DraftKings MLB Picks May 11: Is Scherzer worth the money in Arizona?

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 30: General view of action between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on April 30, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks May 11: Is Scherzer worth the money back in Arizona?

The battle of Chicago takes place in the afternoon, so that is only in showdown versions. The other 14 games make up the main DraftKings tournament today, and we have three sure aces out there. Which one is a little less spectacular than the rest? Let’s find out!

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Rain is likely in Cleveland and Detroit, but as of now, it looks to be later in the game. The game should make it to an official game at the very least. There is also a chance or rain in Denver, but it should only cause delays in the middle. It should be completed.

There is winds of 10-15 mph everywhere! Out to right in San Diego. Out to left at the Big A. There is a 20 mph wind out to right if Arizona has the roof open. The wind is blowing in a bit at Coors, so that may affect the stack. It is also blowing in in both Detroit and Cleveland.

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 – MAY 01: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park on May 1, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($13,000): The Rangers are only hitting .216 against Verlander in 190 at bats with five homers, 15 runs, and 65 strikeouts. Those are the kind of ratios we want for tonight. The Rangers are starting to get healthy, but they are still without Andrus and Odor. Odor could return as soon as tonight, but that won’t affect my usage of Verlander. Want to know a dirty little secret? Scherzer has a 4.03 ERA in 26 career Chase Field starts. I’ll take Verlander for less money.

Chris Sale ($12,400): The Blue Jays are only hitting .213 in his career against Sale, but they do have nine homers and 11 runs in 141 at bats. The 36 strikeouts are also quite a ways below what you would expect from Sale. I’m not saying that Sale is not an elite option because he is. However, with other elite options available, it is acceptable to fade Sale here.

Trevor Bauer ($11,300): Bauer has pitched very well so far this year, and has held the Royals to a .212 average in 132 at bats with only three homers and nine runs to go with 32 strikeouts. The Royals don’t strike out a whole lot, and this offense is coming off a series in Baltimore in which they had to gain some confidence. Normally we wouldn’t think of fading Sale for Bauer, but it is not a horrible idea tonight.

Middle Tier:

Kenta Maeda ($9,100): The current Reds are only hitting .233 in 30 at bats against Maeda with two homers and three runs to go with the nine strikeouts. Those are solid numbers, and Maeda has a great shot at a win opposing Matt Harvey in his Reds debut. Expect another solid start from Maeda, though he wont go deep into the game.

Luke Weaver ($7,900): Weaver is struggling this season, but so is the Padre offense. Weaver pitched well against San Diego last year. Can he do it again this year? Weaver could put up some pretty good numbers, but there is a chance that he completely bombs too.

Andrew Suarez ($7,100): Suarez has looked pretty good through his first three pro starts. He has only gone more than six innings once, and that was against the Padres. This is a decent spot for Suarez in a pitcher’s park in Pittsburgh. I expect solid numbers from Suarez. Like a quality start and half a dozen strikeouts.

Bargain Pitchers:

Marco Gonzales ($7,000): The numbers on Gonzales are nothing special. He has a 5.19 ERA and 1.44 WHIP on the season, and he plays in a pitcher’s park. Here is where things get interesting. Gonzales has a respectable 3.92 ERA in four road starts compared to 7.07 at home. There is potential here in spacious Comerica Park with the Tigers missing Miggy still.

Sonny Gray ($6,700): Things may be looking up for Gray after a poor start to the season. Gray pitched well against a pretty good Cleveland lineup in his last start, also in Yankee Stadium. Interestingly enough, this will be Gray’s first time facing his former teammates. That gives him more incentive to pitch well in this one. Gray has been a risk in every start so far this season, but I think he is less of one this time around.

Matt Boyd ($6,100): Boyd has pitched very well this year with a 3.00 ERA and 1.06 ERA in six starts. Even better than that, Boyd has a 1.47 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in three home starts. He is also racking up more punchouts at home as well. Boyd has 14 strikeouts in 18.1 home innings. Seattle has enough right handed power for us to be cautious here, but I think I’m going to ride what Boyd has done at home this year.

Eric Lauer ($5,200): Lauer likes Petco Park. His first two starts as a Padre were on the road, and they both ended badly. Then he comes home and blanks the Dodgers for six innings in his first home start. There is decent potential against the Cardinals here, especially if you don’t trust that Luke Weaver can start to turn his season around here.

CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 2: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Cleveland Indians tosses his bat after hitting a three run home run during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field on May 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Freddie Freeman is 3-10 with three walks, a homer, three runs, and three RBI in his career against Dan Straily so far. Jose Bautista has also homered off of Straily, but it is his only hit in six at bats.

All due respect to Freeman, but I think we pretty much have to use Edwin Encarnacion tonight. Edwin is 9-35(.257) with a walk, a double, five homers, seven runs, and seven RBI in his career against Jason Hammel. Roberto Perez is a great cheap option if he starts. Perez is 1-3 with two walks and a two run homer against Hammel.

