DraftKings MLB Picks For May 23

We have a full 15 game DraftKings tournament tonight. It is Kershaw day, so we have to find somewhere to save money. Should we use him? Should we pay down at pitcher and stack against some of the weaker arms taking the hill tonight? Let’s check out some stats to see what we should do!

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The money line last night was up to 128.75. My lineup with Zack Greinke in it made the money easily thanks to him and Max Kepler. The other missed because of shoddy pitching.

The winning lineup was up over 200 again at 230.55. He used Greinke and Michael Pineda bolstered by huge games from Max Kepler, Joe Panik, Miguel Sano, and Justin Ruggiano.

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 Lineup 1

P: Clayton Kershaw ($13,400): Kershaw’s numbers against St. Louis are downright horrible for him. The Cards are hitting a robust .294 against him in 119 at bats, but they have just one homer and four RBI to go with 30 strikeouts. A big chunk of the damage was done by Dexter Fowler, who is 18-44 with nine runs scored off of Kershaw. The rest of the team doesn’t look so formidable now. He also has a 1.59 ERA at home since the start of the 2014 season. Fade at your own risk.

P: German Marquez ($6,600): The Phillies were shut down by Jeff Hoffman last night. Marquez has a stellar 0.82 road ERA this year in two starts. He also dominated the Cubs at Coors Field earlier this month. This sure doesn’t look like a fluke. I need someone cheaper to go with Kershaw, and Marquez has tremendous potential tonight.

C: Austin Hedges ($2,500): Harvey has been an equal opportunity disaster this year with a 5.50 ERA at home and a 5.60 ERA on the road. Hedges is a great punt play because of his price. There aren’t any catchers that have must-play BvP stats tonight, so I’m going cheap against struggling pitchers for both catcher slots.

1B: Logan Morrison ($3,900): Morrison is having a career year anyway, so when he has good past stats against someone, it is usually a good idea to play him. LoMo is 4-11 with a walk, a double, a homer, two runs scored and a RBI against Matt Shoemaker. Shoemaker hasn’t allowed many runs against the Rays, but he is right handed. This team crushes righties when they aren’t striking out.

2B: Josh Harrison ($4,000): Harrison is 7-20 with a walk, a double, a triple, three runs scored, two RBI, and a steal against R.A. Dickey. These kind of all around numbers can come up big even without the benefit of a home run. Just look at Hardy last night.

3B: Jake Lamb ($5,500): Lamb abuses right handed pitching, and tonight we have an average righty in Dylan Covey taking the hill for the White Sox. Chase Field is a little less of a hitter’s haven with the roof closed, but not enough that Lamb wont hit a few balls really hard. Hopefully they aren’t all caught.

SS: J.J. Hardy ($3,000): After last night, employing a mini-stack of Orioles or Twins may not be a bad idea. I have been all over Ervin Santana this year despite his less than stellar stats against some opponents, but not tonight. There are too many other options to take a risk on him on the road against a good offense. Hardy had a good game last night, and could again. He is only 4-17(.235) against Santana, but he has two homers and four RBI off of him.

OF: Corey Dickerson ($4,700): Dickerson has never faced Matt Shoemaker, but that doesn’t matter. He hits leadoff in a solid offense, and he destroys right handed pitching. He fits nicely into my Rays stack. Whether that is a good idea or not remains to be seen.

OF: Colby Rasmus ($3,400): Rasmus is 6-19(.316) with a walk, a double, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI against Shoemaker. The Rays have the left handed power to inflate his 4.47 season ERA a little bit. Shoemaker hasn’t been as good as in previous years so far.

OF: John Jay ($2,900): Jay could be one of the better punt plays out there provided he is in the starting lineup. If Joe Maddon pays attention to past stats, he will be. Jay is 13-38(.342) with two walks, two doubles, three homers, nine runs scored, and seven RBI in his career against Johnny Cueto. Only one other Cub has homered off of Cueto, so I wouldn’t stack here, but Jay is worth a flier with this kind of history at this low of a price.

Next: DraftKings Lineup 2

P: Johnny Cueto ($10,400): Cueto has held the Cubs to a .219 average in 128 at bats with 27 strikeouts. They have hit four homers and driven in 11 runs, but these are still good numbers. Are you worried about the Wrigley factor? Cueto has a 3.07 career ERA at Wrigley Field in 15 starts. He should have a good game tonight.

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P: Danny Duffy ($8,800): Duffy dominated the Yankees in his last start, but it was also at Kauffman Stadium. This is in Yankee Stadium, which is a much more friendly hitting venue. However, the ten strikeouts and just three hits allowed in seven innings sure doesn’t look like a fluke. Last night’s game was a low scoring affair. This could be as well.

C: Tony Wolters ($2,900): This is mostly a punt play so I can afford a good pitcher with Cueto, but using any Colorado hitters against Zach Eflin is not a bad idea. There is always potential for a blow up when a pitcher doesn’t miss any bats.

1B: Lucas Duda ($3,400): This is a night to go cheap at first base. Duda is 2-5 with three walks in his career against Jhoulys Chacin. Both hits are home runs and he has driven in four. Chacin has a dreadful 8.77 ERA in five road starts this season. Stacking Mets may be a good idea, but I want Duda regardless of my plans for the rest of the lineup.

2B: Chad Pinder ($2,700): Pinder has never faced Jose Urena, but he does boast a 1.357 OPS in 27 plate appearances against right handed pitching. The four homers help, but four homers in 27 at bats is worth taking a stab at with this low of a price tag attached to it.

3B: Chris Coghlan ($2,800): Coghlan is one of the few Blue Jays that has experience against Jimmy Nelson. He is 4-15 with two doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and a RBI against Nelson from his time with the Cubs last year. Nelson was brilliant his last time out, but the Blue Jays are starting to come around. Coghlan is cheap enough to take a risk on here since almost all of this lineup is a risk anyway.

SS: Jean Segura ($4,500): Segura is one of only two Mariners to face Joe Ross. He is 4-7 with a walk, two runs scored, and a RBI. The Mariner offense is a good one, and based on Segura’s track record, he should be in for a good game here as well.

OF: Mike Trout ($5,500): Trout is already 4-6 against Alex Cobb with a homer, three runs scored, and three RBI. He is as good a bet as any to get a hit tonight.

OF: Bryce Harper ($5,400): Harper has only faced Christian Bergman once. He came away with a two run homer. Bergman is going to have all sorts of trouble with the Nationals. Stack away if you can find two suitable cheap pitchers that you want to take a chance on, but I at the very least want Harper in here.

OF: Jorge Bonifacio ($3,600): Bonifacio singled, walked, and struck out against Jordan Montgomery in his last start in which the Royals knocked him around in Kansas City. If they get good swings off of him again, what were doubles in K.C. will be homers in the Bronx. I’m taking the chance that the red-hot Bonifacio gets into one tonight.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

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