This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Sure, you want to enjoy your Memorial Day. However, isn't MLB part of the holiday? Get more back for your buck this Monday with some DFS baseball. It's a holiday, and you may want to get your lineup in and then enjoy the rest of your day. Also, there are only six games on in the evening, and one is the second leg of a doubleheader. You can get a lineup in by 1:05 p.m. ET, right? Let's go full slate today! That gives you 12 games to pick players from, because the second half of the doubleheader between the Brewers and the Cubs is being eschewed. Or, use this info for an afternoon or evening slate, or both. It's up to you what you do with my recommendations.
Pitching
Framber Valdez, HOU at OAK ($10,500): Valdez has a 2.83 ERA this season, and since 2020 he has a 2.80 ERA on the road. The hurler isn't just on the road Monday, he's in Oakland's expansive ballpark. That ballpark also plays home to the Athletics, who are battling the Tigers to stay out of the basement in terms of team OPS.
Walker Buehler, LAD vs. PIT ($10,300): This is a slam-dunk no-brainer, assuming you are cool with this level of salary. In this instance, I certainly am. Buehler has a 2.91 ERA after he had a 2.47 ERA last season. He also has a 6-1 record. The Pirates are 29th in runs scored. Buehler is as close to a lock for a win as you will find.
Dylan Bundy, MIN at DET ($7,500): Bundy has a 4.54 ERA, but a 3.94 FIP. Also, while he's had a couple brutal starts this year, Bundy looked good in his last outing, when he only allowed one run in 5.2 innings. That game? It was against the Tigers, who rank last in runs scored.
Top Targets
Even if the Guardians don't end up making the playoffs, Jose Ramirez ($4,500) could win himself an MVP. He's been in the running before, which is what happens when you have multiple seasons with more than 35 homers and 25 stolen bases. Ramirez is one of baseball's true elite hitters, and in his career Royals pitcher Jonathan Heasley has a 4.82 ERA.
Maybe Jorge Soler ($4,200) isn't going to win a batting title, but he has power. He hit 48 home runs in a season once. He had 27 last year, and he has 11 this season. Now, the Cuban slugger is bringing that power to Coors Field. Ryan Feltner is expected to get the start, and he has a career 7.71 ERA even though he's only even pitched 2.2 innings at Coors.
Bargain Bats
Last season Randy Arozarena ($3,300) picked up 20 homers and 20 stolen bases, and this year he has four of the former and seven of the later. Weirdly, Arozarena has been struggling at home in 2022, but he has a .926 OPS on the road. Glenn Otto made six starts last season and had a 9.26 ERA. He's improved this year, but that means he's made six starts and posted a 4.91 ERA.
Ketel Marte ($3,200) has a career .285/.344/.452 slash line, so I expect him to get into the swing of things this year. Indeed, he does have an .871 OPS over the last three weeks. I do wonder if Charlie Morton has lost a step or two in his age-38 season. He has a 5.28 ERA through nine starts.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers vs. Zach Thompson ($): Freddie Freeman ($4,100), Justin Turner ($3,000), Chris Taylor ($2,900)
The move to Pittsburgh isn't going great for Thompson, as he has a 5.50 ERA. He's also allowed 1.31 home runs per nine innings in his first season as a full-time starter. Of course, the Dodgers have a lineup that can rough up any pitcher, let alone a guy scuffling for one of the worst teams in baseball.
When Freeman gets to face a righty, you definitely want him in your lineup. He's put up a 1.001 OPS against right-handed pitchers since 2020. Turner has an .879 OPS over the last three weeks, so he's rounding into form. After all, this is a guy who hasn't finished a season with an OPS lower than .832 since 2013, the year before he joined the Dodgers. Taylor enjoys his home ballpark, as he has a .917 OPS at home since 2020. Additionally, last season he hit 20 homers and stole 13 bases.
Mets vs. Erick Fedde ($8,000): Pete Alonso ($4,100), Starling Marte ($3,700), Jeff McNeil ($3,200)
Fedde has a 3.55 ERA, but a 4.17 FIP. Even this is a step up for him, as he has a career 5.04 ERA and an identical 5.04 FIP. This year he's only allowed 0.99 home runs per nine innings, but in his career he's allowed 1.50. More homers are coming, I would bet, and this Mets lineup could do it.
Alonso doesn't really need any help with home runs. He has 12 this year, and nobody has forgotten when he hit 53 as a rookie in 2019. Marte is more of a stolen bases guy than a power guy. He did steal 47 bases just last year and has seven this season. However, he also has four home runs in 2022 for good measure. McNeil has a .317/.372/.463 slash line in 2022, which is totally sustainable for a guy with a career .301/.366/.460 slash line.
Red Sox vs. Tyler Wells ($6,300): Trevor Story ($4,200), J.D. Martinez ($4,000), Xander Bogaerts ($3,900)
Wells spent last season in the bullpen, but in his first season as a starter he has a 4.30 ERA. He doesn't strike out anybody, as he's only managed 5.97 strikeouts per nine innings. Wells has also let righties hit .280 against him this year, so I am stacking three righties here.
When he was a Rockie, Story had three seasons with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Though he has left Coors, he seems primed to do it again, as he has nine homers and six swiped bags. Speaking of leaving Coors, Story has an .847 OPS at his new home in Boston. Martinez is absolutely smashing the ball, as he's slashed .379/.439/.588. He has two full seasons with an OPS over 1.000, so we know Martinez has this kind of upside. Bogaerts power is down a bit from the past four seasons, where he collectively slugged .523. However, he's hit .328, has a .395 OBP, and that power will likely pick up.
