DraftKings MLB Picks For May 1

We have 11 games today, which is a pretty busy Monday. There are four pitchers priced as aces on DraftKings. Are we concerned with Kershaw’s calf? He isn’t. Are we concerned with McCullers’ terrible last start? I am. Where else can we go?

More from DFS

I placed in the afternoon one, but my night stack of Rockies and Diamondbacks was a huge bust. The game was scoreless through 12 innings! Partially due to that, the money line was down to 105.7 DraftKiings points.

The winning lineup was only at 159.7, a total most of us have hit half a dozen times this year. He used Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryu against the Phillies while getting homers from Jefry Marte, Kole Calhoun, Shin-Soo Choo, and Daniel Descalso, who hit the walk off in Arizona in inning 13.

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: Clayton Kershaw ($13,900): Kershaw’s stats against the Giants are just ridiculous. He has held them to a .166 average in 362 at bats with a staggering 107 strikeouts. Buster Posey had homered off of him twice, but he is the only Giant to do so. Considering how great Kershaw has been at home, he is a must-play tonight.

P: Amir Garrett ($5,500): Garrett was lit up by the Brewers in his last start, so I think most people will be off of him tonight. Garrett did start against the Pirates back on April 12th in Pittsburgh. He racked up 21.4 DraftKIngs points in that one. Don’t expect a repeat of that in Cincinnati, but he should still turn in a solid start.

C: Alex Avila ($2,800): Avila is 7-18(.389) with four walks, two homers, three runs scored, and three RBI against Trevor Bauer. Avila has been on a tear anyway. You can bet that he will be in lineup in some capacity tonight.

1B: Matt Carpenter ($4,200): Carpenter is 5-13(.385) with two doubles and a solo homer against Zach Davies. The Cardinals have had some success against Davies so far, so playing more than just Carpenter isn’t a terrible idea.

2B: Dustin Pedroia ($4,100): Pedroia is 6-15 with two walks, a double, a run scored, and three RBI against Bundy. I thought about Starlin Castro here, but I’m feeling pretty good about the Red Sox tonight at home.

3B: Chase Headley ($3,600): Headley is only 6-25(.240) against Marco Estrada, but he has three walks, two solo homers, and three runs scored against him. Headley is off to a nice start this season. He should be able to keep it going here.

SS: Didi Gregorius ($3,400): Gregorius is only 6-21(.286) against Marco Estrada, but three of those hits are solo home runs. I will chase some homers in this lineup for this cheap of a price. Gregorius has played very well since coming off the DL.

OF: Matt Kemp ($4,300): Kemp is 4-9 with a walk, a double, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI against Robert Gsellman already. Gsellman has had some troubles this year. A Braaves stack may not be a bad idea either. They are hitting .387 off of him in 62 at bats.

OF: Billy Hamilton ($4,000): Hamilton is 5-14(.357) with three walks, two doubles, and four runs scored against Gerrit Cole. The game changer here is that Hamilton has ten steals in just 14 at bats. Ten! Play him and don’t look back!

OF: Jackie Bradley Jr. ($4,200): I couldn’t make Betts and Kershaw work without significantly weakening the lineup, so I will “settle” for Bradley. Of course, it doesn’t feel much like settling when Bradley is 4-11 with a homer, two runs scored, two RBI, and a steal. He is well worth this price tonight.

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 2

P: Julio Teheran ($8,500): Teheran has held the Mets to a .179 average in 168 at bats with four homers and 14 RBI. In that many at bats, this is not a fluke. Teheran has pitched twice against the Mets this season already. He has 38.8 DraftKings points agianst them. Expect another strong start from Teheran.

More from FanSided

P: Luis Severino ($8,000): Severino has held the Blue Jays to a .211 average in 38 at bats, but they do have three homers off of him. However, he has struck out ten Blue Jays already, and this offense isn’t what it was last year. Toronto is still having some issues scoring runs, so I will fly with Severino and the strikeout potential.

C: Sandy Leon ($2,900): Leon is 2-5 with a homer and two RBI against Dylan Bundy. Bundy’s stats on the season are good, but the ball has been flying out of Fenway lately, and his career stats aren’t great against Boston. If you feel like taking a chance on a cheapened Buster Posey, I wont blame you, but Leon looks like he has an easier road.

1B: Chris Davis ($4,400): Davis is only 8-36(.222) but he has a double, a walk, three homers, six runs, and seven RBI off of Rick Porcello. Porcello is having an awful start to 2017 after a brilliant 2016. It’s too early to call for this a make or break game, but this will tell us a lot about whether Porcello can turn this around or not. If Davis can’t go, I saved the money to upgrade to Anthony Rizzo.

2B: Starlin Castro ($3,400): I am seriously considering a Yankees stack tonight against Marco Estrada. Castro is 13-32(.406) with four doubles, a triple, four walks, three runs scored, two RBI, and two steals against Estrada.

3B: Evan Longoria ($4,100): Longoria is 11-40(.275) with six walks, four doubles, two homers, four runs scored, and six RBI against Wei-Yin Chen. All Rays righties are in play against Chen here, but I definitely want exposure to Longoria.

SS: Corey Seager ($4,100): Seager is a solid 8-20 with a double, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI against Johnny Cueto. Cueto is one of the guys you may not want to go with tonight. The Dodgers are hitting .282 off of Cueto, and he has virtually no chance at a win opposing Kershaw.

OF: Mookie Betts ($5,300): Betts has hit Dylan Bundy hard to far in his career. Betts is 5-15 with three walks, two homers, four runs, three RBI, and even a pair of steals. There are few better pasts than this today. It looks like a day to pay up for Mookie.

OF: Mark Trumbo ($4,300): For those of you looking for the 2016 version of Rick Porcello to show back up, it isn’t likely to happen. Last year was the exception, not the rule. It should be noted that Porcello usually isn’t as bad as he has been in the early going, but wont get any better against the Orioles today. Trumbo is 8-26(.308) with a double, three homers, six runs scored, and seven RBI off of Porcello.

OF: Adam Jones ($4,200): Jones has also hit Porcello hard. He is 11-45(.244) with a double, three homers, four runs scored, and an impressive nine RBI. He isn’t as sure of a bet as Trumbo, but Jones is having a better season.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

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