Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Early MLB Picks For April 13

Apr 12, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) doubles in the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks For April 13

Five of the 11 games are in the afternoon today. Like yesterday’s early DraftKings slate, there is one clear ace and a bunch of filler. Should we pay for the ace today since there isn’t a game at Coors Field? Should we use middle tier pitchers and pay for hitting? This sounds like a good time to check the past stats!

More from DFS

The money line was at 101 DraftKings points on the afternoon slate yesterday thanks to big strikeout outings from

Danny Salazar

and

Max Scherzer

, though neither got the win. The winning lineup had 157.6 points and used both of those big strikeout days along with

Andrew Romine

‘s huge day and homers from

Aaron Judge

and

Rickie Weeks

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: DraftKings MLB Lineup April 13

Apr 10, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) hits a single in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

P: Jordan Zimmerman ($7,300): Yes, Zimmerman struggled last year, but he looked solid in the opener. And today he gets the Twins. There is a lot of talent in that lineup, but they are still very young and are just a fraction of the hitters they can be. So far, Zimmerman has held them to a .208 average in 53 at bats with only one homer, four runs, and an impressive 18 strikeouts. The high strikeout potential and the win potential against Hughes has me high on Zimmerman this afternoon.

P: Josh Tomlin ($6,200): Once again, I’m steering clear of the ace. Yu Darvish hasn’t been dominant this year, and the Angels have actually hit him pretty hard. He does have good strikeout potential and great win potential against Ricky Nolasco, but Tomlin has all of that with a little less strikeout potential at a much lower price. The White Sox are hitting just .185 against Tomilin in 92 at bats with only two homers and four runs. 17 strikeouts is solid, but at this price, you can’t have it all.

C: Kyle Schwarber ($4,500): The Dodgers will send lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound on what could be a windy day at Wrigley. The Cubs right-handed power bats are in play for me today, and so is Schwarber. He hits lefties well, but we have to keep a close eye on the weather report. There could be rain, and a lot of it, in Chicago tomorrow afternoon. Only use Cubs or Dodgers if you are able to watch closely for updates and change lineups at a moment’s notice.

1B: Miguel Cabrera ($4,900): Miguel Cabrera has absolutely punished Phil Hughes in his career. He has 19 hits in 44 at bats(.432) with a walk, five doubles, a triple, six homers, and 14 RBI! 14! The issue here is that Miggy has had a horrible start to the season, with just three singles in 18 at bats with seven strikeouts and no RBI. Edwin Encarnacion is a suitable pivot with good numbers against Miguel Gonzalez, but he hasn’t been a whole lot better.

2B: Rougned Odor ($4,000): Odor has only played one game against Ricky Nolasco in his career. He was 0-3 with a RBI. Not great, I’ll give you that, but Nolasco carries the potential to implode at any time. Odor is off to a really good start. If the Rangers get to Nolasco, Odor should at least have a part in it.

3B: Kris Bryant ($5,100): I may switch this up a bit if the wind in blowing in at Wrigley, but again, I am liking the Cubs power at Wrigley against a left handed starter. If I do move off of Schwarber or Bryant, I’m switching to Jonathan LuCroy and Jose Ramirez.

SS: Francisco Lindor ($4,700): I’m not chasing all past history here. Lindor is 0-4 with a walk and a RBI against Miguel Gonzalez. However, few hitters are as hot as Lindor right now, and Gonzalez still allows a lot of base runners. Sometime that cup will overflow, and it could be today against a potent Cleveland lineup.

OF: Mike Trout ($5,300): Trout loves Yu! As in Yu Darvish. He is 10-37(.270) with six walks, a double, four homers, and six RBI against Darvish in his career. We wont knock him for the 13 strikeouts since DraftKings doesn’t knock us for them.

OF: Kole Calhoun ($3,700): Calhoun has had Darvish’s number as well. He is 4-11 with two walks, two homers, and three RBI against the Rangers’ ace in his career. Calhoun can provide some salary relief with some good upside this afternoon.

OF: Andrew Benintendi ($4,200): I want some kind of exposure to Chad Kuhl in a game that was rescheduled from last week. I decided not to pay up for Betts and go big with Cubs at Wrigley, but if that game is threatened by rain, I’m going to more Red Sox against the Pirates youngster.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots - Early Slate

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