FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Monday 5/10/21

Monday's slate checks in at six games and gets a slightly earlier start time at 6:35 pm ET. You won't find any aces tonight, but there are still some intriguing arms to roster. It's also a Coors Field night, but the weather is looking pretty gross, so we'll have to keep a close eye on that one.

Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups. Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!

Let's check out the top options on tonight's main slate.

Pitchers

Tyler Mahle ($8,900): As of this writing, FanDuel is still listing Jeff Hoffman as the projected starter for the Reds, but following yesterday's postponement, the expectation is everyone will get pushed back a day, which would mean Tyler Mahle taking the hill instead. Double-check that this is the case later in the day, but if Mahle is the confirmed starter, then he's arguably the top choice versus the lowly Pirates. Mahle is coming off a disappointing outing against the Cubs, but he's produced a 3.20 SIERA and 32.8% strikeout rate over his six starts, which are marks that really pop on a slate like this. Pittsburgh hasn't been a great matchup for punchouts so far this season, but they remain a weak offense overall with just an 89 wRC+ versus righties, and that's reflected by their 3.43 implied total.

Alex Wood ($8,900): Left-hander Alex Wood has enjoyed an excellent bounce-back campaign thus far, putting up a 3.00 SIERA, 25.6% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate, and 63.2% ground-ball rate over four starts. While Wood's strikeout rate pales in comparison to Mahle's, the Rangers should give him a helping hand in that area, as Texas has a 26.3% strikeout rate this season, and most of their dangerous hitters, bat left-handed. They also carry a middling implied total at just 3.45.

Others to Consider: Luis Garcia ($8,000)

Stacks

(Editor's note: Tonight's Padres-Rockies game has been postponed due to weather.)

San Diego Padres: I'm concerned that this game ultimately doesn't play, but if things are looking up closer to lock, it's impossible not to like the Padres at Coors Field against Antonio Senzatela. It's the same old story for Senzatela this year, who has a poor 13.1% strikeout rate over six starts, and that falls in line with what we've seen from him the past two seasons. His lone strength is a solid 52.4% ground-ball rate and not much else.

Not surprisingly, the Padres display a robust 5.60 implied total, and lower pitching salaries should allow you to fit Fernando Tatis Jr. ($4,600) more easily than your average slate. You can attack Senzatela with both righties and lefties alike, and arguably any of the projected top six in the order are fair game.

Houston Astros: Even if we lose Coors tonight, there are other juicy matchups to hop over to, including the Astros' spot against Jose Suarez. The young lefty has gotten lit up in both of his 2021 starts, coughing up 10 earned runs in just 2.1 innings. He's once again had no answer for right-handed hitters, and if we go back to last season, he's now showing a 6.25 xFIP, 15.2% strikeout rate, and 10.1% walk rate in the split while allowing an absurd 3.22 home runs per nine innings.

It all sets up nicely for Alex Bregman ($3,800), Jose Altuve ($3,700), Carlos Correa ($3,200), and Yuli Gurriel ($3,400). Including lefty Yordan Alvarez ($4,200) in the mix is a no-brainer given his all-around power, especially if Suarez gets another quick hook.

Boston Red Sox: Jorge Lopez has already given up seven home runs, and this issue is nothing new for him -- Lopez owns a ghastly career 6.08 ERA. Throw in a middling 21.7% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate on the young season, and there's a good chance we see the Red Sox pile up the runs tonight.

Historically, Lopez particularly struggles versus lefty sticks (5.00 xFIP dating back to 2019), so Rafael Devers ($3,600) and Alex Verdugo ($3,300) rate out as top plays. Marwin Gonzalez ($2,500) isn't anything special, but the switch-hitter could be batting leadoff tonight at a low salary.

J.D. Martinez ($4,400) and Xander Bogaerts ($3,600) are also great choices as always, and the bottom of the order has cheap righty pop in guys like Bobby Dalbec ($2,300) and Hunter Renfroe ($2,500).

Others to Consider: Cincinnati Reds