DraftKings Main MLB Picks March 31: Stack against Ian Kennedy

FanDuel MLB: KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 29: Matt Davidson #24 of the Chicago White Sox is congratulated by Welington Castillo #21 after hitting a home run during the 4th inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium on March 29, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks March 31: Stack against Ian Kennedy

Our split slate continues with seven night games. The Red Sox-Rays tilt is left out of both of the larger tournaments for some reason. You have to play the afternoon tournaments to get a piece of that. There are a few aces tonight, but are they as poor as the early options were?

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We will provide you with several options to build your lineup here. Want to spend all your money on pitchers and play bargain bats? We will highlight who is worth the money. Want to punt arms and pay up for the big boppers? We can help you with that as well, and everything in between!

These picks are based largely on past stats. Obviously, these are not a true indicator of what will happen tonight, but they can provide good insight and trends to help us pick some winners.

For you first time players, if you would like a bonus of $20 DraftKings dollars, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn those DraftKings dollars into more!

Next: DraftKings Pitcher Plays

DFS MLB: PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 02: Pitcher Zack Greinke #21 of the Arizona Diamondbacks walks out to warm up before the MLB opening day game against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field on April 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Yu Darvish ($12,200): The Marlins are going to be worn out after 17 innings last night. The current Marlins are just 2-17(.118) with a run and 10 strikeouts against Darvish. The ones that haven’t faced him likely wont do much better. This Marlins offense is a work in progress. Darvish should get off to a great start in his Cubs career.

Vince Velasquez ($9,400): Velasquez has pitched very well against the current Braves. In his start against them last year, Velasquez picked up 23 DraftKings points. Even better than that is the 13 strikeouts and no homers allowed in 41 at bats to the Braves. This could be a strong night for Velasquez.

Middle Tier:

Lucas Giolito ($8,700): Giolito dominated the Royals last September. The Royals that are left are just 5-28(.179) with just a solo homer to show for their trouble. Giolito doesn’t have a lot of strikeouts yet, but those could come tonight. At any rate, he is a strong bet against Ian Kennedy.

Bargain Pitchers:

Andrew Cashner ($5,900): The Twins offense still hasn’t left Fort Myers. They are hitting a robust .320 against Cashner, but they only have one homer and two runs to go with a staggering 11 strikeouts in just 25 at bats. I love the strikeout potential here, and Cashner has a great chance at a win facing Kyle Gibson.

Brent Suter ($5,600): Chacin struggled against his former team last night, but the Padres were pretty awful against lefties last season. That puts Suter in a pretty good spot here. Suter pitched better on the road last year and he doesn’t put up a lot of strikeouts, but he can rack up some outs against this team.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 20: Paul Goldschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 20, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Manny Machado is 5-16(.312) with two walks, a double, and a RBI against Kyle Gibson. I almost prefer teammate Chris Davis, who is 4-13 with four walks, a solo homer and three runs scored off of Gibson.

Paul Goldschmidt is 6-10 with four walks, a double, two homers, five runs scored, and four RBI in his career against German Marquez already. The D-Back-Rockies stack wasn’t the usual suspects that racked up the points last night, but they could here. Jake Lamb is 7-19(.368) with a double, two runs scored, and a pair of RBI against Marquez.

Kris Bryant‘s only hit in three at bats against Odrisamer Despaigne is a two run homer. Keep an eye on this though. Despaigne pitched in relief in the 17 inning marathon last night, so he may not make this scheduled start.

Jose Abreu is 9-19(.474) with three homers, six runs scored, and five RBI against Ian Kennedy. Matt Davidson, he of the three Opening Day homers, is 3-8 with two walks, three runs scored, and a solo homer against Kennedy.

Middle Tier:

Miguel Sano walked and hit a solo homer in his only start against Andrew Cashner. He is the only Twin to hit a homer off of Cashner so far.

Lucas Duda hit a homer on Opening Day. Now he is the only current Royal to drive in a run against Lucas Giolito. Which Lucas wins tonight?

