This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Welcome to May, and welcome to a Sunday teeming with MLB action. The slate includes 10 games in the early afternoon, the first starting at 1:05 p.m. ET. To try and help you start a new month of DFS action on a high note, here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Kevin Gausman, TOR vs. HOU ($9,900): Gausman remade himself as a pitcher after leaving the wasteland that is Baltimore, but he's taken it to a new level the last couple of years. He posted a 2.81 ERA in 2021 and is at 2.19 with a 0.58 FIP through four starts this season. Houston is surprisingly hovering around the bottom-10 in runs scored, but then again maybe it isn't that surprising given Carlos Correa is gone and Jose Altuve is hurt.
Logan Gilbert, SEA at MIA ($9,300): This year, the Marlins are near the bottom-10 in runs scored and ranked 29th last season. Given the general lack of improvement in the offseason, finishing around the bottom-five again in 2022 wouldn't shock me. On the surprising front, Gilbert has been a pleasant one. He allowed one run in his first start and has blanked three opponent since. Even his 2.38 FIP is impressive.
Luis Severino, NYY at KC ($8,800): Severino has made four starts this season, the most he's been able to manage since 2018. He's healthy, available, and has averaged 96.6 miles per hour on his fastball. That's helped Severino to a 3.32 ERA, and now he faces a Royals team in the bottom-five in scoring.
Top Targets
Welcome back, Ronald Acuna ($3,900)! Patience makes sense as he's returning from a serious injury. On the other hand, he boasts a career .924 OPS and in his last full season fell three stolen bases short of a 40-40 campaign. This is a nice matchup for helping to ease Acuna into action, as Taylor Hearn has produced a career 5.10 ERA.
"X" marks the spot when it comes to Xander Bogaerts ($3,700) on Sunday. All he's missing are the counting stats, as he's posted a .375/.419/.500 slash line. He hit 23 homers and even five steals last season, so those numbers will come. Homers are often part of the Jordan Lyles experience, as he allowed 1.76 home runs per nine innings over the previous three seasons.
Bargain Bats
Jurickson Profar ($3,300) is having one of those years where he isn't making much contact, but he packs a punch when he does. Though he's only hit .186, he's slugged .457 with five homers. When it comes to bargain bats, the upside of one swing connecting for a homer is worth a shot, especially in a good matchup. Well, Mitch Keller has a career 6.08 ERA, and he's allowed both lefties and righties to hit a mirror .297 against in 2022.
While he's off to a slow start, Kolten Wong ($2,600) slashed .272/.335/.447 with 14 homers and 12 stolen bases last season, his first with the Brewers. Maybe the lefty just needs a favorable matchup with a righty. Marcus Stroman is off to an even-worse start than Wong with a 6.98 ERA and has given up a homer in every start.
Stacks to Consider
Angels vs. Dallas Keuchel ($5,900): Mike Trout ($4,300), Taylor Ward ($3,800), Anthony Rendon ($3,600)
Keuchel really struggled in 2021 by posting a 5.28 ERA. Maybe it was just an off year? Well, through three starts in 2022, he's at 9.00. That's not the sign of a turnaround. Since he's a lefty, I'm stacking three right-handed batters.
Trout needs no sales pitch. When healthy, he's the best hitter in baseball. His career OPS is 1.005 and has slashed .307/.427/.631 over the 107 games he's played the last three seasons. Ward is enjoying a breakout campaign to the tune of a .392/.500/.784 line with five homers. Rendon's .346 OBP is maybe a sign he's finding his old form and he's also managed a .802 OPS against lefties since 2020.
Yankees vs. Daniel Lynch ($7,600): Aaron Judge ($4,300), DJ LeMahieu ($3,800), Giancarlo Stanton ($3,400)
Lynch hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts, but still allowed six runs and three homers in his first appearance. His career ERA is 5.35, so I'm not buying into two starts. Lynch is another lefty, so here's another three-righty stack.
Judge loves to face a lefty. He's sporting an 1.022 OPS versus southpaws since 2020. LeMahieu is putting his struggles from last season behind him by slashing .301/.370/.452. Stanton hasn't walked much, but his career .357 OBP leaves me unconcerned. And he has four homers anyway, a reminder of his career .541 slugging percentage.
Cardinals vs. Zach Davies ($7,200): Nolan Arenado ($3,900), Tommy Edman ($3,400), Corey Dickerson ($2,200)
Davies has watched his numbers collapse the last two seasons. In his one campaign as a Cub, he posted a 5.78 ERA. To start his time with the Diamondbacks, he's struggled to a 5.40. He doesn't strike out many batters and his home runs are up, making him a decidedly-poor pitcher but a great stack target.
Arenado returns from his one-game suspension Sunday and he'll bring with him an 1.125 OPS in 2022. That's not sustainable, but this is someone who slugged .494 with 34 home runs in a "down" 2021. Edman displayed proven baserunning skills with 30 stolen bases last season. His five swiped bags this year aren't a surprise, but he's also hit .300 with three homers. I wanted a lefty, and Dickerson is the best you're going to get in this lineup having hit .277 against righties with 10 homers over 462 plate appearances versus righties the last two seasons.
