DraftKings MLB Picks May 21: Zack attack in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 10: General view of Miller Park before Game Two of the National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals of the Milwaukee Brewers on October 10, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 12-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks May 21: Zack attack in Milwaukee

We have nine games tonight, and all of them are in the main DraftKings tournament. Only two pitchers are priced as aces, but the middle tier is more crowded than usual. Should we go with the two aces? Or stick to the middle tier? Let’s check it out!

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We get a bit of a break weather wise tonight. The highest chance of rain is in Chicago, but it is still under 20%.

Even the wind is mild tonight with no stadiums reporting winds of more than 10 mph besides Milwaukee, but Miller Park will be shuttered with rain likely anyway.

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 $10 showdown ticket for MLB or the NBA, 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

SAN DIEGO, CA – MAY 10: Miles Mikolas #39 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at PETCO Park on May 10, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Zack Greinke ($12,100): At first glance, Grienke’s stats against the Brewers are nothing great. The Brewers are hitting .255 with only one homer, but seven runs in 51 at bats. However, Greinke is 16-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 28 career starts at Miller Park. Milwaukee’s offense is still a little watered down with Braun and Thames still out. It looks like Greinke will be worth the money here.

Gio Gonzalez ($11,900): Gio is practically assured of a win with Erlin opposing him, but the Padres are hitting .271 against Gonzalez with only 21 strikeouts in 96 at bats. However, Gonzalez has allowed four homers, but only eight runs. He has shown the ability to get out of trouble against the Padres. This Padre offense is not a very good one. There is solid potential here, but with so many good middle tier options, I don’t know that Gio is worth the markup.

Middle Tier:

Miles Mikolas ($9,800): Mikolas struggled some against the Twins last week, but the Royals are an even weaker lineup, and they only get eight hitters against Mikolas. The Royals don’t strike out a whole lot, but they do get out plenty enough to have Mikolas put up good numbers here. I expect a quality start at the very least. After all, Mikolas has a 2.21 ERA at Busch Stadium in three starts this year.

Walker Buehler ($9,300): Buehler struggled in the majors last year, but has looked pretty good so far this year. The Rockies aren’t as bad on the road as they were last year, but they are not nearly as good of team hitters on the road. Blackmon is the only one with respectable splits. So I do like Buehler to turn in a quality start with a handful of strikeouts.

Jose Berrios ($8,500): The Tigers have actually hit Berrios very hard in his young career. The Tigers are hitting .419 in 31 at bats with 13 runs to just five strikeouts. Those are staggering numbers. So why even consider Berrios? First, Miggy is still out. Next, only one Tiger has homered off of Berrios. And for the topper, Berrios has a 3.10 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in five home starts this season. There is serious potential here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Chase Anderson ($6,300): Anderson is risky, but the Diamondbacks are hitting just .146 in 48 at bats against Anderson with just two extra base hits (both doubles) and two runs to go with a staggering 17 strikeouts. Now the bad news: Anderson has a 6.10 ERA in four home starts, and has not taken the mound since May 6th when he was blasted by Pittsburgh. If you trust past stats though, Anderson could be huge.

Elieser Hernandez ($4,700): Hernandez pitched well in his first major league start against the Dodgers on Wednesday, giving up one run and three hits in five innings. If he can hold the Dodgers down, Hernandez shouldn’t have much of a problem with the Mets. Don’t expect Hernandez to go deep into the game or to rack up a lot of strikeouts. However, Hernandez should put up double digit points for the price.

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 16: Bryce Harper /

Washington Nationals vs. Robbie Erlin:

The Nationals are hitting .727 against Erlin so far. I don’t really care that it’s only in 11 at bats. Bryce Harper is perfect in five plate appearances against Erlin. Harper has a walk, a triple, two steals, two runs, and five RBI against Erlin already. Anthony Rendon is 4-6 with a homer, a steal, three runs, and two RBI off of Erlin. I also like Trea Turner, Michael Taylor, and Mark Reynolds here as well.

Miami Marlins vs. Jason Vargas:

Okay, so this is a little bit of a reach, but Vargas has given up 19 runs in 12.1 innings pitched over three starts. Even the Marlins should be able to hit Vargas. Starlin Castro is the most likely to come up here. J.T. Realmuto and Brian Anderson are good picks as well. Justin Bour doesn’t hit lefties well, but Vargas wont be in there long. Bour is still worth a look.

New York Yankees vs. Bartolo Colon:

Look, I like that Colon is still pitching well at the tender young age of 43. He is due for a rough outing, and it likely comes here. The Yankees have six homers and 16 runs in just 72 at bats against Colon. Aaron Judge is 2-4 with a homer and two RBI against Colon. Gary Sanchez is 3-8 with two doubles, a homer, and two RBI. Giancarlo Stanton is 6-16 with two walks, a double, two homers, four runs, and five RBI against Colon. Neil Walker and Brett Gardner have both homered against Colon as well. Only Clint Frazier and Aaron Hicks has gone hitless against Colon. Everyone else is hitting .286 or better off of Colon.

