Antonio D'Arcangelis 
Today’s edition of Aces and Bases focuses ONLY on FanDuel’s 10-game MLB DFS Main Slate for 7:05PM ET, hopefully finding you some green screens!
Some scattered T-storms in the Colorado vicinity tonight, so we’ll leave that game off our discussion since I don’t have to tell you to deploy bats in Coors if the game looks like it’ll play. Let’s get to it!
MLB DFS: The Aces
Top MLB DFS Ace: Trevor Bauer ($11,000)
We haven’t seen the Bauer ceiling game in a while, and I suspect this could be the night facing the offensively challenged Miami Marlins. There’s no need for a ton of analysis here in determining the top arm of this slate, as Carlos Rodon is an option, but was initially scheduled to start Thursday against the Twins and was pushed back after experiencing back and hamstring tightness. Add to that the prospect of some ugly weather in Chicago and he’s just not nearly as safe as Bauer — although there’s plenty of upside if that game plays without delay. I’ll let that determination fall to the weather watchers, but for me, it’s just easier to build around the chalky but upside-laden Bauer against a Marlins team that hits poorly on the road.
Best GPP Value: Ian Anderson ($8,600)
For two Saturdays in a row, I’m going to be using Anderson in the hopes he can avoid the big inning and settle down a little sooner than his previous start. The price has come up a bit (from $7,900) since last weekend, but Anderson’s opponent has a team total under 4 and he’s capable of striking out 8-10 batters. I’ll be using Bauer as my go to SP in most of my MLB DFS builds tonight, but Anderson makes plenty of sense on a relatively thin pitching slate without many “sure thing” candidates for 40+ fantasy points.
Contrarian GPP Value: Triston McKenzie
Domingo German might get a bit of ownership in MLB DFS tonight, as the Yankees take on the Orioles, but McKenzie is coming off his first win of the season on May 6, so he’s rested and ready. While the addition of Jarred Kelenic has added some firepower to the top of the Seattle batting order, the Mariners have a relatively high K rate (26.3% — tied with the Marlins) and there’s lots of upside at this price point for McKenzie — who’s tailor made for FanDuel scoring with his high walk (8.37 BB/9 in five starts) and K rates (12.93 per 9 IP). If he can keep the M’s off the bases and avoid the big fly, he should make value and get you the 30-40 FD points needed to pay off his meager $6,900 salary.
MLB DFS: The Bases
Top Stack: Houston Astros vs. TEX RHP Dane Dunning
I actually like Dunning a bit in MLB DFS — he’s got swing-and-miss stuff and is coming off a career-high 10K performance against the Mariners on May 9 where he settled down his demons and got back to throwing his effective slider. Unfortunately, the Astros offense has just the kind of firepower and plate patience to make Dunning’s day a long one (or short one, if we’re being honest). The miniscule team K rate (18.7% — lowest in the majors) is a great indicator for stacking against pitchers like Dunning who rely heavily on the K to get outs. While Dunning has fared better against LHB in the small sample of 2021 so far, the Astros are littered with lefty mashers and righties who maintain high wOBA against RHP. Yordan Alvarez ($4,300) is the highest-priced bat on Houston, but I’ll be looking closely at the red-hot Kyle Tucker ($3,400) as well as standard stackers Jose Altuve ($3,800), Alex Bregman ($3,700) and Michael Brantley ($3,100). In his last six games, Tucker has 3 HR, 10 hits and 9 RBI.
Value Stack: Philadelphia Phillies vs. TOR LHP Anthony Kay
The Phillies offer a bit of a discount from the Astros, but the upside is almost as high facing a young lefty in a minor league park with a high ERA (Kay: 10.24, with a 5.59 FIP). Rhys Hoskins ($3,300), J.T., Realmuto ($3,400), Andrew McCutcheon ($3,200) and just about any other Phillies hitter — Jean Segura ($2,800), Alec Bohm ($2,400) stand out as solid value options — made sense last night and they do again today. I like a few stacks today (more on that later), but this could end up being a huge leverage play on a day where they might get lower ownership than expected.
Contrarian Stack: Washington Nationals vs. ARI RHP Seth Frankoff
It’s hard to justify them as a contrarian play after they went off for 17 runs in Arizona last night, but some folks might consider it chasing ands other s will be naturally drawn to the Astros, Phillies and teams like the Indians (also a decent contrarian stack or one-off spot for one-off RHB like Jordan Luplow, Franmil Reyes and Jose Ramirez vs. SEA LHP Justus Sheffield). But the Nats are just loaded with hitters who are heating up like Trea Turner ($3,900), Juan Soto ($4,000) and Kyle Schwarber ($3,200), who has homers in consecutive games and went off for 40.4 FD points last night. Josh Bell ($3,000) and the underpriced Yan Gomes ($2,400) are solid options as well.
Good luck, and make sure you utilize the MLB Projection models to land on your one-offs and off-the-wall value plays!
