MLB DFS Winners and Losers: Cole, Meadows and More

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There was a 14 game slate on Memorial Day. I will go into detail on some players who performed really well and a couple who underachieved. The game between the Royals and White Sox was postponed in the fifth inning. Points and salaries are based on DraftKings.

Winners

Gerrit Cole ($11,300)

Cole and the Astros hosted the Chicago Cubs on Monday and got the win 6-5. Cole pitched really well and gave up only two earned runs on three hits and a walk. He gave up one home run over his 99 pitches and six full innings. He was able to rack up 12 strikeouts against the Cubs order. He scored 35.10 fantasy points. Cole got the win in this one and improved to 5-5 on the year. His ERA is now at 4.02 with a WHIP of 1.05. These are very good numbers but his strikeout rate is where he makes up most of his fantasy points. He has 112 strikeouts over 71.2 innings for a K/9 of 14.08. He also only has 18 walks.

Cole’s Outlook

Cole’s next projected start will come against Athletics on Sunday June 2nd. The A’s have scored the the 12th most runs in the league this year and average 4.89 runs per game. They rank 18th in the league in batting average at .246. The Athletics do avoid the strikeout really well and average only 7.56 per game, which ranks them among the Top 5 in the league. Most of Cole’s production comes from his strikeouts and with the A’s being among the leaders in strikeout avoidance I see this as a spot to fade Cole.

Austin Meadows ($5,400)

Austin Meadows of the Tampa Bay Rays played against the Blue Jays at home on Memorial Day. The Rays won this game 8-3 in large part because of Meadows. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base. He added three RBI and scored once. He also struck out once. Meadows’ home run came late in the game in the bottom of the eighth. He scored 29 fantasy points. Meadows has put up huge numbers so far. He is hitting .351 with an OPS of 1.105. He has 11 home runs and 30 RBI. He has also added six stolen bases. This is Meadows’ third multi hit game in his last four.

Meadows’ Outlook

The Rays have two more home games against the Blue Jays. Toronto’s pitching staff has been average this year and has the 14th best team ERA in the league at 4.29. They allow an opponent’s batting average of .244, which also ranks 14th in the league. Meadows has been an extremely hot hitter lately and I don’t think he will be slowed down too much by the Blue Jays pitching staff. If you can make room, roster him with confidence for the remainder of this series.

Yonny Chirinos ($7,900)

Yonny Chirinos, also of the Tampa Bay Rays, continued the dominance of the Rays pitching staff. He had a no-hitter for five innings before being pulled after just 69 pitches. He will not go too deep into games and this was not a surprise. He walked two and struck out seven. Chirinos improved to 6-1 on the year and has 11 appearances and five starts. He has an ERA of 2.91 with a WHIP of 0.86. His K/9 is only 6.80, which is right about on his career average.

Chirinos’ Outlook

Chirinos’ next projected start will come against the Twins at home. The Twins offense has been incredible this year and they average over six runs scored per game. They are second in the league with a .273 team batting average. They have hit 104 home runs, tops in the league. They also have the third least strikeouts in the league. All of this adds up to create a spot to fade Chirinos. Moving forward, though, I will look to roster him at his price even as his role doesn’t always allow him to go as deep into games as other pitchers.

Losers

Cole Hamels ($9,200)

Hamels and the Cubs faced off against the Houston Astros on the road and he was roughed up early in this one. He gave up six earned runs on seven hits and four walks over four innings pitched. He was not able to get one single strikeout in this one. Hamels dropped to 4-1 on this year. His ERA is now at 4.02 and his WHIP is at 1.36. He has 60 strikeouts over 62.2 innings this year and his K/9 is just under nine. This was Hamels’ second consecutive bad start after giving up three earned runs on nine hits, over just four innings in his last outing.

Hamels’ Outlook

Hamel’s next projected start will come against the St Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals average exactly five runs per game this year and have a team batting average of .253. With Hamels struggling lately and the Cardinals offense putting up decent numbers, I will be staying away from him in this one. I will most likely be staying away in the future until he can regain his early season form.

Ryan Braun ($4,500)

The Brewers beat the Twins on the road on Monday. They won 5-4, but most of the offensive production did not come from the big names. Braun went 0-for-4 in this one. His batting average is now at .274 and his OPS dropped to .813. He has also added four stolen bases this year. He has been really good lately and has a batting average of .407 in the month of May. He also has four home runs and 14 RBI this month.

Braun’s Outlook

The Brewers have one more game against the Twins before heading to Pittsburgh for a series against the Pirates. Minnesota’s pitching staff has been really good this year but the same cannot be said about the Pirates. The Pirates have a team ERA of 4.60, which ranks them at 19th in the league. They allow an opposing batting average of .250. I will not be rostering Braun against the Twins Tuesday but I will look for him to build on his huge May against the Pirates.

Injury Report

Austin Barnes has been placed on the 10-day IL with a groin injury.

Luke Weaver has been placed on the 10-day IL with a forearm injury.