DraftKings Main MLB Picks April 2: Pitching is overpriced

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 01: Charlie Morton #50 of the Houston Astros pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game seven of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks April 2: Pitching is overpriced

Our split slate continues with nine night games. The pitching isn’t great on the night slate either. Is this another situation to just stack the best hitters you can? Let’s check some stats!

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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

ANAHEIM, CA – SEPTEMBER 19: Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 19, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Here’s the deal with the top tier. None of them have done well against tonight’s opponents. The Orioles have hit Morton hard in limited at bats. The Angels are hitting a scorching .349 in 43 at bats with a homer and eight runs against Clevinger. The Dodgers are hitting .296 with two homers and eight runs in only 54 at bats against Taijuan Walker. Tanner Roark looks like a good pick until you see the Braves have six homers and 19 runs in just 129 at bats with only 23 strikeouts.

If you insist on staying in this tier, Clevinger is the only one I have any sort of confidence in. Tanner Roark probably has the best shot at a win, but none of them have enough strikeout potential to pay the big premiums attached to them tonight.

Middle Tier:

Andrew Triggs ($8,000): Triggs dominated the Rangers last year, putting up 25.7 DraftKings points on them in his start. The current Rangers roster is just 3-27(.111) with two runs and four strikeouts. Triggs has a very nice matchup with Colon in a pitcher’s park.

Sean Newcomb ($7,600): Newcomb struck out a lot of hitters last year, but his control was awful, walking more than five batters per nine innings. Newcomb showed a huge improvement in the control department this spring with no drop in strikeouts. Tanner Roark hasn’t pitched all that well against this current Braves team, and Newcomb throwing from the left side neutralizes most of SunTrust Park’s hitter’s park qualities. There is a lot of potential here, but the Nationals have a pretty stacked lineup.

JC Ramirez ($7,500): Ramirez has held Cleveland to a .244 average in 45 at bats with a homer and five runs, but only four strikeouts. The Angels battered Clevinger last year, but Clevinger didn’t start to realize his potential until late in the season. That may leave Clevinger’s struggles as a bit of an illusion, so there is still plenty of risk attached to this play.

Bargain Pitchers:

Brian Johnson ($6,900): The former lead singer of AC/DC has a great matchup tonight. Okay, so it’s not the same guy. This Brian Johnson is less than half the age of the other. At any rate, the Marlins don’t have a lot of power in this offense, and Johnson plays for an offense that scores a lot of runs. Johnson dominated the spring and has some strong starts down the stretch last year. There is very good potential here.

Chris Tillman ($6,500): Wow, how brave are you? The Astros are hitting a solid .244 off of Tillman, but they have just two homers and five runs in 90 at bats. Tillman only has 14 strikeouts though, which means this team that mashes and strikes out a lot makes a whole lot of contact against Tillman. There is significant risk here. On the bright side though, his offense is hitting .367 against Charlie Morton with a homer and seven runs in 30 at bats.

Reynaldo Lopez ($6,200): Lopez came over with Lucas Giolito in the Adam Eaton deal, and some scouts are torn about which prospect was the better in that deal. That says a lot about the potential on Lopez. Most of us know the buzz about Giolito already. Veteran Jaime Garcia will oppose him, but the White Sox destroyed lefties last year. There is very good strikeout potential and decent win potential for Lopez tonight.

Ben Lively ($6,100): Lively has pitched very well against the Mets so far in his career. The current Mets are only hitting .217 off of Lively in 46 at bats with only one homer and two runs scored. The bad news is that Lively only picked up two strikeouts. Lively’s ability to pick up outs makes him a solid value pick, but the lack of strikeouts limits his ability to put up a big score or make value of a shaky outing.

Bartolo Colon ($4,700): Two things we know is that the A’s aren’t very good and that Bartolo Colon is old. Like older than I am. Colon had his first burst of success with the A’s in the early 2000s, and has held the current whippersnappers to a .250 average in 44 at bats with just one homer and three runs. There is decent value here, but don’t expect Colon to do deep into the game or record a lot of strikeouts.

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:

Paul Goldschmidt is 9-21(.429) with two walks, two doubles, two homers, three runs scored, and an impressive seven RBI against Hyun-Jin Ryu. Goldy has both of the Diamondback homers against Ryu, but his teammates have a .403 OBP against Ryu. There are going to be runs to drive in again tonight.

Freddie Freeman is in a park that is very favorable to left handed hitting, and he is 11-37(.297) in his career against Tanner Roark. Freeman has two walks, four doubles, and four runs scored but just one RBI. Still, this is a favorable place to deploy Freeman.

Middle Tier:

Yonder Alonso is only 2-9 in his career against JC Ramirez, but one of those is a two run homer.

