Jared Levitt 
Welcome to the Sunday Funday version of Aces and Bases. We have an 8 game slate of MLB DFS on Fanduel.
Unlike past Sundays, today have some solid pitching that we can focus on. We have 2 aces priced as aces and 1 ace that’s well, not priced as an ace.
From a weather standpoint, today should be smooth sailing!
So pour yourself your favorite Sunday morning cocktail (bloody with old bay around the rim and some bacon strips as a “stirrer”) and let’s dig in to some today’s main slate on FanDuel!
MLB DFS: The Aces
Today’s first ace is Shane Bieber ($11.5k). Over the past two weeks Bieber has an unreal 40% k rate. While unsustainable, it is a pretty insane number. He had 23, yes 23 k’s over his last 2 starts. Bieber is one of the top young arms in the league and he’s been performing up to the task. While the Reds will most likely throw out 3 lefties in the top 5 today, none of them scare me off of Bieber.
Ace #2 – Gerrit Cole ($11k) vs. the Rays. I’ll be honest, I most likely will not go here today but he’s an ace and should always be in the convo when starting. Like Bieber, Cole also has an unreal K rate over the past 2 weeks. Almost 45%. Unsustainable, but extremely impressive. What has me off Cole today has nothing to do with Cole, but his team. The Yankees have really struggled against the Rays. And because of that, I’m worried about the coveted win.
Ace #3 – Freddy Peralta ($8.5k) vs. the Pirates. He’s my guy today. Over his last 2 starts he has 18 k’s. I should preface that with saying that it was against the Cubs who are a shell of their championship team from a few years ago. The expected lineup vs. Peralta today has a 23% k rate vs. righties. While that isn’t a crazy high number, Peralta’s discounted price from the other aces on the slate has me less concerned with it. Peralta is also really limiting hard contact. Over his past 2 starts he’s only and an 18.8% hard hit rate and a 37.5% soft hit rate. People just aren’t squaring him up.
One guy I didn’t write up that I also really like is Aaron Nola ($8.5k) vs. the Cardinals. Nola has elite stuff and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up as one of the top arms today.
MLB DFS: The Bases
The year was 2016. It was the NL Wild Card game. Mets vs. Giants. MadBum vs. Thor. I knew before the game started the Mets had no shot. Bumgarner was one of the top pitchers in the game. Add in the playoff atmosphere and he was even better. Flash forward to 2021 and we now lick our chops when he’s on the mound as he is always a top target to attack. He had a 5.79 xFIP over his last 2 starts with a 41% hard hit rate. I absolutely love the Washington Nationals today. Turner ($3.8k), Soto ($4.2k), and Bell ($3.1k) should all be in your lineup today.
Stack #2 – Kansas City Royals vs. Robbie Ray. This isn’t 100% safe. When Ray is on, he’s an elite arm. When he’s off, he’s off! While his first start didn’t look bad, his underlying metrics told a different story. His xFIP was 1.5 runs higher than his era said. None of the contact he gave up was soft. The royals expected lineup today has a .347 wOBA against lefties and only a 20% k rate. Love Merrifield ($3.9k), Soler ($2.7k), and Perez ($3.3k) if he plays.
Stack #3 – Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chad Kuhl. Kuhl has really struggled of late. In his last 2 starts he’s pitched to a, rubs eyes, an 8.42 xFIP. That’s just not gonna cut it. This Brewers lineup has the ability to put up a big number. In 2 of their last 3 games they’ve scored 6 and 7 runs. Bradley ($2.4K), Hiura ($2.5k), Shaw ($2.6k), and Garcia ($2.8k) are all very cheap and in great spots. Love the spot here.
MLB DFS Sunday Funday Summary
As with every Sunday slate, make sure to keep an extra eye on lineups. With it being getaway day, players (especially catchers) tend to get today as an extra day off.
Enjoy today’s slate. It has the makings of a really fun slate. Some really solid pitchers and some lineups in really great spots.
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