DraftKings Early MLB Picks For May 18

Five of the 11 games are in the afternoon DraftKings tournament today. The wind is blowing out at Wrigley again with two lefties on the mound there. We have a couple of places worth stacking, but how should we set up the pitching? Let’s check some past stats!

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The money line for the early lineup was up a bit to 110.3 DraftKings points. I came in well over that at 131.95 DraftKings points thanks to Clayton Kershaw and Jesus Sucre, and the rest of my Rays stack.

The winning lineup was also up a little to 175.45. He found a way to get Kershaw and Jose Altuve in the lineup, and capitalized on Bradley Zimmer’s first major league home run.

These picks are based mostly on statistical analysis . 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

P: Dylan Bundy ($9,100): The current Tigers have only faced Bundy six times, so that isn’t much to go on. However, he is facing a struggling mound opponent, and an offense that will likely be without Miguel Cabrera. I like Bundy’s strikeout potential here since I’m not touching Lester with the wind blowing out at Wrigley. There aren’t any really good options for the afternoon. Bundy has enough going for him that he should be worth the risk.

P: Jose Berrios ($6,300): Berrios posted a ERA that would make Rookie Davis blush last year. After dominating at AAA Rochester for a month, the Twins brought him back, and he dominated a good Cleveland lineup. I’m comfortable taking a shot on him here for this price. Even if he gives up three runs in five innings, he will still get enough points to supplement the offense. That seems like a reasonable request.

C: Willson Contreras ($3,600): Miguel Montero was the backstop last night, so Contreras should be in there today ready to go against rookie lefty Amir Garrett. Garrett has had some good games this year, but I don’t even trust Jon Lester with the wind blowing out at Wrigley. Why should we trust a rookie in that same situation. We shouldn’t! Employ a stack instead!

1B: Chris Davis ($4,600): I didn’t trust Jordan Zimmerman to begin with, and I really don’t after checking out the past stats. Baltimore is hitting .267 with five homers in 13 RBI in just 75 at bats! Leading the charge is Davis, who is 4-7 with two homers, three runs scored, and three RBI against Zimmerman so far.

2B: Brian Dozier ($4,600): Tyler Chatwood has had a rough go of it this year. His splits are all over the place as well. He got blasted in San Diego, a noted pitcher’s park, then dominated Arizona at Chase Field, a hitter’s park. The next start? He got rocked at Chavez Ravine, also a pitcher haven. Target Field is mostly a pitcher’s park, so I’m taking the leadoff batter for a team that could come up with a half dozen runs or so today.

3B: Kris Bryant ($5,300): Bryant has the most prolific power from the right side on this team, even though he hasn’t show a lot of it yet this season. He has the chance for a huge game against Garrett and whatever bullpen pieces the Reds sacrifice to the Wind Gods at Wrigley.

SS: Addison Russell ($3,700): Russell has good power, especially wind-aided power. His price is very reasonable given the conditions and the opponent.

OF: Billy Hamilton ($4,200): Hey! I can see you rolling your eyes while reading this, but let me make my case first. We all know that Hamilton steals bases at Wrigley like it’s his home park. However, he seems to have figured out Jon Lester as well. Hamilton is 7-13(.538) with a double, two solo homers, five runs scored, and six stolen bases against him without being caught. Hamilton could be a sneaky play today since most will lay off the lefty-lefty matchup.

OF: Aaron Altherr ($4,200): Altherr has clubbed three homers in only 28 at bats against left handed pitchers this season. Here he gets Martin Perez, who has had some bouts of solid pitching, but is mostly unreliable. Texas is a pretty good hitter’s park to boot, so I’m going with Altherr. He has a shot at going deep in this one.

OF: Adam Jones ($3,900): Jones is only 4-19(.211) off of Jordan Zimmerman, but he has a walk, two homers, and three RBI. Baltimore has the most potential outside of Wrigley, but I’m not going full-blown stack in the North Side today with two lefties going. Most of the power in that game is from the left side. There is room for guys like Jones.

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!