MLB Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Baseball Picks May 22

Apr 25, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; Fans display signs for New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (not pictured) during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

MLB Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Baseball Picks May 22

Welcome to the Sunday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy column focused on providing analysis for the upcoming MLB FanDuel slate. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big pay day!

FanSided and Fantasy CPR have you covered – For additional FanDuel MLB analysis, take a look at Matt Rogers FanDuel Economics column or Mike Marteny who provides Draft Kings MLB Picks analysis giving you the most in depth DFS coverage for tonight’s baseball slate.

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Sunday’s MLB action kicks off at 1:10PM EST with a full day of action on the all day slate, concluding with the Sunday night game with the Cubs and Giants.

More from FanSided

I will continue to track winning Tournament lineups and compare trends over 5 day periods to help us understand what it takes to remain profitable. I HIGHLY recommend each of you do this each morning to look back on the previous night and understand how the winning lineups are constructed in the games you participate in.

The view below tracks GPP entries over various time periods, breaking out key metrics to understand the trends and compositions of GPP winning rosters:

Time Period	Score	Pitcher Salary	Pitcher %	Hitter %	Hitter $/Player	Value
Season	251.4	$ 8,480	24%	76%	$ 3,315	7.18
5 Day	276.6	$ 9,167	26%	74%	$ 3,229	7.90
Prev Day	249	$ 6,200	18%	82%	$ 3,600	7.11

Now on to the picks…For more DFS Strategy insights, check out my latest article to help take your game to the next level! I highly recommend gamers track their game performance across the various types of games they play – GPP’s, Cash, Multipliers etc – as this simple exercise will help teach you more about profitable roster construction than you can imagine.

Next: Top Starting Pitchers

Oct 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar (31) leaves the field during a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Starting Pitchers

Danny Salazar ($8,900) at Boston – With Noah Syndergaard, Max Scherzer and Madison Bumgarner on the hill Sunday, I expect the pitching ownership to be very widely spread which leaves Salazar as an interesting cost saving choice for gamers. Over the last 30 days, Salazar has the second highest per game average of any starter on hill Sunday as he has averaged 42.4 points per game, good for 4.8x value. Over the last 15 days, Salazar is the highest scoring pitcher of the slate as he has averaged a whopping 53 points per game which is just under 6x value. A matchup with the Red Sox offense will drive ownership down, but the performance of Salazar over the last month has been exceptional and he makes for my top tournament option on Sunday.

Noah Syndergaard ($11,800) home versus Milwaukee – For cash games, locking in the Mets right hander is the safest play of the day as he gets a matchup against the Brewers at home. The Brewers are the second highest team in baseball in strikeouts per game (9.57) so far this season and have seen that number spike to 11.33 over the last 3 days which is the most in baseball. With Ryan Braun out of the lineup with a nagging back injury, the Brewers lineup lacks the punch to deal with “Thor” and I expect not only huge strikeout upside, but for the heavily favored(-240) Syndergaard to pick up the win on Sunday.

Next: Top Stack/Hitters

Jul 12, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) and second baseman Robinson Cano (22) celebrate after Seager hit a 2-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Hitters/Stacks

Seattle Mariners versus RHP Alredo Simon – Any time Simon takes the mound, it makes for a great stacking opportunity and the Mariners get the benefit of this matchup on Sunday. Simon has been an absolute mess so far this season pitching to a 10.34 ERA and giving up 9 home runs in only 31.1 innings pitched. Robinson Cano ($4,200) and Kyle Seager ($4,200) are the top two plays in this matchup and make for a great mini stack with the potential for monster outings against Simon. Adam Lind ($2,400) makes for a great low cost option and has been on a roll over the last week, averaging 14 PPG over the last week, which is good for 5.6x value.

Cameron Maybin ($2,900) – Maybin has been on fire over since he was activated from the DL and has seen his price slowly rise but still sits below $3k. Maybin has 11 hits in 17 at bats and is averaging 19 points per game over the last 5 games which is good for 6x value. With a matchup against Chris Archer, I would expect Maybin will be overlooked making him a very intriguing tournament pivot.

Carlos Santana ($3,500) – One of the best BvP plays on the day is Carlos Santana versus Rick Porcello. Santana is 12 for 39 with 5 extra base hits and 3 home runs against the Red Sox right hander.

Next: DFS Strategy - Take Your Game to the Next Level

Best of luck tonight gamers! Make sure to review the lineups as they are announced before locking in your lineups!