What has happened to the Los Angeles Dodgers? The reigning champions got surprisingly swept over the weekend at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels during the MLB’s inaugural Rivalry Weekend and followed it up by losing on Monday to the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s not all bad, of course — they still have the third-best record in the MLB — but this recent malaise has been surprising.
Thankfully, the Dodgers have just the man to turn it around tonight, early NL Cy Young candidate Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($10,500). The Japanese star is coming off a rough start for his standards — six innings, three runs, two walks (19.9 FPTS) — and while I expect him to bounce back today, I won’t be targeting him like I usually do. Instead, here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders who should be in your lineups tonight.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $200K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Logan Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Baltimore Orioles, $9,500 – As much as I wanted to target Yamamoto or Tarik Skubal ($11,500), Henderson is a smarter option given the ineptitude of the Orioles’ offense recently. I targeted Quinn Priester against them yesterday, and although he wasn’t great, pitching 5.1 innings of three-run ball (seven FPTS), Baltimore still lost and now stands at just 53 runs scored through the first 19 days of May, which…isn’t great. Henderson, meanwhile, has been very solid in his first two MLB starts, pitching a combined 11 innings and giving up just three runs, seven hits, and two walks while striking out 16 (26.7 FPTS per game). The 23-year-old has gotten a little lucky, with a 2.45 ERA that’s a bit better than his 3.10 FIP, but he should get the job done tonight.
Value
Casey Lawrence, Seattle Mariners at Chicago White Sox, $6,500 – It’s been a rough season for Lawrence, who’s been designated for assignment four times already but has appeared to find a landing spot with the AL West-leading Mariners. He hasn’t been terrible when he’s taken the mound; with the exception of a 2.2-inning, three-run (negative-2.2-FPT) outing on April 29 in his last appearance, he’s given up two or fewer earned runs in four of his five appearances this season. He should be good for at least a few effective innings today against Chicago, which has posted the league’s worst OPS and scored the third-fewest runs.
INFIELDER
Stud
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies at Colorado Rockies, $6,100 – Turner certainly won’t come cheap, but he’s well worth his salary, given his combination of contact and speed. The veteran is slashing .303/.358/.400 this season, with his 56 hits tying him for the fourth-most in the National League, and he’s also stolen 10 bases, good for 10th on the Senior Circuit. He went off in the series opener against the Rockies yesterday, finishing a homer short of the cycle (22 FPTS), and he should be fine today against Antonio Senzatela ($4,500), who’s pitched to a 7.65 ERA (four FPTS per game) in four starts at home. Senzatela throws his fastball on more than half of his pitches, and this season, Turner has posted a .361 wOBA against fastballs.
Stud
Paul Goldschmidt, New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers, $4,500 – If not for the history that Aaron Judge ($6,400) makes on a daily basis, the story in the Bronx would be about the ageless wonder Goldschmidt, who was the reigning pennant winners’ marquee free agent signing. There’s no rational world in which a 37-year-old should be slashing .339/.389/.489 (8.5 FPTS per game), but here we are. In Texas, Patrick Corbin ($7,300) has had a bit of a bounce-back season after finishing with a negative WAR in three of the past four seasons, but his 4.74 FIP figure isn’t a real improvement and although his pitches’ spin rates and induced break have slightly increased from his past four horrible seasons, he just might be due for a blow-up outing.
Value
Shea Langeliers, Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels, $3,900 – Langeliers, the Athletics’ power-hitting backstop, has seen his DFS salary drop somewhat in recent weeks, but I’m not sure if it’s deserved, given that he’s slashing .333/.400/.472 (8.7 FPTS per game) over his last 10 games. His consistency hasn’t been there — he’s had three hitless games across that span — but he’s recorded a stolen base in two of his last six games, an RBI in two of his last five, and has walked in four of his last seven. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling against a washed-up Kyle Hendricks ($6,000), who’s pitched to a 5.18 ERA this season and is backed up by easily the league’s worst bullpen.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Teoscar Hernández, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, $5,300 – Hernández was activated before this series after suffering an adductor strain that held him out for two weeks, and though he didn’t perform well in the first game of the series — zero-for-four, one run, and one RBI (four FPTS) — it undoubtedly won’t take him long to get back on track. Prior to his injury, he was cruising, slashing .390/.405/.732 over his last 10 games (13.7 FPTS per game), and adding him to a lineup that already features an extremely in-form Shohei Ohtani ($6,500) is dangerous for opponents. Ryne Nelson ($5,700), meanwhile, hasn’t been used much as a starter this season, so it’s hard to predict exactly how he’ll pitch, but sporting a 5.13 ERA as a long reliever isn’t exactly ideal.
Stud
Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals, $4,700 – Greene made history at the start of the month, becoming the first MLB player ever to hit two home runs in the ninth inning of the same game in a 9-1 win over the Angels on May 2. But he’s continued his solid form since then, slashing .342/.390/.684 over his last 10 games (10.9 FPTS per game). His 11 homers rank sixth in the American League this season, and his barrel percentage ranks in the 91st percentile. Cardinals starter Erick Fedde ($7,000), meanwhile, throws a decent fastball but otherwise excels at nothing, posting a bottom-quartile figure in virtually all Statcast categories.
Value
Jake Meyers, Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays, $3,600 – Meyers had an excellent outing last night in the series opener, finishing two-for-three with a solo homer, a walk, and a stolen base (26 FPTS), and he’s been very solid over his last 10 games, slashing .313/.421/.438, which is more than you can usually expect from a player around his price point. He should continue to get regular playing time as long as Yordan Álvarez ($5,000) remains on the injury list. Rays starter Zack Littell ($7,200) has been fine this season, but he’s rather prone to the occasional long ball, as the 13 homers he’s conceded this season rank second in the AL. Meyer’s ninth-percentile bat speed hampers his power, but he does rank in the 82nd percentile at squaring it up.
