This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Happy Mother's Day. You may be planning to spend some of the day with your mother or perhaps you are a mother yourself. However, if you're reading this, you're probably trying to carve out a little time to put together a daily fantasy baseball lineup. Hey, at least Sunday means a bunch of afternoon games, which means you can, and will, get your lineup early in the day. By this point, the strikingly small sample sizes have become…well not large, but big enough to be worth something. Here are some recommendations on my part to try and ensure this Mother's Day is indeed a happy one.
PITCHING
There aren't a ton of things I'm sure of at this point in the season, but I am deeply confident in the belief that the Miami Marlins have the worst offense in baseball, and that will remain true until the end of the campaign. I'm happy to go with almost any pitcher against the Marlins, but when that pitcher is Noah Syndergaard ($49), you don't really need an extra push.
Hyun-Jin Ryu ($48) has been a beast at Dodgers Stadium the last few years. Since 2017 he has a 2.22 ERA in the friendly confines of Chavez Ravine. The Nationals were supposed to be a playoff contender, but their offense is struggling to start the season. You might see Washington on the schedule and blanche, but I say go for it.
If you want to save a little cash, you can take a gamble on Lucas Giolito ($36). The one-time highly touted prospect has had issues in the majors. Even this year, he has a 4.06 ERA. However, he also has a 3.47 FIP and has struck out a whopping 11.03 batters per nine innings. He may be on the road, but in his career he's actually been better away from the White Sox's home ballpark. Plus, the Blue Jays are in the bottom five in runs scored.
KEY VALUES/CHALK
Last year was a forgettable one for Carlos Correa ($21). He had a .239 batting average, thanks in part to a .284 BABIP. Fortunately, he's bouncing back this season, as he has a .283/.346/.551 slash line with nine homers. Meanwhile, Texas is starting Adrian Samson at pitcher, and he has a 5.51 FIP in his career.
Bryce Harper's ($15) batting average is down again to start this campaign, but the power is still there. Last season he hit 34 homers and he's got seven more this year. On top of that, he has a .962 OPS against righties since 2017. Kansas City's starter Jakob Junis has allowed 1.55 home runs per nine innings, which plays right into Harper's power potential.
There's a lot wrong with the Orioles, which is a story for another day, but not with Trey Mancini ($16). The slugger has a .322 batting average with seven homers, and he's hit 24 home runs in each of the last two seasons. Griffin Canning, who is starting for the Angels, has only two MLB starts to his name. We don't know much about him yet, but his lack of experience is partially why I'm making this Mancini recommendation.
Jonathan Schoop's ($16) move to Minnesota has worked out well for him so far. He's also been better at hitting lefties than righties in his career, and Detroit's Daniel Norris is a southpaw. Norris, for his part, has a 4.43 FIP in the majors.
STACKS
Cardinals vs. Steven Brault (Pirates)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B - $18), Marcell Ozuna (OF - $25), Paul DeJong (SS - $24)
Brault has spent most of his career pitching in relief, but he's still posted mediocre numbers. He has a 4.75 career FIP, and he's also a lefty. That's why I've recommended few right-handed bats for stacking purposes.
Goldschmidt has a career slash line of .296/.396/.529, and he's hit more than 30 home runs in four of his last six seasons. Ozuna's power was down last year (.433 slugging percentage) but this year it's back. The 28-year-old has a .531 slugging percentage with 11 homers through 38 games. Then there's DeJong, who probably won't keep hitting .327, but he's off to a hot start.
Rockies vs. Nick Margevicius (Padres)
Nolan Arenado (3B - $27), Ian Desmond (OF - $17), Chris Iannetta (C - $14)
Margevicius has had a mediocre start to his rookie campaign. He's made seven starts and posted a 4.79 FIP. This will be his first time starting at Coors Field, though. If you've followed baseball at all for the last 20-plus years, you know that any game at Coors raises the potential for offense.
Arenado is a great hitter, but obviously his numbers are better at home. The 28-year-old has a 1.060 OPS at Coors Field since 2017. Desmond isn't on Arenado's level as a hitter, but against lefties he can hold his own. The former National has a .800 OPS versus southpaws since 2017. Then there's Iannetta, who returned from an injury somewhat recently. If nothing else, the catcher has a .347 OBP in his career, which is impressive for a player at that position.
