DraftKings Early MLB Picks For April 29

We have nearly an even split today with seven early games and eight evening games. The DraftKings tournaments have more aces in the afternoon than the evening. Are any of them worht paying for? Who could be a bust? Is there a bargain? Let’s check some stats!

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The money line was at 131.05 largely due to many pitchers, including Max Scherzer, getting knocked around a little. My mini-stack lineup of Orioles, Rangers, and Rays made it into the money despite a subpar performance from Scherzer, but the other had no chance because I had none of the major hitters.

The winning lineup was a huge score of 262.85, which was 18.7 DraftKings points more than second place! He was one of the few that had Travis d’Arnaud (he was 0.2% owned) and his monster to homer game. He also bucked the Scherzer trend and went Jacob deGrom, who picked up 33.5 DraftKings points. He stacked Mets and Orioles and had Marcus Stroman to put the finishing touches on a huge score.

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 Early Lineup 1

P: Stephen Strasburg ($11,600): The Mets are only hitting .230 in 126 at bats against Stephen Strasburg with five homers and 13 runs. His 37 strikeouts leaves a lot of potential for points there, and facing off with Zack Wheeler gives him a great shot at a win. I actually like Strasburg today more than I did Scherzer last night.

P: Matt Andriese ($6,800): The Jays are only hitting .190 against Andriese in 58 at bats with two homers, six runs, and nine strikeouts. We all know that Andriese doesn’t have a lot of strikeout potential, but the Rays are scoring a lot of runs right now, and they hit lefties much better than righties. Francisco Liriano will get double digit strikeouts, but I’m not convinced he will get up less than five runs. That will give Andreise a chance for the win if he can keep Toronto’s bats silent.

C: Jose Lobaton ($2,300): Matt Wieters got the start last night, so I am assuming that Lobaton will handle the afternoon duties. Trust me, that is a good thing. Lobaton is 3-5 against Zack Wheeler in his career. All the hits are singles, but anything from someone this cheap is a bonus.

1B: Ryan Zimmerman ($4,600): Zimmerman is 6-15 with a walk, a steal, and two solo homers against Zack Wheeler. Add him to the stack as well! After all, the Nationals are hitting a collective .315 off of Wheeler with a .383 wOBA…..as a team.

2B: Daniel Murphy ($4,800): Murphy has only faced Zack Wheeler three times with one hit off of him. Big deal, right? Well, the hit was a grand slam. That’s good enough for my Nationals mini stack!

3B: Evan Longoria ($4,000): There is money left on the table because I honestly don’t see a shake up that I could make that makes this lineup any better. However, the money is here to upgrade to Manny Machado. I will go with Longoria’s history against Liriano. He is 7-20 with a walk, two doubles, two homers, five runs scored, and five RBI against Liriano.

SS: Aledmys Diaz ($4,000): Diaz has only faced Bronson Arroyo three times, but he has two homers and four RBI in those three at bats. Any questions?

OF: Adam Duvall ($4,100): Duvall has slugged two homers and driven in a whopping eight runs against Mike Leake already in his career. He is 5-16 with two walks overall. If Leake gives up runs, you can bet that Duvall and Hamilton will be involved.

OF: Billy Hamilton ($4,000): Hamilton is an impressive 7-11(.636) with a walk, a solo homer, and three runs scored against Mike Leake. And we all know that if Hamilton is on base that much that he is causing problems for someone. He also has three steals.

OF: Jacoby Ellsbury ($3,800): Ellsbury is 7-18(.389) with two walks, a homer, five runs scored, and three RBI against Ubaldo Jimenez. However, the stat that really stands out to me is his six stolen bases. Ellsbury hit a grand slam last night. What will he do for an encore?

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 2

P: Danny Salazar ($9,800): The Mariners are only hitting .225 against Salazar in 40 at bats with a homer and five RBI. They have more striekouts (10) than hits (9). Salazar has a great chance at a lot of strikeouts and an even better chance at a win facing off with Yovani Gallardo.

P: Michael Fulmer ($10,500): The White Sox are hitting a respectable .267 against Fulmer in 30 at bats, but they only have four runs without a homer and they have struck out seven times. There is potential for a lot of strikeouts here as well without the potential that the Rays have against Francisco Liriano. Jose Abreu has hit Fulmer well, but the rest of the White Sox have not. There is a chance that Abreu is still out, which would only increase the potential of Fulmer. Did I mention that he is facing Derek Holland? That’s great win potential as well.

C: James McCann ($2,700): It seems unlikely that Alex Avila will start against the lefty Holland, so McCann is a good shot in the dark to take Holland for a ride. Holland is pitching well right now, but could implode at any time.

1B: Edwin Encarnacion ($4,700): Only five current Cleveland players have faced Yovani Gallardo. Outside of Edwin, they are 3-12. Solid. Not bad. Encarnacion is 8-23(.348) with five walks, a double, three homers, seven RBI, and just one strikeout! His bat is starting to come alive after a slow first month in Cleveland. That is bad news for the rest of the American League.

2B: Starlin Castro ($3,400): Castro has only faced Ubaldo twice, but he does have a single against him. Castro hit the game tying home run last night, and really, it’s Ubaldo in Yankee Stadium. There are going to be a lot of runs scored by the home team in this one!

3B: Chase Headley ($3,600): Headley is only 8-32 against Ubaldo Jimenez, but he has four walks, three doubles, a homer, seven runs scored, and five RBI against him. After last night, the Yankees are going to be a popular stack, especially against Ubaldo, but don’t sleep on the Orioles against Michael Pineda. They have hit .285 off of him with 9 homers and 28 RBI in only 165 at bats!

SS: J.J. Hardy ($3,000): Hardy has torched Michael Pineda in his career. He is 10-22(.455) with a ridiculous .565 wOBA. He has a walk, three homers, and four RBI against Pineda. Chris Davis may also be worth a look if you have some extra cash to spend on hitters.

OF: Matt Holliday ($4,200): Holliday hit the walk-off last night in a wild comeback win for the Yankees. I hope the Yankees don’t give him the day off since Holliday is 6-14 with two walks, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI against Ubaldo Jimenez. If Holliday sits, I left enough money open to switch to Dexter Fowler.

OF: Adam Jones ($4,100): Adam Jones loves facing just about anyone in pinstripes. Not only does he hit CC Sabathia well, but he does Pineda as well. Jones is 11-32(.344) with two doubles, two homers, five runs scored and six RBI. The Yankees/Orioles is going to be a popular stack again. I am pivoting a little to a Nationals stack.

OF: Jacoby Ellsbury ($3,800): Ellsbury ‘s numbers are good enough to have him in both of my lineups. This is my main Yankees stack, so why wouldn’t I have him again?

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, PGA, and EPL picks!