DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 2: Can you fade Kluber?

DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 18: Paws, the mascot for the Detroit Tigers waves a flag as he stands on the dugout in support of the Tigers against the New York Yankees during game four of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park on October 18, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 2: Can you fade Kluber?

We have a pretty even split on getaway day today. All 15 games are available in the classic tournaments, which is a nice change from most of the season. Seven games are included in the early DraftKings tournament. Those are the ones that we will focus on first.

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The rain chances aren’t over 25% anywhere besides St. Louis, and that’s only for later in the game. However, there are 15-18 mph winds blowing out to right in both Boston and Cleveland. There is also a stiff wind blowing out to center at Wrigley. We have a 12mph breeze out to right in St. Louis. The only place that has wind blowing in is Detroit at a brisk 18 mph from right field again.

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

ST PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 16: Blake Snell #4 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during a game against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field on April 16, 2018 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Corey Kluber ($13,200): Kluber is easily the most expensive pitcher out there today, and he just might be worth it. The Rangers are only hitting .225 against Kluber in 40 at bats with three homers, four runs, and 13 strikeouts. Kluber managing to keep runners off the bases is a big reason for his success, and the big strikeout upside is worth the extra cash here.

Carlos Martinez ($11,200): Martinez has never faced the White Sox before, but he has boasted a 1.00 ERA in three home starts this season. Chicago’s offense is better than most, including myself, thought they would be. However, they do most of their damage against left handed pitching. Martinez has solid potential here.

Blake Snell ($9,800): We have seen this sort of upside from Snell a few times over the last couple of years, but he has never strung together this kind of success. Snell has four straight quality starts, and has walked just one batter over his last three starts. That has always been the problem with Snell. Those huge walk totals. If he has the walks under control, Snell has great potential. The Tigers are only hitting .182 off of Snell in a limited sample size, but the high strikeouts and low walks over the last three games make him an attractive option if you don’t want to pay for Kluber.

Middle Tier:

Yu Darvish ($8,400): Darvish has struggled this year, but most of that has come on the road. Darvish has a 3.38 ERA at Wrigley Field this year, and the Rockies traditionally don’t hit well on the road. They are also only hitting .191 against Darvish in 47 at bats with only one homer and a staggering 22 strikeouts. That will make up for the six runs he has allowed. That strikeout rate is better than anyone else on the slate, making Darvish a nice SP2 option if you can afford him.

Drew Pomeranz ($7,800): Pomeranz has held the Royals to a .239 average in 46 at bats with just two runs and 13 strikeouts. It has been a solid plan to use whoever is pitching against the Royals this year. The lineup is better with Perez back, but chances are he wont start the day game. That makes Pomeranz look even better since Perez is 3-5 against him lifetime.

Michael Fulmer ($7,200): The current Rays have only faced Fulmer 29 times and they have only seven hits, one run, and three strikeouts. This could be an unheralded pitcher’s duel in Detroit this afternoon with the wind blowing in again. I’m not even opposed to using both starting pitchers against each other. They should both put up good numbers for the price.

Bargain Pitchers:

Fernando Romero ($4,700): Romero is making his major league debut against a Blue Jays team that is a little beaten up lately. Romero racked up 20 strikeouts in 21 innings with a 2.57 ERA at AAA Rochester this year. There is decent potential against the Jays, especially with the struggling Marcus Stroman on the mound.

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 22: Christian Villanueva #22 of the San Diego Padres bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of an MLB game at Chase Field on April 22, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Kris Bryant is 2-5, but has no counting stats so far against Tyler Anderson. That said, stacking righties against Anderson at Wrigley is not an awful idea. Willson Contreras is worth a look as well if he is in the starting lineup. Contreras is 2-6 with a double and two RBI against Anderson.

Christian Villanueva is 1-2 with a walk and a solo homer so far against Derek Holland. I would be all over stacking Padres righties today if there are any left. This team is ravaged by injuries right now, but could take batting practice off of a guy like Holland. Eric Hosmer is 7-16(.438) with a walk, a double, a homer, and two RBI against him. Chase Headley is 3-7 with three runs scored if he can sneak his way into the lineup somewhere.

Middle Tier:

Jose Martinez and Matt Carpenter are both reasonable priced against struggling right hander Lucas Giolito. I like Carpenter more because of the platoon advantage, but Martinez has more power.

Hanley Ramirez is 2-6 with a solo homer and two runs so far against Danny Duffy. Most Red Sox righties are in play today against Duffy.

Edwin Encarnacion is 6-20 with nine walks, a double, a homer, a steal, three runs, and three RBI in his career against Matt Moore. If Yan Gomes gets the start at catcher, he is 3-10 with a double and a solo homer off of Moore.

Buster Posey is 12-32(.375) with four walks, two doubles, two homers, six runs, and nine RBI in his career against Clayton Richard. The Giants are going to be a popular stack again today with a weak lefty on the mound and the wind blowing out again.

Bargain Shoppers:

Justin Smoak is a low priced lefty power option against a right handed pitcher making his major league debut. For the same reason, Kendrys Morales is also worth a look.

Logan Morrison is mired in an awful slump much like the pitcher he is facing. Morrison’s career numbers against Marcus Stroman don’t look that good on this surface – he is just 4-22(.182) – but Morrison has a homer and five RBI against him.

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 30: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox reacts as he rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam in the third inning of a game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on April 30, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

The top tier is loaded here today. Francisco Lindor is 6-10 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Matt Moore. Jason Kipnis has even hit the fellow lefty pretty well. Kipnis is 3-11 with a walk, two runs, and two RBI off of Moore.

Every time that Javier Baez has reached base against Tyler Anderson, he has scored. Addison Russell is worth a look as well. Russell is only 1-5, but that hit is a two run homer.

Xander Bogaerts is only 2-9 against Danny Duffy, but he has a homer and two RBI off of him.

Middle Tier:

Brian Dozier is 3-9 with a double, a steal, a run, and two RBI in his career against Marcus Stroman. Given the fact that Stroman has been destroyed so far this year, the Twins could provide a low cost stack.

There are so many good options at shortstop this afternoon that Paul DeJong could be overlooked against Lucas Gioloto. I rate him just behind Lindor this afternoon. There is a lot of potential here.

Daniel Robertson is about the only Rays player with any sort of success against Michael Fulmer. Robertson is 2-3 with two RBI in his career against Fulmer.

Bargain Shoppers:

Alcides Escobar is about the only Royal I would consider against Drew Pomeranz today. Escobar is 2-4 with two doubles, a run, and a RBI against Pomeranz in his career.

Jurickson Profar is the starter for the near future, and he is 3-7 with a solo homer and three runs scored against Corey Kluber.

Brandon Crawford is 6-18 with four walks, a double, a triple, four runs and two RBI in his career against Clayton Richard. Kelby Tomlinson is only 1-6 off of Richard, but he has scored two runs and driven in one and it starting with Panik out.

Next: Top Outfield Plays

ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 17: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox is congratulated by J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox after hitting a solo homerun during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium on April 17, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Mookie Betts is 2-6 with a solo homer and two RBI against Danny Duffy as well. If Jackie Bradley makes it into the starting lineup with a lefty on the hill, he is worth a look as well. Bradley is 3-7 with a double, a triple, a run, and two RBI in his career against Duffy. J.D. Martinez has also taken Duffy deep, but he is just 3-22(.136) against him in his career.

The entire Blue Jays outfield seems pretty hot right now. Teoscar Hernandez and Kevin Pillar are averaging more than ten DraftKings points per game over the last ten games. Playing Curtis Granderson against a right hander making his major league debut is not a bad idea either.

Tommy Pham and Marcell Ozuna are worth a look if you are stacking against Lucas Giolito. If only using one, I prefer Pham batting leadoff, but the $5,000 price tag is a bit off putting.

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Middle Tier:

Carlos Gonzalez is 1-2 with a solo homer so far against Yu Darvish. That did come at Coors Field though. Charlie Blackmon is only 1-5 with a walk, but he has scored twice and driven in a run against Darvish.

Andrew McCutchen is 5-11 with five walks, two homers, five runs, and three RBI in his career against Clayton Richard. Gorkys Hernandez could be a great option if he is in the starting lineup. Hernandez is 8-13(.615) off of Richard with a double and a run scored.

Bargain Shoppers:

If you are looking for cheap steals (who isn’t?), Rajai Davis is 5-20 with two walks, two doubles, four runs, and four steals against Matt Moore. And as usual, Brandon Guyer is in play with the lefty on the mound.

Nomar Mazara is 5-12 with a double, a solo homer, and two runs scored in his career against Corey Kluber.

Albert Almora is worth a look as a cheap outfielder. He is perfect against Tyler Anderson in his career with a walk, a single, a double, and a run.

Next: DraftKings Main Slate MLB Picks

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!