. He'll face Fedde tonight, who has been getting it done, but I don't buy it, and I expect some regression coming soon. Enjoy the discounted Didi price, and if you feel like stacking the Phillies, I am fully on board with that as well.
Other Options: Hanser Alberto (KC at DET) $2,600, Josh Rojas (AZ vs. MIA) $4,600
Hunter Dozier - 3B/OF, KC at Matt Boyd ($3,800)
Sorry, not sorry that I keep writing about Dozier anywhere I can lately. I wrote about him nearly every day last week in my DFS content and even wrote about him in Sunday's OF WW article. Dozier has earned all the love as he has busted out of his slow start to the season and has turned into a fantasy stud once again. Even with a four-game hitless streak, Dozier is hitting .233 over his last eight games, but the fantasy production has come with his extra-base hits and run production. He has a .467 ISO with a 168 wRC+, even with the four-game hitless streak. Dozier also has seven extra-base hits, including three home runs over this stretch. Again, even with four hitless games, Dozier still is barreling the ball 21.1% of the time with a 52.6% hard-hit rate over his last eight games. He faces Boyd tonight, who has a .417 average against (10-24) with a .375 ISO, 1.273 OPS, and 5 XBH (2 HR's). Dozier is one of my favorite points per dollar play tonight (outside of Coors) and will be in my Royals' stacks with Whit.
Other Options: Yoan Moncada (CWS vs MIN) $4,600, Jeimer Candelario (DET vs KC) $4,100
DraftKings DFS Outfielders
Trent Grisham - OF, SD at Antonio Senzatela ($4,300)
I would love to hear DK's explanation of why the Padres lead-off hitter, who has been quite productive this season, is only $4,300 in Coors Field tonight. In May, Grisham is hitting .276, hitting safely in six of eight games. He has a .241 ISO to go with four extra-base hits and a stolen base. Grisham is even barreling the ball 9.5% of the time with a 47.6% hard-hit rate in May, which will play quite well in Coors. To makes things even better, Grisham gets a juicy matchup versus Senzatela tonight. Senzatela has been hit well by LHH in his career, and this season has allowed lefties to hit .288 with a .466 SLG while allowing at least 1 HR/9. Not to mention the Rockies bullpen is not so great as well. Grisham should be locked into cash lineups and Padres' stacks tonight.
Avisail Garcia - OF, MIL vs Kwang Hyun Kim ($2,900)
Garcia has been a hitting machine over his last 10 games yet is still priced under $3K. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games for a .484 average. The bugaboo for a bit was the lack of power from Garcia, but he now has a .129 ISO over the last 10 games with two XBH, a stolen base, a .504 wOBA, and even a 220 wRC+. Garcia has been an offensive machine. Tonight Garcia faces a pitch to contact LHP in Kim, and that bodes well for Garcia, who is hitting .318 versus LHP this season with a .373 wOBA and a 136 wRC+. Garcia is far too cheap tonight. He is cash viable as well as a piece of a sneaky Brewers stack. A Brewers team that has actually done some damage versus LHP and is cheap. Feel free to pair Garcia up with Tyrone Taylor ($2,000) and others.
Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN at Dylan Cease ($2,000)
I just mentioned Taylor as a solid $2,000 punt, but there's more with Larnach. Larnach is a power-hitting prospect that was just behind Alex Kirilloff in the Twins' system. With the Kirilloff injury, Larnach gets his chance. Larnach went 0-5 in his debut over the weekend but hit fifth in the Twins lineup, just like Kiriloff did. It may take a few games for Larnach to get comfortable, but jumping on him at the bare minimum from time to time will eventually pay off in a big way. If you are looking for a GPP punt, there are many, and Larnach should be on the list as the skillset is definitely there, and a big game will come sooner than later.
DraftKings DFS Stacks
- Kansas City Royals (Matt Boyd, LHP)
- Coors Field: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies (Dinelson Lamet, RHP at Antonio Senzatela, RHP)
- Chicago White Sox (Kenta Maeda, RHP)
- Washington Nationals (Chase Anderson, RHP)
- Sneaky Stack- Milwaukee Brewers (Kwang Hyun Kim, LHP)
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