Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to Monday’s edition of Aces and Bases, where I’ll be going through the top MLB DFS Aces and Stacks on DraftKings and Fanduel.
After a long few days of having to worry about weather and delays/ppd’s, the weather is beautiful for our 6-game slate of MLB DFS. At first glance, this slate is a tough one. There are no true aces and few pitchers that are actually in good spots.
Let’s dig and make some money!
MLB DFS Aces – Main
Drew Smyly vs. Washington Nationals
This is how bad pitching is today as I’m recommending Drew Smyly first. Smyly has pitched pretty respectably this year as he’s sporting an ERA of 3.21 and really hasn’t had a single start since his first start where he’s been blown up. The biggest concern here will be strikeouts. The Nationals don’t really strike out much vs. lefties. The projected lineup today has just a 17% k rate vs. lefties.
Smyly for his part isn’t a strikeout pitcher. He has just a 25% k rate on the year. I do think though that he pitches well enough to get into the teens tonight in terms of DK points and with how bad pitching is, that may be enough to get into the money.
Blake Snell vs. Cincinnati Reds
This is another tough one. Snell has all the talent in the world. He has shown to be dominant at times. There’s one thing though that he’s struggled with his entire career and that’s his control. He has a whopping 8.2 BB/9 this year. Until he can get that under control, it will be tough to consider him a top-tier pitching in the league.
That said, he gets a solid matchup today vs. the Reds. As a whole, the Reds have very pedestrian numbers vs. lefties this season, including a nearly 25% k rate. If Snell can cut down on his walks today, he has the chance to be one of the top pitchers on the slate.
Other pitchers I may have interest in are going to be Cal Quantrill vs. the Yankees if Judge is out again and Jose Berrios vs. Boston. Just know Berrios is never trustworthy.
MLB DFS Stacks – Main
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Corey Kluber
The Toronto Blue Jays offense exploded for 10 runs yesterday after getting nearly no-hit by a spot starter making his major league debut. They have been one of the most inconsistent offenses all year and because of that, their ownership has been somewhat suppressed this season. This is a great spot for their offense to continue with the moment they built yesterday.
Corey Kluber is no longer an ace but a back-end-of-the-rotation guy at best. He matches up extremely poorly with the Blue Jays. He’s a flyball pitcher facing a team that has a bunch of guys that have flyball rates over 40%. A home run derby is not out of the question tonight.
I’m starting out my Blue Jays stack with Matt Chapman, Bo Bichette, and George Springer. Matt Chapman has been a beast this season. His average is up to .380 on the season and has already driven up 21 RBI. He also has a wOBA of .486. He’s been locked in all season and has shown.
After Chapman, I’ll lock in Bo Bichette. Bichette had a pair of homers this week and combined for 11 runs + rbi. Other bats I’ll look to here will be Vlad Guerrero, Danny Jensen, and Cavan Biggio,
San Diego Padres vs. Luke Weaver
A case could be made to start Luke Weaver tonight. He’s one of the few pitchers tonight that has any strikeout upside. That said, he’s also giving up a boatload of runs. Through 11 innings of work, his ERA is up to 7.71. He’s given up 10 ER so far this season and 5 homers. He’ll have his hands full tonight as he gets to take on a fully healthy Padres lineup. I don’t care much about splits here. Both sides have been crushing him this season.
I’m going to build around Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado tonight. Both guys have really been coming around. Tatis is only about a week into the season after finishing up his suspension for PEDs. Over his last 23 AB, Tatis has 8 hits and has an OPS pushing 1.000. As he gets his timing back, he’s only going to get better. He’s expensive, but he’s in line for a solid night.
Machado has also been playing, but who wouldn’t after playing in Mexico for a couple of games? That park makes Coors look huge. He’s seeing the ball right now so we’ll want him in our lineups. Other guys I like here are Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, Trent Grishman, and anyone else that cracks the lineup.
Houston Astros vs. Ross Stripling
I’ve never been a huge fan of Ross Stripling. He’s someone that gives up a lot of hard contact and a decent amount of flyballs. Often, those flyballs tend to go over the fence. I’ll be chasing that tonight. Through 15 innings of work this season, he’s already given up 6 homers. That’s not something that’s unfamiliar to him. They were down for him last season, but in the 2 years prior to that he gave up more than 2 HR/9.
When I play the Astros, I make it a point to play Yordan Alvarez. He’s a top 5 bat in the league IMO. Alvarez has quietly had a solid start to the year. While he only has 6 homers, he’s up to 27 RBI. With Altuve out, this lineup is built around him.
I’m also going to add in Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena. Pena is probably their hottest hitter right now. Over his last 24 AB, Pena has 8 hits and 3 homers. He’s hot at the plate and a priority for me. I’ll round out this stack with guys like Mauricio Dubon and Kyle Tucker.
MLB DFS Summary
This is a tough slate, there’s not sugar coating it. I plan on playing light tonight because there are field mines everywhere just waiting to explode.
Make sure to drop into Discord where we’re constantly talking about plays for every slate.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green.
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