DraftKings Main MLB Picks For April 5

Two of the three afternoon games were rained out today, but of the 12 evening games, only the Reds-Phillies game in Cincy has some rain threat. Watch our Twitter feed leading up to the game to see if the game is still on or not. We have at least 11 other games that provide great options for our DraftKings lineups. Some pitching staffs are so deep that their second or third starters still cost more than $10,000 on DraftKings (three to be exact). Should we spend on any of them? Let’s check out the past stats!

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The money line was at 86.6 DraftKings points last night, which seems kind of low. The struggles of some big name pitchers contributed to this. My lineup was able to place on the strength of a hit from every batter, and a particularly big night from

Brandon Crawford

The winning lineup was all the way up at 161.6 DraftKings points. His value plays of Gerardo Parra and Gorkys Hernandez coupled with Crawford and Carlos Santana led to a big payday!

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.

Chris Sale has only faced three current Pirates. The only one to get a hit off of him (a single) is David Freese in seven at bats.

Jameson Taillon has never faced the Red Sox, or anyone that currently plays for them, in his young career.

Charlie Morton has never faced the Mariners, but he has faced five players currently on the roster. They are just 6-34(.176) against him, but have only struck out four times. They do have just one run though.

Dylan Bundy only faced the Blue Jays in relief last year. The results against the current team were positive. He gave up zero hits and struck out four of the nine he faced and issued two walks. Can he do it over a full game?

Jharel Cotton has only allowed two hits in 14 at bats while striking out three against the current Angels roster. One was a solo homer. Cotton was brilliant in September, Can he pick up where he left off?

The only current Brewer that Tyler Chatwood has faced is Ryan Braun. Braun is 0-3 against him.

Taijuan Walker has only faced the Giants once, but he gave up just four hits in six innings without allowing a run. Can he do it again?

Rich Hill has allowed only two hits and two walks while striking out four in 14 at bats against the current Padres lineup. Both hits were singles by Erick Aybar.

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

Best Bets:

Jacob deGrom ($10,600): The current Braves are hitting an okay .240 against deGrom, but he has only given up six runs, with 23 strikeouts, in 96 at bats. That is on average almost a strikeout per inning against the Braves regulars for deGrom. The strikeout potential makes him one of the better options tonight.

Cole Hamels ($8,700): Cleveland only has 16 hits in 72 at bats against Hamels. More impressive than that is the fact that they have just one homer and only three runs! Hamels has as many strikeouts as hits allowed against the current Cleveland team. He is a strong option in his season debut for a reasonable price.

Honorable Mention:

Garrett Richards ($7,100): Richards’ career numbers against the A’s are promising. The current roster is hitting just .189 against him in 74 at bats. Only one guy, the newbie, has really hit him hard. If he can stay away from Plouffe, Richards has a chance at a strong outing.

J.A. Happ ($7,000): The Orioles are only hitting .229 in 166 at bats against Happ with a pretty robust 50 strikeouts. The O’s have seven homers, no surprise there, but that has only generated 14 runs. Considering he is going against an inexperienced pitcher in Dylan Bundy and has a potent offense behind him, Happ could be a nice cheaper option.

Dark Horses:

Dan Straily ($6,600): Straily has given up a few gopher balls (three in 35 at bats) to the Nationals, but has managed to limit the damage done by them. Those three homers have netted only four runs, and he has struck out five. Considering how hard the Marlins have hit Roark in the past, it’s possible that Straily could have himself a pretty good night.

Brandon Finnegan ($6,500): Want to live dangerously? Finnegan’s numbers against Philadelphia are good (.240, a homer, two runs, eight strikeouts in 25 at bats), but is it a very small sample size an he issued six walks. However, there is very real strikeout potential here, and the Phillies are still a work in progress.

My picks: deGrom, Hamels

Next: Who Are The Best Stacks?

You have heard our FanDuel experts Matt Rogers and Brian Tulloch talk about “stacking” pieces of a lineup against certain pitchers. Not a stacker? You may not be alone. Matt McGarvey takes his stance against it. Here are the stacks that could work well on DraftKings today, based on past statistics.

Jay Bruce($3,600) only has one hit in five at bats against Bartolo Colon, but it is a three run homer. Curtis Granderson($3,800) has four hits in 13 at bats with two walks, two homers, and six RBI against Colon. Jose Reyes($3,900) has five hits in 12 at bats off Colon with a walk and two driven in. Neil Walker($3,600) has a single, double, and solo homer in ten at bats against Colon. If Rene Rivera($2,300) starts, he may be worth a look. Rivera has a double, a homer, and two RBI in five at bats against Colon.

You may want to stack against Trevor Cahill, and I’m not just saying that because he has only started four games since 2014. He has given up 26 runs in only 134 at bats to current Dodger players. Logan Forsythe($3,700) has three hits in nine at bats with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Adrian Gonzalez($3,800) is 12-30(.400) with four walks, three doubles, three homers, and ten RBI against Cahill. Corey Seager($4,500) has only faced Cahill twice. He has a walk and a three run homer off of him.

