DraftKings Main MLB Picks April 3: Use Bryce Harper!

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25: A general view of the field covered with a rain tarp prior to the game between the New York Mets against the Atlanta Braves during their game at Citi Field on April 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks April 3: Use Bryce Harper!

Our split slate continues with nine night games. Some of the aces are back in action after great Opening Day outings. Who are the best picks to succeed tonight? Some rainouts have been ravaging the early season. There is a chance of rain for the Phillies-Mets game, but the rest should be in the clear.

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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

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants during the 2018 Major League Baseball opening day at Dodger Stadium on March 29, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Clayton Kershaw ($12,200): Arizona is hitting only .203 with two homers, and 12 runs in 138 at bats against Kershaw. He also has 39 strikeouts in those 138 at bats. It’s never a bad pick to use Kershaw. However, Kershaw is only 5-7 with a 3.75 ERA in 12 career starts at Chase Field. This could be a night to fade Kershaw.

Justin Verlander ($11,600): The Orioles are only hitting .227 against Verlander with seven homers and 18 runs in 181 at bats. The 64 strikeouts is a healthy pace as well. Some Orioles have managed to hit Verlander, but the strikeouts will keep Verlander in solid points, and he is a lock for a win against Mike Wright.

Chase Anderson ($10,100): Anderson was sharp in his first start. The Cardinals have a solid .269 average against Anderson with two homers and eight runs in 93 at bats, but the 22 strikeouts means there is pretty good potential here for Anderson.

Middle Tier:

Zack Godley ($9,000): Godley has held the Dodgers to a .227 average in 75 at bats, but he has allowed three homers and eight runs to go with the 16 strikeouts. Considering Kershaw has almost been human in Chase Field, there is decent potential for Godley tonight.

J.A. Happ ($7,900): The White Sox creamed lefties last year, but the current lineup is hitting just .189 against Happ with only one homer and three runs in 53 at bats to go wtih 21 strikeouts. There is nice potential here with Happ considering the track record.

Bargain Pitchers:

Miguel Gonzalez ($7,000): Gonzalez has held the Blue Jays to a .179 average in 78 at bats wtih two homers, eight runs, and a solid 17 strikeouts. There is potential here against a Blue Jays offense that hasn’t really got going yet.

Ben Lively ($6,300): 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.

Jack Flaherty ($6,000): Flaherty pitched well in a September start against the Brewers last year, holding them to a .231 average in one run to go with three strikeouts. I don’t like the pitching matchups, but Flaherty may be able to record some outs and get some value here.

Kendall Graveman ($5,800): There is some potential here with Graveman considering he posted a 2.94 ERA at home last year and averaged 15.2 DraftKings points in home starts. On top of that, Graveman was 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in four starts against the Rangers. Graveman averaged 18.9 DraftKings points in starts against Texas last season. He could be a huge bargain tonight!

PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 30: Paul Goldschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks bats against the Colorado Rockies during the MLB game at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Nolan Arenado is only 5-22(.227) in his career against Tyson Ross, but he does have two homers and three RBI off of him.

Edwin Encarnacion is 5-12 with a walk, a double, two homers, four runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Garrett Richards. Yan Gomes only has one hit in five at bats against Richards, but it is a three run homer.

Paul Goldschmidt is 10-44(.227) with 17 strikeouts against Kershaw, but this could still be a place to use him at home. Goldy has three walks, two doubles, two homers, five runs scored, and eight RBI against Kershaw.

Manny Machado is 7-24(.292) with two walks, a double, a triple, a homer, four runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Verlander.

Freddie Freeman is 2-3 with a double and two runs scored against A.J. Cole. I’m all for a Braves lefty stack in SunTrust Park against Cole, who has struggled early in his career.

Middle Tier:

Adrian Beltre is only 4-16 against Kendall Graveman, but he has a walk, two doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI against him.

Evan Gattis is pricey for a catcher, but he is 2-3 with a homer and three RBI off of Mike Wright already. In fact, stacking Astros is not out of the question here.

Jonathan Lucroy is a reasonable price, and is 6-15 with three walks, a double, a homer, four runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Cole Hamels. Matt Chapman is 2-4 against Hamels so far, and could be worth a look.

Ryan Zimmerman is only 10-43(.233) against Julio Teheran, but he has two homers and seven RBI off of him. If Matt Adams starts instead, he is 2-5 with a solo homer against Teheran.

Bargain Shoppers:

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.

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 01: Carlos Correa #1 and Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrate defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in game seven to win the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Trea Turner is 5-9 with a double and two runs scored against Julio Teheran already. Howie Kendrick is 4-11 with a double, three runs scored, and a RBI against Teheran.

Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa are worth a look against Mike Wright despite not having any past stats. They are worth a look against just about anyone.

Zack Cozart is off to a very fast start, and he has clobbered Josh Tomlin in his career. Cozart is 8-17(.471) with two doubles, a triple, a solo homer, and five runs scored against Tomlin.

Middle Tier:

Chris Taylor is 3-8 with a homer and two RBI in his career against Zack Godley already.

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.

Tim Anderson is off to a pretty good start. He is also 3-7 with a triple against J.A. Happ. He is worth a look if you have the cash.

Paul DeJong is off to a good start, and he has hit a solo homer and a single against Chase Anderson in six at bats.

Ozzie Albies has only faced A.J. Cole once. He hit a home run in that at bat. Dansby Swanson, who is also off to a good start, is 1-4 with a double and a run scored off of Cole.

Bargain Shoppers:

Tim Beckham is perfect with two singles and a solo homer off of Justin Verlander. Jonathan Schoop is only 2-16 against Verlander, but both of those hits are home runs.

Chad Pinder is dirt cheap, and he is 2-4 with two solo homers against Cole Hamels already.

Devon Travis has showed a lot of promise when he can stay on the field. He is 3-7 with a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI against Miguel Gonzalez, and he comes cheap!

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.

OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 29: Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on March 29, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

You have to play Bryce Harper tonight. Harper is 17-37(.459) with seven walks, three doubles, seven homers, a steal, eight runs scored, and an amazing 17 RBI in his career against Julio Teheran. If I’m Teheran, I just walk him three times and be done with it.

You don’t really need a reason to play George Springer against Mike Wright. I wouldn’t fade Harper to do it though.

Mike Trout is 5-9 with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and three RBI in his career against Josh Tomlin. Kole Calhoun is 5-8 with a double, a RBI, and three runs scored against Tomlin.

Charlie Blackmon is 5-18(.278) with two walks, a double, a homer, three steals, and two RBI in his career against Tyson Ross.

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Middle Tier:

It should be no surprise that Khris Davis has khrushed Cole Hamels. Davis is 4-12 with four walks, three homers, four runs scored, and five RBI off of Hamels.

Adam Jones is only 11-44 against Verlander, but he has a walk, a double, three homers, seven runs scored, and seven RBI off of him.

Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig have both homered against Godley in their careers.

Avisail Garcia only has one hit in six tries against J.A. Happ, but it is a home run.

Bargain Shoppers:

Shin-Soo Choo could be a nice cheap option against Graveman. Choo is 3-13 with two homers and four RBI off of Graveman already.

Wil Myers at $3,400 seems really cheap. He is also 3-5 with a double, a walk, a steal, two runs scored, and a RBI off of Kyle Freeland.

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

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.