Bargain Shoppers:

Both Manny Pina and Jesus Aguilar have hit solo homers against Luis Perdomo. Eric Thames has the power and platoon advantage to make him an interesting pivot off of Goldy/Abreu.

Austin Hedges could be worth a look with the platoon advantage on Brent Suter. He has good power.

PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 29: The Arizona Diamondbacks stand attended for the national anthem prior to the openning day MLB game against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field on March 29, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Trevor Story is 8-24 with a walk, a double, four homers, five runs scored, and nine RBI in his career against Zack Greinke. DJ LeMahieu is 14-45(.311) with three doubles, a homer, five runs scored, and 7 RBI against the former Cy Young award winner.

Chris Taylor is worth a look against Derek Holland. None of the Dodgers have much of a history against him, but any right handed Dodger hitter is worth a look if you aren’t stacking Diamondbacks or White Sox.

Middle Tier:

It seems a little unrealistic that Derek Dietrich is still $3,500 against Darvish. Even so, he is the only current Marlin to drive in a run off of Darvish. Dietrich has a two run single and a run scored in two at bats against Darvish.

Tim Anderson fits nicely into a White Sox stack. Anderson’s two Opening Day homers were overshadowed by Matt Davidson, but Anderson also has good stats against Kennedy. Anderson is 5-14(.357) with three walks, two doubles, a steal, and two RBI off of Kennedy so far. If you are looking to go cheaper, Yoan Moncada is 2-8 with a double, a triple, and four RBI off Kennedy.

Joe Panik is 4-9 with two walks, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Kenta Maeda. Maeda is notorious for not going deep into games though, and Panik is in for a rough test against that bullpen.

Bargain Shoppers:

Ben Zobrist falls into the bargain tier, and he is 2-3 with a triple, two runs scored, and a RBI off of Despaigne so far.

Alcides Escobar could be a nice punt at shortstop. He is 2-6 with a double, but no counting stats against Giolito so far.

If you are stacking Diamondbacks, Ketel Marte is 3-8 with a solo homer against German Marquez.

MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 12: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies is tagged out at second during the game between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies at Marlins Park on August 12, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Rhys Hoskins has never faced Brandon McCarthy, but he is a lefty in SunTrust Park against an average pitcher. That makes him worth a look.

The Arizona outfield is all fairly expensive here, but they could be worth it. Pollock and Peralta are a combined 7-18 with two walks, four doubles, four runs scored, and four RBI. Chris Owings is a good place to save money, and he has a homer against Marquez.

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Middle Tier:

Adam Jones is 5-20 with a walk and a double against Kyle Gibson. That wont have you going out to grab him, but what if i told you that the other four hits were home runs and he has eight RBI? Now he’s in your lineup!

Byron Buxton may be worth a look in this tier, if only for his immense upside. I wouldn’t use him and Cashner in the same lineup though.

Avisail Garcia comes cheaper than most in the White Sox stack. He is only 4-15(.267) against Kennedy, but he has two walks, a double, a homer, four runs scored, and two RBI.

Charlie Blackmon‘s numbers against Greinke don’t have me rushing to roster him, but Carlos Gonzalez is 14-42(.333) with three walks, a double, a triple, five homers, six runs scored, and seven RBI against Greinke. There is good potential here.

Andrew McCutchen is only 2-7 against Kenta Maeda, but both of those hits are home runs, and he has driven in four.

Bargain Shoppers:

Hernan Perez comes pretty cheap, and he is 5-10 with a double, a steal, a solo homer, and four runs scored against Luis Perdomo. Ryan Braun has also homered against Perdomo, so he is worth a look as well.

Remember Enrique Hernandez? Left handed pitchers certainly do. The Dodgers’ lefty killer should be in the lineup against Derek Holland tonight, and he is just $3,300.

Next: Early DraftKings MLB Picks

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have the tail end of the NBA season covered.