It’s going to be hard to fade Nolan Arenado tonight, high ownership be damned. Arenado is 8-27(.296) with two walks, a double, four homers, and ten RBI already against Chase Anderson. Ian Desmond is 3-5 with three RBI so far. It’s likely than an extra base hit is on the horizon tonight.

Joey Votto is 1-3 with a walk and a solo homer off of Kenta Meada so far.

Middle Tier:

I really like Josh Donaldson at just $4,000. Donaldson is 7-27(.259) with four homers and eight RBI in his career against Chris Sale. Kendrys Morales is worth a look too. Morales is 10-34(.294) with a walk, two doubles, three homers, and seven RBI in his career against Sale, and he will set you back less than $3,000!

I definitely want a piece of Eric Hosmer against Luke Weaver tonight. Chase Headley is worth a look on the cheap as well. Carlos Villanueva looks really good as well.

Kevin Gausman has pitched pretty well this year, but not at home. His career numbers against Tampa are also nothing to write home about. C.J. Cron is 3-10 with a walk, a double, a homer, three runs, and two RBI against Gausman so far. Wilson Ramos is 2-8 with a solo shot against Gausman.

Chad Bettis has actually fared pretty well at Coors Field, but he has not fared well against Milwaukee. Travis Shaw is 3-6 with a double, a homer, two runs, and four RBI in his career against Bettis.

Buster Posey is 4-5 with two doubles, three runs, and three RBI already against Jameson Taillon. It has been rough in the early going for Taillon, but I’m not ready to stack against him yet. Posey serves as a nice standalone option at a fairly weak position though.

Brandon McCarthy has had a rough go of it at home, but he has a 3.38 ERA in four road starts. Still, J.T. Realmuto and Justin Bour are worth a look just in case McCarthy gets bombarded like he did his last time out. Brian Anderson is worth a look as well if you need to go cheaper in the outfield or 3B.

Ryon Healy smacked a homer off of Happ last night, so he’s going to love seeing another lefty on the hill. The bad part is that he will have a much harder time hitting it out of Comerica Park.

Bargain Shoppers:

Most of the Orioles have not hit Jake Faria well, but a couple have. Chance Sisco is 2-4 against Faria. Both of the hits are home runs and he has driven in three. Trey Mancini is only 2-10 against Faria, but he has a homer and three RBI off of him.

I am here to formally lobby the Astros to keep Brian McCann in the starting lineup even with a lefty on the mound. McCann is 20-71(.282) with seven walks, seven doubles, three homers, five runs, and 16 RBI in his career against Cole Hamels. There is very good value here. Evan Gattis is 9-29(.310) with a walk, a double, and three solo homers off of Hamels. I’m playing an Astros catcher tonight! I just don’t know which one yet.

Victor Martinez and John Hicks are worth a look at this low of a price against a struggling lefty in Marco Gonzales.

Fortunately for us, it is the cheap Rangers that have had success against Justin Verlander, so we don’t have to take any big chances here. Robinson Chirinos is 4-9 with a double, two homers, three runs, and three RBI in his career against Verlander. Adrian Beltre is 17-58(.293) with three walks, two doubles, a homer, five runs, and five RBI in his career off of Verlander.

Adrian Gonzalez is 7-24(.292) with a walk, a double, two homers, and four RBI in his career against Jake Arrieta. The Mets have actually hit Arrieta pretty well. I wouldn’t employ a full stack here, but there are a couple of good standalone options.

ATLANTA, GA – MAY 5: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves pops up a foul ball against the San Francisco Giants at SunTrust Park on May 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

The A’s haven’t named a replacement for Cahill yet, but it doesn’t really matter who it is. There are Yankees worth using regardless. One of them is Didi Gregorius. At least until he cools down.

It’s hard to believe, but we are pretty much at the point where we don’t need a reason to use Ozzie Albies already. I’m looking for reasons not to use him, and I can’t find a good one. Albies is 3-6 with a homer, a steal, and two RBI against Dan Straily so far.

Francisco Lindor is 7-21 with a double, a homer, a steal, four runs, and four RBI in his career against Jason Hammel. An Indians stack could be a solid pivot off of Coors Field if you are looking for such things.

Middle Tier:

I don’t expect Steven Matz to struggle in this one, nor do I expect as good of an outing as he had last time out. The Phillies offense is good, but not consistently good. That means that playing anyone outside of Hoskins and Cesar Hernandez can be pretty risky.

Asdrubal Cabrera is 5-14 with a walk, two homers, three runs, and four RBI in his career against Jake Arrieta.

I’m not really looking to stack against Eric Lauer, but Paul DeJong is worth a look with the lefty on the hill.

Lance Lynn has decent career numbers against the Angels, but I don’t trust it. Not with the way he has pitched this year. I would rather take a guy like Andrelton Simmons, who is 2-6 with a solo homer against Lynn. Zack Cozart is only 7-39(.179) against Lynn, but he has three homers and four RBI off of him.

