DraftKings Early MLB Picks April 14: Scherzer is worth the price

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 12: The downtown skyline is seen from across Lake Calhoun after a snow storm December 12, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A blizzard dumped more than 20 inches of snow in parts of the Midwest forcing the NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings to be postponed till Monday and will be played in Detroit’s Ford Field. There were no injuries reported from the collapse of the dome. (Photo by Tom Dahlin/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks April 14: Scherzer is worth the price.

There are eight early games today, but there is no chance of all eight of them actually being played. There is no way they can play in Minneapolis with a foot of snow expected by Sunday. Cincinnati, Detroit, and Cleveland also have chances of rain, and it could be another blustery day at Wrigley.

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I will go ahead and provide info for all games like they will be played with the exception of the Twins-White Sox game. Just keep an eye to the sky if you plan on playing anyone from the other three cities with a chance of rain.

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 tips are based mostly on past performance. This is a nice tool for building a lineup, but should not be the only pieces of information you use. Stacking against a bad pitcher is always a good idea!

For you first time players, if you would like a free $20 in DraftKings dollars, use this link for the referral bonus with your first deposit of $5 or more! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn those DraftKings dollars into more!

Next: DraftKings Pitcher Plays

HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 02: Charlie Morton #50 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day at Minute Maid Park on April 2, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($13,000): That’s a hefty tag on Max, but he is off to a great start, and the Rockies’ road woes are well documented. The Rockies are hitting a solid .250 against Scherzer in 60 at bats with five homers, but only six runs and 18 strikeouts. You would like a higher strikeout rate, but that could come with Charlie Blackmon out of the lineup. Scherzer is in a great spot here, and should turn in another 20+ DraftKings point performance.

Charlie Morton ($10,800): Morton’s numbers against Texas are pretty pedestrian thus far. They are hitting .286 in 28 at bats with three runs, but they have also struck out nine times. With Texas missing Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus, this lineup is a shell of what it usually is. There is a lot of potential here for Morton. He is off to a good start to the season anyway. It should continue here.

Middle Tier:

Jose Quintana ($9,000): The wind is going to be a major factor in this one. There is a stiff wind blowing in at Wrigley, which should keep runs down. Maybe not enough for me to take a chance on Newcomb, but definitely enough for me to fit Quintana in my lineup. The Braves are only hitting .237 in 59 at bats against Quintana anyway with only one homer and two runs to go with 14 strikeouts. My only fear in this game is the rain chasing Quintana early in the contest.

Jaime Garcia ($6,600): The Indians are only hitting .256 off of Garcia in 43 at bats with no homers, just two runs, and eight strikeouts. Those are really good numbers, but this is still a pretty potent Cleveland lineup. Garcia does have some things working against him. The most obvious is a matchup against Kluber. However, there could be some value here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Hector Velazquez ($6,000): Velazquez put up 21.2 DraftKings points on the Rays in his first start of the season, but had mixed success in two relief appearances, against the same team! Win chasers will be on Velazquez like they were Eduardo Rodriguez last night. Just keep in mind that five innings is probably his limit.

Mike Minor ($4,800): How brave are you? The Astros are only hitting .205 in 39 at bats against Minor with no homers and only four runs. However, Minor only has eight strikeouts. If this game gets ugly, Minor wont get enough strikeouts to salvage his score. Still, the results up until now against the Astros are very good.

FanDuel MLB: ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 03: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves rounds third base after hitting a three-run homer in the second inning against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on April 3, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I don’t trust either pitcher in the Cardinals-Reds game, so it makes sense to stack this game so long as it isn’t rained out. Miles Mikolas gave up three homers in his first start, and a ton of doubles in his last start. Great American Launching Pad is not going to agree with his ERA.

Freddie Freeman has the only homer for the Braves against Jose Quintana. He would really have to get into one to smack it out onto Sheffield with the wind blowing in, but if anyone can, it’s Freeman.

How young are the Yankees? Young enough that they only have a combined 48 at bats against Francisco Liriano, and he was in the A.L. for seven years prior to his stint in Pittsburgh. Gary Sanchez is already 3-7 with a double and a RBI off of Liriano. Oh, and Liriano has a 5.37 ERA in Comerica Park in 70 career innings.

Middle Tier:

Anthony Rendon is 3-4 with a walk, a double, three runs scored, and a RBI already against Jon Gray. And before you go jumping on the Gray train because the Rockies are away from Coors, keep in mind that Gray has a 4.21 career road ERA. He isn’t that much better away from Coors.