Michael Pineda has been more like a piñata for the Rays. Corey Dickerson($3,300) has six hits in 12 tries with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. Kevin Kiermaier($3,400) is only 4-18(.222), but he has walked four times, doubled, tripled, and driven in three off Pineda. Evan Longoria($4,000) isn’t quite as tough on Pineda as CC Sabathia, but he is 7-33(.212) with three walks, two doubles, a homer, and four driven in. Brad Miller($3,600) has rocked Pineda. Miller is 7-18(.389) with two walks, two doubles, two triples, a homer, and four RBI against him. How about Steven Souza($3,500)? Souza is 9-19(.474) with three doubles, four homers, and seven driven in against Pineda.

The Marlins have bludgeoned Tanner Roark. Justin Bour($3,200) only has four hits in 22 at bats(.182), but he does have two homers and four RBI. Derek Dietrich($3,100) will start at third base with Martin Prado on the DL. This is one place to use him. He is 4-13(.308) with two walks, a double, a homer, and four RBI off of Roark. Marcell Ozuna($3,600) is 8-28(.286) with a walk, a double, a triple, a homer, and five RBI against Roark. J.T. Realmuto($3,500) is 7-19(.368) with a double and four RBI off Roark. Giancarlo Stanton($4,600) has hit Roark the hardest. Stanton is 6-25(.240) with four walks, a double, three homers, and four RBI against him.

My picks: Forsythe(2B), Miller(SS), Dickerson(OF), Souza(OF), Stanton(OF)

Next: More Notes For 4-5

Freddie Freeman($4,100) only has four hits in 19 at bats(.211), but he has walked twice, doubled, and hit a solo homer off of Jacob deGrom. Nick Markakis($3,200) could be a great value play. He is 6-15 with a homer and three RBI against deGrom.

Edwin Encarnacion($4,800) has four singles, a solo homer, and two walks in 14 at bats against Cole Hamels. He is the only Cleveland player that has taken him deep, and he wasn’t even there last year!

Food for thought: the current Rockies roster has 22 hits in 74 at bats (.297) against Wily Peralta. No one has hit a homer off of him, and no one player has hit him particularly hard, but stacking Rockies could get you some points in what could be a high scoring affair in MIlwaukee.

Maikel Franco($) only has one hit in five at bats against Brandon Finnegan, but it is a two run homer. That is all the runs that Finnegan has given up to the current Phillies squad.

Scooter Gennett($3,600) is the only Red that has faced Jerad Eickhoff. He is 2-6 with a solo homer against him.

Trevor Plouffe($3,400) has three hits in ten tries against Garrett Richards. All three have gone for extra bases (a double and two homers), and he has driven in five. Jed Lowrie($2,700) is 4-15(.267) with a walk, two doubles, a homer, and four RBI off Richards.

George Springer($4,400) only has three hits in 12 at bats against James Paxton, but two of them are solo homers. Evan Gattis($3,800) is 3-10 with a dobule and two RBI. Carlos Beltran($3,700) has three hits in nine at bats with a RBI off Paxton.

Paul Goldschmidt($5,000) is 5-9 with a double, a homer, and two RBI against Matt Moore. Jake Lamb($4,000) has two hits in six at bats with a triple, a homer, and three RBI against Moore.

Jacoby Ellsbury($3,400) is only 5-26(.192) against Alex Cobb, but he does have a walk, a homer, and two RBI. Brett Gardner($3,500) has six hits in 20 at bats with four walks, a homer, and two RBI against Cobb. Gary Sanchez($4,400) has two hits in five at bats with a homer and four RBI off Cobb.

C.J. Cron($) has a solo homer in three at bats against Jharel Cotton.

Chris Davis($4,500) is only 3-15 against J.A. Happ, but all of his hits are for extra bases and he has driven in three. Adam Jones($4,300) is 8-32(.250) with a walk, a double, and a solo homer against Happ. Manny Machado($5,100) is 6-21(.286) with two walks, a double, a triple, two homers, and three driven in against Happ.

If Anthony Rendon($3,900) is able to play, he could be worth using. Rendon has a two run homer in two at bats against Dan Straily. Matt Wieters($3,200) has a walk, a single, and two solo homers while recording just one out against Straily.

Danny Salazar has struggled against Texas so far in his career. They are hitting .349 against him! Robinson Chirinos($3,100) was a bust yesterday, but if he gets another shot, he has two singles and a double in four at bats. Shin-Soo Choo($4,200) has two hits and a walk in seven at bats. The hits are a triple and a solo homer. Jonathan LuCroy($4,000) has only two singles in six at bats, but has driven in two against Salazar.

My picks: Wieters(C), Goldschmidt(1B), Plouffe(3B)

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

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