Scooter Gennett is 2-8 with a walk, a solo homer, and two runs in his career against Kenta Maeda so far.

The Twins don’t have much of a history against Tyler Skaggs, but he has struggled at home this year, and Minnesota still hits lefties pretty well. Brian Dozier was slumping until his 4-4 night last night, but I still like him with a lefty on the mound Eduardo Escobar is worth a look as well.

Bargain Shoppers:

Brandon Crawford is still really cheap, and he is hitting .395 over the last ten games. Crawford is 2-4 with a walk, a double, and two runs in his career against Jameson Taillon so far. He should do something to add to that tonight.

Alcides Escobar is 9-28(.321) with two walks, a double, a homer, two steals, three runs, and three RBI in his career against Trevor Bauer. Escobar is a great middle infield punt option.

Brock Holt is only 2-10 in his career against Aaron Sanchez, but he has two walks, a double, four steals, three runs, and a RBI against him.

Pete Kozma is back in the major with Dixon Machado having gone ice cold after his hot start. Kozma homered in his first start on Wednesday. That should earn him at least one more, and facing a pitcher like Gonzales give him good potential tonight.

Next: Top Outfield Plays

FanDuel MLB: NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 16: Giancarlo Stanton #27,Gary Sanchez #24 and Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees pose with thier Silver Slugger Awards before the game against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are worth using against whomever the A’s dig up to start against them. Brett Gardner is likely worth a look as well as he is starting to heat up.

Mookie Betts is 6-21(.286) with three walks, two doubles, a homer, a steal, four runs, and three RBI in his career against Aaron Sanchez. Jackie Bradley Jr. is 4-13 with two walks, a homer, five runs, a steal, and four RBI off of Sanchez, and he can be yours for less than half the price of Betts.

As stated before, I to like Hoskins against Steven Matz. I expect Matz to turn in a decent start, so I’m laying off all of the other left handed outfielders that the Phillies are collecting.

Ronald Acuna has no history against Dan Straily, but I see no reason not to use him. Nick Markakis is only 3-14 against Straily, but he has a walk, two doubles, a homer, two runs, and four RBI in his career against him.

Bryce Harper is worth a look against Matt Koch, but I’m in no hurry to stack against a guy with a 2.13 ERA in six starts this year. Harper is worth playing almost any time, but beyond him, I’m not going to pay the premium. There are better stacks elsewhere.

Christian Yelich is 3-4 already against Chad Bettis, but he only has one RBI to show for it so far. Hernan Perez could be worth a look if he starts. Perez is 5-9 with a steal and two doubles off of Bettis so far.

Charlie Blackmon is 8-32 with three walks, two doubles, two homers, six runs, and three RBI in his career against Chase Anderson. Any Coors stack needs to include Blackmon as well.

George Springer is only 4-20 in his career against Cole Hamels, but he has five walks, three homers, four runs, and five RBI in his career against him.

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Middle Tier:

Denard Span is 4-9 with two doubles, a run, and three RBI in his career against Kevin Gausman. Span is also the Rays’ best hitter right now.

If Yoenis Cespedes is in the lineup, he is worth a look. Cespedes is 3-12 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Jake Arrieta.

Mitch Haniger and Nelson Cruz are both worth a look with a lefty on the mound, but I’m not willing to stack Mariners against Boyd. His 2018 doesn’t really look like a fluke right now.

Alex Gordon is showing signs of life at the plate for the first time in almost two years. Gordon is also 4-20 with four walks, a double, a homer, a steal, and two RBI in his career against Trevor Bauer.

There aren’t any obvious great plays against Andrew Suarez, but Starling Marte looks like the best one. Jose Osuna is worth a look if he gets the start with a lefty on the mound.

Bradley Zimmer is 4-9 with a homer, two steals, three runs, and two RBI in his career against Jason Hammel so far. Rajai Davis is worth a look if he starts. Davis is 3-10 with a double, a homer, and two RBI off of Hammel.

Matt Harvey is making his Reds debut, which is good news for Matt Kemp. Kemp is 4-16 with a walk, three homers, and five RBI in his career against Harvey. Joc Pederson is 2-5 with a walk and a solo homer off of Harvey. Yasiel Puig is 3-5 with a double, a walk, and two runs against Harvey.

Bargain Shoppers:

We get a price break on Teoscar Hernandez today, and his only hit off of Chris Sale in four tries is a solo home run.

Byron Buxton is worth a look based on speed alone. So it Billy Hamilton against Kenta Maeda.

David Peralta comes at a discount tonight, and he is 3-11 with a walk, two doubles, a solo homer, and three runs in his career against Max Scherzer.

Adam Jones is 5-12 with two doubles, a homer, two runs, and two RBI in his career against Jake Faria. Chances are that Jones shouldn’t be this cheap tonight.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks.