DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 24: Can we do better than Bundy?

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 06: Flags representing the Oakland Athletics in the parking lot blow in the wind prior to the start of the game between the Texas Rangers and Athletics on Opening Day at O.co Coliseum on April 6, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 24: Can we do better than Bundy?

The eight games are evenly split today with four afternoon games and four night games. This will focus on the four early games. We have two early starts (12:35 pm eastern), so make sure your lineups are in by late morning!

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Rain isn’t a threat today, and the only wind of note is a 10 mph breeze blowing out 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 $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

CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 19: Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park on May 19, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Dylan Bundy ($8,100): When Bundy is the ace of the day, you know it’s a very lean day. However, since his horrid outing against the Royals in which he gave up seven runs without retiring one batter, Bundy had only allowed four runs in 13 innings. Hey, it’s a start, and one of those teams was the Red Sox. Now the bad news: the Pale Hose are hitting .364 against Bundy in 33 at bats with two homers and six runs with only seven strikeouts. The White Sox bashed the O’s last night. What’s to stop it from happening again?

Middle Tier:

Luis Castillo ($7,800): This isn’t so much trusting in Castillo as it is not trusting Nova at all. However, the Pirates are only hitting .211 against Castillo in 38 at bats with four runs and ten strikeouts. There is solid potential here with the strikeouts. Castillo actually has a ERA nearly two runs better at home. No one really knows why. Just like crop circles.

Felix Hernandez ($7,500): It’s good to be King. On a day with weak pitching anyway. The A’s are only hitting .204 against Felix, but they do have nine homers and 15 runs in 181 at bats. The thing that has me worried is that the A’s have only struck out 43 times. Add that to the high home run total, and there is plenty of risk here in Oakland. That said, King Felix is 13-3 with a 2.76 ERA in his career at that cavern in Oakland. That is his best road record anywhere.

Bargain Pitchers:

Nick Tropeano ($6,800): There isn’t much price difference among the pitchers this afternoon, so price doesn’t matter that much. Tropeano has pedestrian numbers at best on the season, but he has posted a 3.00 ERA on the road so far. Tropeano has never faced the Blue Jays before. They put a hurting on Richards in the opener, but Skaggs pitched well against them last night. We don’t really know much about what we are getting here, but there are worse options than Tropeano on this slate.

Josh Lucas ($4,000): Lucas will make his first major league start in place of Brett Anderson today. Lucas has a 2.57 ERA in 14 major league innings between last September and this year. Lucas also boasts a 2.53 ERA in nine starts at AAA Nashville. There is decent potential here against the Mariners. Seattle has only scored more than five runs three times in the last 11 games.

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 06: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates with Billy Hamilton #6 after hitting a three-run home run in the first inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on August 6, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Cincinnati Reds vs. Ivan Nova:

Nova was mostly serviceable last year. Well, except against the Reds. They weren’t very hospitable to his first tour through the National League. The Reds are hitting .285 with four homers and 23 runs in just 137 at bats against Nova. Jesse Winker, Scott Schebler, Joey Votto, and Adam Duvall have all taken Nova deep. Eugenio Suarez is 7-18(.389) with three doubles, two walks, and four runs. Billy Hamilton has two steals in 12 at bats, so his cheap speed is always worth a look.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Marco Estrada:

Estrada has an ugly 5.47 ERA in four home starts, and it could get worse. The Angels are hitting .303 against Estrada with seven homers and 15 runs in only 89 at bats. Estrada has bailed himself out a little with the 18 strikeouts, but you still couldn’t pay me to use him. Luis Valbuena and Zack Cozart have both homered twice off of Estrada already. Mike Trout is 3-8 with a homer and two RBI. Chris Young is 2-9 with a solo homer and a steal, but he likely wont start. Albert Pujols is 3-7 with a homer and two RBI. Both Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons are hitting .500 against Estrada, but they don’t have much for counting stats.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Lucas Giolito:

Well, those of us that stacked Orioles against Dylan Covey last night wished we had stacked on Cobb instead. A repeat of that is unlikely. More likely is that these teams go all Yankees-Rangers from last night and combine for 23 runs. My stack is definitely going to use the power potential of Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis. Adam Jones, Jonathan Schoop, and Manny Machado will round this thing out. I feel better about it today against Giolito than I did last night against Covey, and that’s saying something.

Next: Other Notes for 5-24

CHICAGO, IL – JULY 30: Matt Davidson #24 (R) of the Chicago White Sox is greeted by Jose Abreu #79 of the after hitting a game winning two-run homer against the Cleveland Indians on July 30, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox defeated the Indians 3-1. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

It’s a usual suspect thing for the White Sox. Jose Abreu and Matt Davidson own both the homers against Dylan Bundy. Tim Anderson is 3-9 with two RBI against Bundy. Leury Garcia has the other RBI for those of you wondering.

Jean Segura is worth using against a guy making his first major league start. There is a chance that the Mariner outfield is still beat up, but Nelson Cruz and Mitch Haniger are worth a look if they play. So is Kyle Seager, but I would much rather roll the dice with Lucas than stack against him.

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Middle Tier:

Well, we all know that Luis Castillo is not invincible, so Colin Moran and his three RBI against Castillo can slide into my lineup even though Castillo is one of my pitchers. Chris Dickerson is 2-3 with a pair of runs, so he is worth a look as well.

Marcus Semien is 11-33 with four homers, seven runs, and five RBI in his career against King Felix. Jed Lowrie is 13-53(.245) with three homers and six RBI. If you take out those two, the rest of the A’s only have two homers and four RBI in 95 at bats.

Bargain Shoppers:

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have some EPL picks coming your way. And don’t forget, Fantasy CPR has something big coming your way in June. Stay tuned for that!