Chicago White Sox vs. Andrew Cashner:

The Orioles rotation has been a complete and total disaster this year. Some will take a shot on Cashner against a Chicago lineup that sometimes struggles against righties. For that reason, I’m going to stay away from Davidson. However, Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu hit righties well enough to keep them in there. Yoan Moncada and Daniel Palka are in play for me as well. You could even roll the dice with Leury Garcia with a middling righty on the mound.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Hector Santiago:

The Orioles are hitting .293 with six homers and 11 RBI in 82 at bats. Manny Machado is 4-8 with a walk, a double, a solo homer, and three RBI off of Santiago. Joey Rickard is 1-2 with a solo homer. Adam Jones is 4-11 with two walks, a homer, and two RBI against Santiago. Danny Valencia is 7-20 with four walks, two doubles, and to RBI. Mark Trumbo is only 2-10, but both his are home runs.

Minnesota Twins vs. Blaine Hardy:

The Tigers are throwing Blaine Hardy out there, who was decent in his first start, but lasted just 4.1 innings. The Twins hit lefties hard, so I’m all over Brian Dozier here. Eduardo Escobar looks very good as well. I also like Byron Buxton and Mitch Garver with a lefty on the mound. Ryan LaMarre is worth a cheap look with a lefty on the mound, but he will likely be lifted for a pinch hitter once Hardy exits.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Ian Kennedy:

The Cards are hitting .292 with three homers and 14 runs in only 72 at bats against Kennedy. However, Kennedy has picked up 17 strikeouts. Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Pham, and Matt Carpenter have all hit home runs against Kennedy. Marcell Ozuna is worth a look here as well. Dexter Fowler is 8-32 with four walks, a double, two triples, five runs, and three RBI off of Kennedy.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. German Marquez:

The Dodgers are hitting .346 with two homers and seven RBI in just 26 at bats against Marquez. The stats may be somewhat inflated by Coors Field, but not enough to deter me here. Yasiel Puig is 1-3 with a walk and a two run homer against Marquez. Justin Turner is 2-5 with a homer and two RBI. Austin Barnes is also 2-5 with two RBI, but hasn’t homered against Marquez…..yet. I also like Chris Taylor leading off, and Cody Bellinger isn’t a bad idea either.

Next: Other Notes for 5-21

ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 22: Right fielder Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated by centerfielder Ender Inciarte #11 after Markakis’s first inning solo home run during the game against the San Francisco Giants at SunTrust Park on June 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I’m not going to stack against Nick Pivetta, but it could be done. The Braves have hit him well. Ender Inciarte is 8-14 with two runs, two steals, and two RBI off of Pivetta. Nick Markakis is inly 3-12 against Pivetta, but he has a homer and two RBI. I would avoid Freddie Freeman though. Freeman is just 1-12 lifetime against Pivetta.

Mike Foltynewicz has solid numbers against the Phillies, but not at Citizens Bank Park. I’m not stacking, but there are a few Phillies that have hit him hard. Maikel Franco is 6-16 with a walk and two solo homers off of Foltynewicz. Odubel Herrera is 8-25(.320) with a walk two doubles, a homer, and four RBI against Foltynewicz. Carlos Santana and Rhys Hoskins have also taken Folty deep, but they are a combined 2-14 against him.

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Middle Tier:

Almost all of the damage done to Gio Gonzalez by the Padres was done by two guys. Eric Hosmer is 5-10 with five walks, two homers, two steals, four runs, and four RBI in his career against Gonzalez. Freddy Galvis is super cheap, and he is 11-45(.244) with two walks, two doubles, two homers, a steal, five runs, and three RBI against Gio.

Trevor Story has done all of the damage to Walker Buehler. He hit a two run homer off of him last year. Charlie Blackmon is worth a look if you can afford him.

How much do you trust Elieser Hernandez? If the answer is not much, then Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Brandon Nimmo are worth using.

Jesus Aguilar is still starting at first base for Milwaukee, and he is the only current Brewer to hit a home run against Zack Greinke. Travis Shaw could be worth a look. He is 2-4 with two walks, two runs, and a RBI.

Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor have both homered off of Masahiro Tanaka before. Robinson Chirinos is 4-8 with two doubles, three runs, and a RBI against Tanaka.

Bargain Shoppers:

I’m not all that crazy about the Tigers tonight, but James McCann is 5-8 with two doubles, two homers, and a staggering seven RBI against Jose Berrios already. The only other one I would consider is Jose Iglesias, who has four RBI in five at bats.

Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed are the only two Arizona players that are hitting better than .300 off of Chase Anderson. Goldy is the only other one over .200, but I wouldn’t trust him right now.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We will also have picks for the EuroLeague Final Four as well!

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