Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings MLB Picks For April 17

Apr 15, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper at bat against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

DraftKings MLB Picks For April 17

There are ten games today, but one is the early first pitch for Patriots Day in Boston. That means we have nine games for the main DraftKings tournament. We have a few good options lying around, but they aren’t necessarily the best ones. With no one pitcher that stand out as an ace, who should we pay for? Let’s check out some past stats!

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The money line in the big tournament yesterday was at 115.25. One lineup was derailed by average performances. The other was done in by the Astros being rained out. Late swap only works if you can get to your lineups to change them.

The winning lineup was only at 188.45. He rode the strikeouts of Drew Pomeranz and the huge games of Bryce Harper and Cesar Hernandez to victory.

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 1

Apr 12, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey (41) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

P: John Lackey ($10,200): The Brewers are hitting a solid .275 against Lackey in 80 at bats, but the only damage they have done is three solo homers. The Brewers have also struck out as many times as they have got a hit. That is a great strikeout rate, giving Lackey the potential for a nice scoring day.

P: Robbie Ray ($9,800): Ray has held the Dodgers to a .209 average in 91 at bats with two homers and eight runs. The thing that really gets me is the 29 strikeouts. Ray has shown a propensity for racking up the strikeouts at times. This could be another one of those times. If we can find the offense with this kind of strikeout potential, we should be in for a solid payday.

C: Yan Gomes ($2,900): Gomes is 7-16(.438) with a walk, two doubles, two homers, and four RBI in his career against Kyle Gibson. The Indians are pounding Gibson to the tune of a .331 average. An Indians stack could turn out very well.

1B: Carlos Santana ($4,400): Santana came through over the weekend. He could here as well. Santana is only 5-22(.227) against Kyle Gibson, but he has two walks, three homers, and seven RBI off of him.

2B: Brian Dozier ($3,400): For as bad as Gibson has been against Cleveland, Danny Salazar hasn’t exactly been great against the Twins. His win potential is huge, but Minnesota is still hitting .311 off of him. A large part of that is due to Dozier’s 12-26(.462) career mark. He has also walked twice, hit six doubles, homered twice, and driven in seven runs. Stacking on both sides in this game may not be such a bad idea.

3B: Yunel Escobar ($3,300): Escobar has three hits in six tries against Charlie Morton with a homer and three RBI. Escobar is the only current Angel that has homered against Morton, but Albert Pujols has five RBI against him if you need a cheaper first baseman.

SS: Francisco Lindor ($4,200): Lindor is a staggering eight for ten with a walk against Gibson, but all of the hits are singles. He does have a pair of RBI though. That said, I’m not going to complain if he gets on base three or four times no matter how he does it.

OF: Byron Buxton ($3,700): Buxton had great stats lined up for yesterday, and all he gave us in return was a walk. I am strongly leaning towards Mitch Haniger instead due to his hot start and facing a weak pitcher in Tome Koehler. Maybe the Twins will make my decision easier by holding Buxton out. However, he is 1-2 with a two run homer in his career against Salazar.

OF: Max Kepler ($4,000): Kepler already has three hits in four tries against Danny Salazar. Two of them are homers and he has driven in four runs. I will gladly add him to this game stack!

OF: Matt Joyce ($2,600): Joyce only has two hits in seven at bats against A.J. Griffin, but both of the hits are home runs and he has driven in four. If it matters, Joyce has also walked, but you aren’t playing him for walks.

Next: DraftKings MLB Lineup 2

Apr 15, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor hits a single during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

P: Jharel Cotton ($8,200): Cotton would have had a better matchup against Houston yesterday, but this isn’t a bad one either. The current Rangers only have a solo homer to show for their game against Cotton last year. That was hit by the injured Adrian Beltre. Cotton only struck out two in that game, but if he is recording outs, he is fine by me.

P: Chase Anderson ($6,700): The Cubs are only hitting .157 against Anderson in 51 at bats with three homers and five runs. They have only struck out seven times, but at this price, does that really matter? Anderson has been brilliant so far, posting a 0.69 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over two starts. This game is also at Miller Park, which mitigates the risk some. Anderson could be a great under-the-radar starter.

C: Jonathan Lucroy ($3,900): Well, I have the money since I’m going cheap at pitcher, and he does have a double in two at bats against Cotton. There really aren’t any great previous stats to go on, so using the power potential of Lucroy isn’t a bad idea.

1B: Chris Carter ($4,300): Carter is only 5-22(.227) against Derek Holland, but he does have four walks, a double, a homer, and three RBI against him. Holland has pitched very well so far this year, but the 4.31 career ERA says enough for me to chase the power here.

2B: Jose Altuve ($5,100): Altuve is 7-20 with two doubles and a RBI in his career against Jesse Chavez. There isn’t much in the way of power here, but Altuve scores a lot of runs and wreaks a lot of havoc on the bases. I like the potential of what he can do.

3B: Kris Bryant ($5,000): Bryant only has one hit in five at bats against Chase Anderson, but it is a solo homer. If my pitchers fail in this one, I am hedging my bets by playing the players most likely to blow them up. This is a risk strategy, but conventional methods haven’t provided much in the way of making money lately.

SS: Francisco Lindor ($4,200): See above. If a player has reached base nine times in 11 tries against the other, it is not a fluke.

OF: Yasiel Puig ($3,900): Puig has gone fairly cold lately, but he does have five hits in 14 tries(.357) against Robbie Ray with two walks, a homer, and a pair of RBI. If you don’t trust this, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Eric Thames are great options against the Cubs.

OF: Michael Brantley ($4,500): This is the part of the Minnesota/Cleveland stack that I couldn’t afford in the first lineup. Brantley is 4-11 against Kyle Gibson with a double, two walks, and two RBI. His numbers aren’t staggering, but Brantley is leading off for a lineup that is going to score a lot of runs today.

OF: Khris Davis ($4,100): Davis is 1-2 with a solo homer against Griffin. He has light tower power and Griffin is struggling again. It seems like a good time to hunt for homers.

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!