Not many Tigers have faced Luis Cessa, but Miggy has. He faced him once and hit a home run off of him. I don’t know that Cessa is worth stacking against in a pitcher’s park, but Miggy is definitely worth a look, and so are the cheap middle infielders.

Jose Martinez seems to be getting going, now he get a lefty in Brandon Finnegan making his first start in nearly a year. Finnegan was wild in his rehab start at AAA Louisville. Every right handed Cardinal hitter is in play here today.

Willson Contreras is 1-2 with a walk and a three run homer in his career against Sean Newcomb. In what could be a windy day at Wrigley, I’m not crazy about either of the pitchers. The hitters are a different story. Kris Bryant is 2-5 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored against Newcomb.

Bargain Shoppers:

Alex Cobb will make his Orioles debut today, and the matchup couldn’t get much worse for him. Christian Vazquez is 8-11 with a walk and two RBI against Cobb already. Mitch Moreland is only 5-20, but he has four walks, two doubles, a homer, four runs scored, and three RBI against Cobb.

Hector Velazquez was strong in his first start of the season, but that was against Tampa. This is a much better lineup. The lefty power of Chris Davis and Pedro Alvarez comes cheap, and could be worth a look if paying for aces.

I sure hope that the Blue Jays DH Russell Martin today. Martin is only 2-10 off of Kluber, but both hits are homers and he has four RBI. In all, the Jays are hitting .270 with three homers and five RBI in only 37 at bats against Kluber. Using Jays and fading Kluber could pay off.

Matt Carpenter is 4-11 with three walks, two homers, four runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Brandon Finnegan. He is way too cheap today!

Chris Iannetta could be worth a look tonight. He is 4-14 with a walk, a homer, four runs scored, and two RBI against Max Scherzer in his career.

ST. LOUIS, MO – AUGUST 26: Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an RBI triple against the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on August 26, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jose Altuve is 3-5 with a walk, a double, three steals, and two runs scored against Mike Minor.

I’m a pretty big fan of Paul DeJong here today. He has four homers in 11 career games in Cincy. Against a struggling lefty, I’m willing to pay up for DeJong here.

Middle Tier:

Javier Baez has had a nice first homestand of the season so far. It should continue. Baez is 4-6 with a homer and two RBI in his career against Sean Newcomb.

Bargain Shoppers:

Brock Holt is 2-6 with a walk, two steals, and a run scored against Alex Cobb. If he works his way into the lineup, Holt is an intriguing cheap option.

Devon Travis is 3-6 with a walk, a double, and three runs scored in his career against Corey Kluber. I don’t know that I would trust anyone else against Kluber, but Travis has looked good so far.

Next: Top Outfield Plays

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 10: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with Brock Holt #12 after hitting a grand slam during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on April 10, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

If it seems like I have the Red Sox outfield here every day, it’s because I do. Almost every day they have played this season is against a pitcher they hit well. Today is no exception. J.D. Martinez is 4-8 with a walk, two doubles, andÂ a RBI off of Alex Cobb. Mookie Betts is 6-20 with a walk, a double, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI. However, I am staying off of Benintendi and Bradley today. They are a combined 4-28 with no counting stats against Cobb.

Aaron Judge is only 1-3 with a walk against Francisco Liriano, but the hit is a two run homer. Brett Gardner is 6-18 with three walks, a double, a triple, two steals, a run scored, and five RBI against Liriano. Even former teammate Aaron Hicks is 4-7 with a walk, a double, a run scored, and a RBI against the veteran lefty.

Bryce Harper is alwaysÂ in play against a hard throwing right hander, but surprisingly, it’s Brian Goodwin who has the only Nats homer in 38 at bats against Jon Gray.

George Springer is only 1-4 against Mike Minor, but he has walked twice, doubled, scored, and driven in a run.

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Middle Tier:

Carlos Gonzalez is only 3-12 against Max Scherzer, but all three hits are solo home runs. If you are thinking about using any Rockie against Scherzer, it should be CarGo.

Chasing power with Adam Duvall against Miles Mikolas looks like a good idea here today. Jesse Winker may be worth a look as well.

Michael Brantley could get on track here. He is 2-3 with a run and a RBI in his career against Jaime Garcia.

Bargain Shoppers:

Brandon Guyer is always a popular choice against left handed pitching. Unlike other righties that hit lefties hard, Guyer’s price has stayed pretty low.

Curtis Granderson is 2-6 with a walk, a triple, and two runs scored in his career against Corey Kluber, and he comes cheap enough to consider. Kevin Pillar is 2-8 with a double and a solo homer off of Kluber.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. Still in NBA mode? No worries, we have the NBA DFS covered for the playoffs as well!