DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 12: Is Strasburg worth the price?

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 18: A general view of the “W” flag flying after the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in game four of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 18, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 12: Is Strasburg worth the price?

The games are evenly split today with seven early and eight late games. There is one ace on the slate, and a few overpriced mid range options. Who is actually worth using? There is sizeable risk all over this slate!

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Only Chicago and New York have rain chances this afternoon. However, wind could be a factor blowing in at Wrigley and in 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 PGA entry for this weekend, 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

BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 21: Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches in the ninthinning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Mike Clevinger ($9,200): Quite honestly, the upper tier of starters on the early slate doesn’t do much for me. On the surface, Strasburg is excellent, but he Diamondbacks are hitting .287 off of him and Strasburg has a 4.05 ERA in six career starts at Chase Field. Strasburg is going to rack up the strikeouts, but he isn’t worth that much more than everyone else. I know that the A’s offense isn’t all that good, but paying five figures for Domingo German‘s second career start is ludicrous. This is where Clevinger comes in. The Royals are only hitting .230 against Clevinger in 74 at bats with two homers, four runs, and a whopping 24 strikeouts. Clevinger is my ace this afternoon.

Middle Tier:

Jake Junis ($7,900): Junis continues to pitch well for the Royals with a 3.18 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He even held the Red Sox to two runs in six innings in Fenway! I expect a few runs for Cleveland here, but I can see Junis going about six innings, allowing three runs, and picking up a half dozen strikeouts. That’s pretty good for the price. He likely wont get the win though.

David Price ($7,500): You kind of have to ignore Price’s recent struggles to take this one. However, Toronto is only hitting .194 against Price with only five homers and 12 runs in 165 at bats with 56 strikeouts. Price is too good to have that 5.16 ERA around his neck. He is a better pitcher than that. At some point, he will pitch like it. Does it happen here?

Bargain Pitchers:

Michael Fulmer ($6,900): Fulmer has pitched very well at Comerica Park this year. His ERA is 2.14 at home, so he is in play for me at home against Seattle. The Mariner offense has shown signs of life this year, but I’ll take Fulmer’s home stats for this price.

CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 16: Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs is greeted by Ben Zobrist #18 (R), Kyle Schwarber #12 and Kris Bryant #17 after hitting a grand slam home run in the 1st inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on August 16, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs vs. James Shields at Wrigley:

Actually, the Cubs haven’t done a whole lot of damage to Shields, and Shields has been better this year than the last couple of years. He still has a 5.14 ERA, and it’s at Wrigley. No current Cub has homered off of Shields, but Anthony Rizzo has driven in four. I also think that changes today. Shields gets equal opportunity destroyed, so Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and Ian Happ are on my radar. Addison Russell and Javier Baez aren’t bad choices either. With the Coors game later tonight, the Cubs will be a popular afternoon stack.

New York Yankees vs. Andrew Triggs at Yankee Stadium:

Triggs has only really had one bad start, but this is the Yankees. And the fact remains that Triggs has a 4.41 ERA on the season. Aaron Judge is the logical place to start this. His only hit off of Triggs in three at bats is a grand slam. Didi Gregorius would be my next stop. After that, Stanton and Gary Sanchez are worth a look. For the fifth option, a cheaper guy like Gardner or Gleyber Torres are worth a shot unless you are completely punting pitching.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. former club ace Alex Cobb:

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch on both counts. However, a Rays stack will come cheap. Cobb owns a horrid 7.61 ERA on the season, and the Rays contributed to that already. Cobb gave up five runs on ten hits in 4.2 innings to the Rays back on April 25th. My stack includes Span, C.J. Cron, Joey Wendle, Daniel Robertson, and Brad Miller. Carlos Gomez and Wilson Ramos are worth a look as well.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Chris Archer:

You can stack the other side of this game as well. The O’s are hitting .297 with 12 homers and 34 runs in 229 at bats against Archer. Pedro Alvarez is 7-20 with a walk, three doubles, two homers, and four RBI in his career off of Archer. Jonathan Schoop is 10-27(.370) with two doubles, three homers, and five RBI. Chris Davis is 8-31(.258) with nine walks, two doubles, three homers, seven runs, and nine RBI off of Archer. Manny Machado is 14-46(.304) with four walks, a double, a homer, six runs, and four RBI. Adam Jones has also slugged two homers off of Archer, even though he is mired in a slump. Caleb Joseph has also taken Archer deep, so the options are plentiful.

Boston Red Sox vs. Marco Estrada:

Estrada has a poor 6.00 ERA at home, and the Red Sox have hit him fairly well with 20 runs in 201 at bats. The only issue is that Boston is only hitting .194 off of Estrada. However, Hanley Ramirez, J.D. Martinez, and Jackie Bradley are all hitting him well with three homers and nine RBI total. Mitch Moreland and Xander Bogaerts have also taken Estrada deep, but both are hitting under .200 against Estrada.

Next: Other Notes for 5-12

ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 30: Centerfielder A.J. Pollack #11 of the Arizona Diamondbacks slides into third base during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on June 30, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

You may not want to pay up for A.J. Pollock against Strasburg, but he is 5-9 with a homer and two RBI off of him. Alex Avila and David Peralta have also hit over .300 against Strasburg in their careers.

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Middle Tier:

Moose is 3-10 with a homer and two RBI in his career against Mike Clevinger. Alcides Escobar is just 1-11, but the hit is a home run.

Jose Abreu is 5-12 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Jon Lester, but that is about the only one-off South Sider I would go with. Welington Castillo is a decent option too.

Bargain Shoppers:

Despite Curtis Granderson not having the platoon advantage over David Price, he still has four homers and eight RBI against Price despite the unsightly .196 batting average. Kevin Pillar has also homered off of Price, but he is just 2-14 lifetime.

Victor Martinez and James McCann are a combined 10-31 against King Felix, and they have a homer and six RBI. Nick Castellanos has also taken Felix Hernandez deep. A mini Tigers stack could be in order.

Next: Main Slate DraftKings 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!