DraftKings Late MLB Picks May 6: Don't fade Verlander

MONTERREY, MEXICO – MAY 05: Fans stand up for a wave during the MLB game between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 5, 2018 at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. Padres defeated the Dodgers 7-4. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Late MLB Picks May 6: Don’t fade Verlander

There are five afternoon games this Sunday, which makes it one of the largest late afternoon slates of the season. There isn’t as much start power on the mound as there was in the afternoon, but there is enough to give us some choices. Who should we take?

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There is no rain in the forecast this afternoon, and the only wind we have is a 14 mph blowing out to right in Oakland.

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 head to head contest ticket, 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 24: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 24, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($13,200): The Diamondbacks are hitting a solid .250 off of Verlander, but they only have two homers and six runs in 92 at bats with a whopping 38 strikeouts. Don’t get cute. Verlander is a must own on this truncated slate with so few good pitching options available. There is plenty of value among the hitters to afford Verlander.

Shohei Ohtani ($8,500): Ohtani will make his first start since April 24th here. This is a very good spot for him against the Mariners. Seattle isn’t a bad team, but they aren’t all that great either. We have seen some brilliant outings from Ohtani and a couple of bad to fair ones. I would expect this to be closer to good than bad. A quality start with a half dozen strikeouts is likely.

Middle Tier:

Andrew Triggs ($7,900): You are playing with fire when you play with Triggs, but Alex Cobb has been so bad, Trigg is assured the points for a win so long as he can record 15 outs. How badly the Orioles beat him up before he records those outs is a topic for debate. Judging by how cold the O’s bats have been though, it’s worth rolling the dice on Triggs.

Felix Hernandez ($6,900): King Felix makes for a decent contrarian play today. Despite his struggles on the season, Felix has a 2.55 ERA at home this season. The current Angels are hitting a solid .242 against Hernandez with 13 homers and 41 RBI in 326 at bats with 85 strikeouts. There is potential for Angels hitters as well.

Bargain Pitchers:

Ross Stripling ($4,000): The Dodgers are worried about Rich Hill‘s balky finger in the Mexico humidity, so they will turn to Stripling instead. Stripling was knocked around a little by Arizona in his last start, but he gets a beat up Padres team that isn’t a very good offense at full strength. Don’t expect Stripling to go deep into the game or to rack up a lot of strikeouts, but he can get you outs at a bare minimum price.

Top Tier:

I don’t trust anything about Dan Straily, so Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez are favorites of mine once again.

Middle Tier:

The healthy Padres get a price break because the contest opened with the prices adjusted as if they were playing against Rich Hill. Eric Hosmer has double digit DraftKings points in six of his last seven games. I love hit at this price against Stripling. Christian Villanueva is worth a look in his native country as well.

Kyle Seager looks like a solid play against Shohei Ohtani. I’m in no hurry to stack against Ohtani, but a couple of standalone Mariners could help hedge your bets.

I’m not going to lie. I’ve been stacking A’s lately against Baltimore’s mostly awful pitching. Tomato can Alex Cobb takes the hill tonight, and the wind is blowing out to right. Matt Olson, come on down! I can make room for Matt Chapman as well.

Bargain Shoppers:

I’m not all that crazy about Gurriel, or even Alex Bregman. Max Stassi is worth a look though if he starts the day game. You have to save money somewhere if you are stacking Astros and Verlander.

If you don’t trust Andrew Triggs, Chris Davis is really, really cheap. So is Mark Trumbo. Pedro Alvarez too for that matter.

Luis Valbuena is 4-11 with two walks, a homer, four runs, and four RBI in his career against Felix Hernandez. Albert Pujols is one of the few that hasn’t been able to hit King Felix lately. I’ll save my money for other Angels.

If Alex Avila is in the lineup, use him. Verlander’s former catcher is 3-8 with a walk and two solo homers off of Verlander in his career.

OAKLAND, CA – MAY 04: Adam Jones #10 of the Baltimore Orioles is congratulated by Manny Machado #13 after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on May 4, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

There is no reason to fade Manny Machado here. None at all. In fact, the Orioles have hit Triggs better than the A’s have hit Cobb over the span of their careers. This year is a little different though.

There are a lot of stack options this afternoon, but none is better than the Astros. You have to pay up for them too. Altuve and Correa are both in play this afternoon against Matt Koch.

Middle Tier:

Jed Lowrie is 8-16 with a walk, four doubles, a run, and two RBI against Alex Cobb so far. The rest of his teammates only have 15 at bats combined, but that doesn’t mean I’m not zeroed in on Marcus Semien as well.

Robinson Cano seems priced too low, even against Ohtani. That said, Castro is cheaper and facing one of the worst qualifying pitchers in terms of ERA on this young season.

I do like Scooter Gennett and Jose Peraza at their lower prices. The Cincinnati outfielders look good as well, but I don’t know that I can justify using any of them because of prolonged slumps.

Bargain Shoppers:

Ian Kinsler is way too cheap here. Kinsler is 21-84(.250) with 12 walks, four doubles, four homers, seven steals, 20 runs, and eight RBI in his career against Felix Hernandez. I wouldn’t use Andrelton Simmons though. Simmons is just 1-12 against Felix.

Brandon Finnegan has been absolutely terrible this year. There aren’t a lot of Marlins that I trust, but Starlin Castro is definitely one of them. Miguel Rojas is worth a look as well if you need to go cheap at more than one position.

Lefty killer Kike Hernandez will get another shot at one with Eric Lauer toeing the rubber in the finale in Monterrey. And he is really, really cheap!

Next: Top Outfield Plays

ANAHEIM, CA – MAY 03: Mike Trout #27 and Albert Pujols #5 of the Los Angeles Angels line up for the National Anthem before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium on May 3, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

There are very few players that have this kind of BvP stats against anyone. Mike Trout is a must play today. Trout is 29-79(.367) with seven walks, four doubles, two triples, seven homers, two steals, 13 runs, and a whopping 19 RBI in his career against King Felix.

Khris Davis is going to be in a lot of lineups, including mine, this afternoon. That power is too good to be ignored against a guy like Alex Cobb. Matt Joyce is worth a look on the cheap as well.

George Springer and Josh Reddick are both high on my want list against Matt Koch. Too bad we can’t use all eight Astros starter against Koch.

A.J. Pollock is very tempting at his depressed price. He is 2-4 with a double and a run against Verlander, so he shouldn’t come up empty.

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Middle Tier:

Franchy Cordero is off to a good start this year. Facing a guy like Ross Stripling should help his cause.

I doubt Yasmani Grandal starts, so I have to hitch my trailer to the other right handed power hitters in this Dodger lineup. That means leadoff hitter Chris Taylor and veteran Matt Kemp are in play, and neither are very expensive.

Bargain Shoppers:

Lewis Brinson has shown signs of life lately, so he could be a solid cheap play. I really like Brian Anderson here too against struggling lefty Brandon Finnegan.

Next: DraftKings MLB Early Slate 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!