Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Early MLB Picks April 5

Mar 14, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; (EDITORS NOTE: caption correction – Brewers player misidentified in original) Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (40) hits an RBI double in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks April 5

All 30 games are in action today. Six of them play in matinee games. This is a bit of a risky slate since rain is in the forecast for St. Louis and Chicago. The White Sox already lost the opener to rain. Can it happen twice in the same series?

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Something of note here is that DraftKings will cancel the early slate if two of the three games are rained out. Keep an eye on the Twitter feed to see if these games go on without a hitch!

NOTE: these picks are based solely on statistics. Some players have never faced their opponents, or have very little experience against them. I am not saying that none of those are good picks. The highest scorer of the day could be someone with no experience against his opponent. This is based on statistical analysis only. If you have a gut feeling, then by all means, follow that. This is not an exact science. The best lineups usually have a mix of proven stats and hot players. Check out this post from Matt McGarvey for great tips about whether to use a hot player in DFS or not.

For you first time players, if you would like $10 worth of free entry tickets, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn that $10 into more!

Next: Pitcher Picks

Mar 29, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey (41) throws in the first inning during a spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Best Bets:

John Lackey ($9,500): Lackey was 1-1 with a 2.02 ERA against the Cardinals last season. He also racked up 31 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched. His career numbers against the current Cardinals roster are far better than anyone else this afternoon. St. Louis is hitting .259 with only two homers and just 11 runs in 116 at bats. The 33 strikeouts does leave something to be desired, but trust me when I say Lackey has far superior numbers to anyone else this afternoon. He may be 100% owned, that’s how bad some of these splits are.

Ian Kennedy ($8,600): Kennedy was 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched against the Twins last year. Still, his career numbers against them are not great. The Twins are hitting .253, however, they have five homers and 12 runs in only 91 at bats against Kennedy. The 24 strikeouts in those 91 at bats leaves room for optimism though.

Honorable Mention:

Lance Lynn ($6,700): Lynn has not pitched since 2015 due to Tommy John surgery, and we all know that pitchers are usually a little rusty coming off such a big procedure. It is likely that Lynn wont go very deep into the game either. The Cubs are hitting just .243 off of Lynn. The two homers allowed and 18 strikeouts in 70 at bats look pretty good too. So where’s the problem? He has allowed 14 runs to the Cubs in that span!

Hector Santiago ($5,700): Let me be clear about this: the pickings are slim at the bottom on this short slate. The Royals are hitting .273 in 161 at bats against the Royals, but they have only struck out 34 times. They also have six homers and 22 runs scored. There is also the fact that Santiago struggled after joining the Twins last year. He is an interesting contrarian play, but a very high risk one.

Dark Horses:

Jordan Zimmerman ($7,200): The Tigers-White Sox game could be a high scoring affair. The Sox are hitting a robust .348 against Zimmerman in 66 at bats. They have struck out 14 times, but that is overshadowed by the 14 runs scored. In just 66 at bats! Tread carefully here, but Zimmerman’s career numbers belie the struggles he has last year and against the Sox as a whole. He could be worth taking a risk on, especially considering his opponent.

James Shields ($6,400): The Tigers have hit .299 in 288 at bats against Shields. The 60 strikeouts are a solid total, but the good news ends there. Detroit has 12 homers and has scored 39 runs in those 288 at bats. His struggles last year are nothing new. Shields started struggling in 2015, but the wheels truly fell off with the White Sox last year. At this point the team is just hoping his has a few good outings so they can trade him.

My picks: Lackey, Kennedy

Next: More Notes For 4-5

Apr 3, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) celebrates his run against the Kansas City Royals in the seventh inning at Target Field. The Twins won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

Lorenzo Cain($4,500) has six hits in 18 at bats with four doubles and five RBI against Hector Santiago. Alcides Escobar ($3,600) is 10-22(.455) with a walk, a double, a triple, and a pair of RBI. Alex Gordon ($4,000) is only 5-20 off Santiago, but he does have three walks and two solo homers. Eric Hosmer ($4,300) is 8-26(.308) with two walks, a double, a homer, and four RBI against Santiago. Paulo Orlando ($3,500) has three hits in 11 at bats with a triple, a homer, and three RBI. Salvador Perez ($3,700) only has four hits in 21 at bats (.190) against Santiago, but he has two homers and five RBI.

Alex Avila ($3,100) has nine hits in 30 at bats with three walks, a double, two homers, and six RBI against James Shields. Miguel Cabrera ($5,100) is 24-64(.375) with seven walks, ten doubles, two homers, and 11 RBI against Shields. Ian Kinsler ($4,600) is 16-61(.262) with five walks, two doubles, four homers, and six RBI off Shields. Victor Martinez ($3,800) is 16-53(.302) with three walks, five doubles, a homer, and seven driven in off Shields. At least he dodges J.D. Martinez, who is hitting .417 off of him with a homer and four RBI.

Jose Abreu ($4,600) has three hits in six at bats with a walk, a double, a homer, and four RBI against Jordan Zimmerman. Cody Asche ($3,500) is 7-18(.389) with a walk, a double, a homer, and three RBI off of Zimmerman from his time with the Nationals. Avisail Garcia ($3,600) has four hits in six at bats with a homer and two RBI against Zimmerman.

Matt Adams ($3,200) only has one at bat against John Lackey. It was a two run homer. Jhonny Peralta ($3,300) is 12-37(.324) with a double, a homer, and five RBI against Lackey. Aledmys Diaz ($4,100) has three hits in nine at bats with a double and a pair of RBI.

Brian Dozier ($5,000) is 4-15(.267) with two walks, two homers, and three RBI against Ian Kennedy. Eduardo Escobar ($2,900) is 6-14(.429) with a walk, a homer, and two RBI. Joe Mauer ($3,800) has a homer against Kennedy, but he is just 2-14 off of him in his career.

Anthony Rizzo ($5,200) loves Lance Lynn. Rizzo is 10-29(.345) with four walks, three doubles, two homers, and eight RBI against him in his career. Jason Heyward ($3,500) has three hits and two walks in eight at bats against Lynn with two doubles and three RBI.

Be sure to check out the FanDuel picks from out experts in that area! Brian Tulloch provides the picks, while Matt Rogers tells you what pitchers to target in his FanDuel pitching articles. Don’t play FanDuel without them!

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

My lineup: Perez(C), Rizzo(1B), Dozier(2B), Asche(3B), A. Escobar(SS), Garcia(OF), Orlando(OF), Willson Contreras(OF)

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our NBA, NHL, and EPL picks!