DraftKings Early MLB Picks For May 27

Ten of the 16 games are early today, which makes Saturday more like a Sunday slate! The early tournament is the larger one, and there are plenty of aces to choose from. Who is worth paying for? Where are the bargain hitters? Let’s check out some past stats for help!

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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.

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Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 1

P: Stephen Strasburg ($12,100): Strasburg has dominated the Padres so far. The current roster is just 2-22 against him. The Padres as a franchise throughout Strasburg’s career are only hitting .226 against him. It’s a rite of passage for the Padres to be awful against Strasburg. He could be the safest pitcher on the slate today.

P: Yu Darvish ($11,600): The current Blue Jays are a miserable 12-87(.138) against Darvish in their careers with a pathetic four runs scored. They don’t even have an extra base hit off of Darvish! Darvish has also racked up 36 strikeouts in those 87 at bats. This, my friends, is what domination looks like!

C: Drew Butera ($2,200): Butera should get the start behind the plate, but if you are inclined to used Salvador Perez, fret not. He will likely still be in the lineup as the DH. Butera has only faced Danny Salazar three times. His one hit is a solo homer. He is worth rolling the dice with at this price.

1B: Eric Hosmer ($3,600): Hosmer is 12-30(.400) with three walks, five doubles, three homers, nine runs scored, and eight RBI in his career against Salazar. As much as I want to use someone like Goldschmidt, it’s tough to ignore this kind o potential value out there. Much like my pitching rich lineup last night, I’m mining for value due to past stats. Let’s see if it works out again.

2B: Brandon Drury ($4,000): Drury has cooled off a bit, but he is still picking up respectable amounts of DraftKings points. That likely wont change against Anderson in what could be another high scoring game in Milwaukee. Well, for Arizona anyway.

3B: Trevor Plouffe ($3,300): Plouffe is only 5-20 in his career against CC Sabathia, but this isn’t the Sabathia of five years ago. Plouffe also has two walks, a solo homer, and four runs scored off of the veteran lefty. He failed to do much against Masahiro Tanaka last night (he wasn’t alone in that regard), but Plouffe still managed another Yankee Stadium hit, his 16th in 50 at bats. He looks like a solid bet once again!

SS: Tim Beckham ($2,800): Beckham is a great bargain leading off against left handed pitchers. With Phil Hughes on the shelf, lefty Adalberto Mejia will make another start. He was good against the Royals his last time out, but he still owns a 4.96 ERA on the season. I will take a chance on Beckham scoring another run and possibly swiping a base for this price.

OF: Yasmany Tomas ($4,100): Chase Anderson wont strike fear in the hearts of any hitters. Especially when Arizona has hit three homers off of him in 30 at bats. Tomas has two of those, a single, and three RBI in his five career at bats against Anderson.

OF: Gregor Blanco ($3,200): Blanco has filled in nicely as the leadoff hitter with A.J. Pollock sidelined. He is also 1-3 against Chase Anderson. That one hit is a solo homer. I also like Paul Goldschmidt, but there is no way I can afford him with this pitching staff.

OF: Kole Calhoun ($3,100): Simply put, this could be a steal. I know Calhoun hasn’t had a great year, but he is still leading off against a questionable pitcher in Vance Worley. Most outfielders at this price don’t even start! I will take a chance on Calhoun for this cheap!

Next: DraftKings Early Lineup 2

P: Zack Greinke ($11,900): Only three Brewers have ever faced Zack Greinke before. They are hitless against him with a pair of strikeouts. I don’t envision the rest of the team faring much better against him. After a disappointing first season in the desert, Greinke is pitching like the ace that warranted the massive contract before last season. That will continue against the Brewers. Why do I say that? Greinke is 16-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 27 starts at Miller Park.

P: Brian Johnson ($5,300): So, the Red Sox stack didn’t work out that well last night. However, I am rolling with it again beginning with the pitcher. Eduardo Rodriguez was strong last night, so the pitcher wasn’t the reason the stack largely failed. Johnson isn’t the pitcher Rodriguez is, but he picked up 13.3 DraftKings points in his only major league start this season against Toronto. Seattle is a much lesser offense. If he comes away with around 15-18 DraftKings points, we can be happy about that.

C: Sandy Leon ($3,000): Christian Vazquez got the start last night, so Leon should be out there today. Rob Whalen in a righty, but not a very good one. He had a 6.57 ERA in five starts with Atlanta last year, and owns a 4.09 ERA at AAA Tacoma this year. That makes Yovani Gallardo look like Chris Sale. I’m going back to the Red Sox stack well today!

1B: Tommy Joseph ($3,800): I am stacking Phillies against Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo has an atrocious 6.75 ERA. If that isn’t enough, his road ERA is 8.05. Not all of those are in hitter’s parks either. One of those games was at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. So I don’t really care that only two Phillies have faced Arroyo. I care less that they are 2-10 against him. I just wont use those two guys. I will use everyone else. That starts with Joseph.

2B: Rougned Odor ($3,400): Odor is the outcast in my Phillies-Red Sox stack. However, he does have a solo homer against Marco Estrada in six at bats so far in his career. At this price point, he was the best option of what I had left to choose from.

3B: Maikel Franco ($3,600): Franco has really good power potential against Arroyo, and he is very cheap when compared to Jake Lamb. Lamb is more likely to go deep, but Franco has a decent shot at being on base more. For this much less, I will add to my Phillies stack.

SS: Xander Bogaerts ($4,900): Bogaerts had his string of four straight double digit DraftKings points games broken last night at four (he still had five points). I think he gets another one going today!

OF: Mookie Betts ($5,100): Betts hasn’t been quite as hot as Bogaerts, but he has 50 DraftKings points in his last five games. Look for him to keep that average up, or maybe even raise it, today against Whalen.

OF: Andrew Benintendi ($4,700): The injury to Dustin Pedroia has Benintendi back at the top of the order once again. He has also pulled out of his slump, racking up 57 DraftKings points over the last four games. With all of the runs that the Sox should score against Whalen today, Benintendi and Betts will have a huge hand in them.

OF: Aaron Altherr ($4,200): Altherr is finally starting to get some respect for his .295 average, eight homers, and 25 RBI on the season. The smart money says that he will add to that against Arroyo. My money wants to be smart! I’m rolling with him too!

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!