Anthony Rendon has faced Sean Newcomb twice. He walked and hit a two run double. Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman hold the platoon advantage here and could be worth a look.

Yasmani Grandal is 3-8 with three walks, a double, and three run scored against Taijuan Walker. Grandal is a bit expensive for a catcher, but he may be worth it.

Not many A’s have faced Bartolo Colon, but Jonathan Lucroy is 4-9 off of him. The bad part is that all of them are singles and only one run scored is the only counting stat.

Bargain Shoppers:

Wil Myers is very cheap for a first baseman. Maybe cheaper than he should be. Myers is 8-16 with a walk, three doubles, a triple, a homer, four runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Chad Bettis. Austin Hedges has a walk and a solo homer off of Bettis as well.

Luis Valbuena is 2-5 with a walk, a homer, and three RBI in his career against Mike Clevinger. If Valbuena gets the start, he is worth a look if you paid for pitching.

Maikel Franco has started really slow this year, but he is 3-8 with with two homers and three RBI in his career against Matt Harvey. Is the Dark Knight back? We will find out here.

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 6: Elvis Andrus #1 of the Texas Rangers hits a first inning solo home run against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on September 6, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Elvis Andrus is 2-5 with a run scored and a RBI off of Andrew Triggs, but his real value lies in the stolen bases. Andrus has swiped two off of Triggs already. At a position where it can be hard to find power, Andrus is about as sure of a bet as you can get for steals.

Jason Kipnis doubled and scored in his only plate appearance against JC Ramirez. Francisco Lindor is 2-5 with a walk, a run, a steal, and a RBI against Ramirez. There is good potential here as well.

Corey Seager is 2-6 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Taijuan Walker.

Middle Tier:

Cesar Hernandez is 4-11 with two walks, a run scored, and a RBI off of Matt Harvey. If you are like I am and have a hard time trusting Harvey, a Philadelphia stack comes very cheap.

Ozzie Albies has a lot of potential, and has realized some of it against Tanner Roark. Albies is 3-6 with a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Roark.

Bargain Shoppers:

Tim Beckham is off to a slow start, but a meeting with Charlie Morton could help that. Beckham is perfect with a single and a triple in his two plate appearances against Morton.

Jose Reyes is really cheap, but he has the only homer for the Mets against Ben Lively. He could be a sneaky play if he is in the lineup.

Andrelton Simmons is off to a fast start, and he is 4-6 with two walks and three runs scored against Mike Clevinger. He is worth a look again tonight.

Jed Lowrie can save you some money, and he is 3-7 with a walk and a double, but no counting stats against Bartolo Colon. That could change tonight.

PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 29: A.J. Pollock #11 of the Arizona Diamondbacks bats against the Colorado Rockies during the opening day MLB game at Chase Field on March 29, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

A.J. Pollock is 8-24 with four walks, a double, a triple, five runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Hyun-Jin Ryu. He could be in for a few runs today if Ryu scuffles against this dangerous lineup.

I like Charlie Blackmon on the road as well as at home. He is one of the few Rockies that I can say that about. I like him a lot against Bryan Mitchell, even in cavernous Petco Park.

Even though Mookie Betts is off to a slow start, he is worth a look against Trevor Richards. Richards only allowed one run in 12 innings this spring, but this is the Red Sox. A very potent offense is getting a crack at a rookie. This is stack material.

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Middle Tier:

Kole Calhoun is 2-7 with a walk, a homer, and three RBI in his career against Mike Clevinger. You may want to fade Trout though. Trout is just 1-6 against Clevinger.

Odubel Herrera is 4-16 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Matt Harvey and fits nicely into any Phillies stack.

Ender Inciarte is often overlooked as the Braves fans are anxiously awaiting the callup of Ronald Acuna. Acuna is still in the minors for another couple of weeks, so you may as well play Inciarte while he’s starting. Of course, the 9-22 with two doubles, a triple, a homer, four runs scored, and four RBI against Roark doesn’t hurt either. Nick Markakis has also hit Roark well if you need a cheaper option.

Bargain Shoppers:

If you are still in need of cheap options once you get to the outfield, Colby Rasmus could be worth a look. Rasmus has tagged Charlie Morton in his career. Rasmus is 7-14 with a walk, a homer, four runs scored, a steal, and two RBI against Morton so far.

Curtis Granderson is one of the few players that has faced Lopez so far. He hit a three run homer off of him last year.

There is a chance that Joc Pederson doesn’t even play, but if he does, he is 4-8 with a walk, a double, two runs scored, and a RBI against Taijuan Walker. The best part is that Pederson will only set you back $2,900.

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.