DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 28: Do we need to pay for pitching?

ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 22: A general view of SunTrust Park during a rain delay before the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves on April 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks May 28: Do we need to pay for pitching?

We have a day chock full of baseball, but let’s not forget why we can sit around watching baseball all day. It is a time for remembering those that gave so much for this country. Honor our veterans. Thank them for their service. Take one to the game with you.

We have 16 games today with a scheduled twin bill between the Mets and Braves in Atlanta. We have 12 games in our early DraftKings tournament, and a whole lot of good stuff to choose from here. This is the large slate of the day, so have some fun with it! Let’s check out where to build.

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They will be dodging thunderstorms in Atlanta once again, but the rest of the day looks great for baseball elsewhere.

There will be a steady 12 mph wind blowing in from right at Coors. There will be a varying crosswind in Atlanta most of the day which could temper home runs.

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

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 23: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets pitches against the Miami Marlins during their game at Citi Field on May 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($12,600): Verlander has dominated the current Yankees. They are hitting just .182 off of him in 88 at bats with three homers, six runs, and an impressive 33 strikeouts. Verlander has everything you want today. Good past history, high strikeout percentage, and great potential of a win considering who he is facing off against. There is a touch of bad news though: Verlander is only 1-4 with a 4.38 ERA at New Yankee Stadium.

Jacob deGrom ($11,100): The Braves are only hitting .231 against deGrom in 121 at bats with three homers, just seven runs, and 35 strikeouts. deGrom has piled up 52 DraftKings points in only two starts against the Braves this year. While many have struggled at SunTrust, deGrom has a 2.84 ERA there in three career starts. That would count as a huge step down for him this year. That’s how dominant the Mets ace has been.

David Price ($10,200): Price has been pitching better lately, lowering his ERA a run over his last three starts. He put up 19.2 DraftKings points against the Jays to kickstart this strong stretch. The Jays are only hitting .214 off of Price in 201 at bats with seven homers, only 14 runs, and a strong 63 strikeouts. Price should have another solid outing here, and with Verlander’s history at Yankee Stadium, Price is an acceptable fade.

Middle Tier:

Gio Gonzalez ($10,000): Gonzalez is holding the Orioles to a .220 average in 123 at bats with four homers, ten runs, and a solid 36 strikeouts. There is very good potential here against a Baltimore offense that is very hit and miss. I don’t trust Gio very often, but this is one place where he is worth a look.

Chris Archer ($9,500): Archer’s numbers against the A’s are ridiculous! Oakland is hitting just .042 – that’s right….one hit in 24 at bats – against Archer with a staggering 12 strikeouts. Maybe Archer dominated them again and maybe not, but if he can duplciate those numbers, Archer could outscore Verlander at a fraction of the price.

Tyler Skaggs ($9,200): The Tigers are hitting just .211 against Skaggs with just one run in 19 at bats with seven strikeouts. Add to that the fact that the Tigers have only scored 29 runs in the last ten games, and you have a recipe for success for Skaggs. This team simply is not hitting with Miggy out of the lineup.

Caleb Smith ($8,100): This is another guy that looks really cheap today. Smith has 65 strikeouts in just 49.1 innings pitched this year. The Padres aren’t a good offense, and they strike out quite a bit. Smith turned in the best start of his young career against the Mets last week. He could get close to that 30 point mark today as well.

Bargain Pitchers:

Trevor Cahill ($7,300): Cahill seems cheap here. After all, he has a 2.75 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in six starts this year, and he is facing a Rays team that loves to strike out. Cahill has been even more dominant at home, posting a 0.90 ERA and WHIP in three starts. The 23 strikeouts in 20 innings at home are outstanding as well. Anything less than 20 would qualify as a disappointment here, so yeah, Cahill is really cheap.

Adam Plutko ($7,200): Plutko has turned in two outstanding starts so far, giving up just three runs in 13.1 innings against two solid teams in the Cubs and Blue Jays. The White Sox are easily the weakest offense that he has faced so far. I expect another quality start out of Plutko here. That’s a pretty good floor at this price.

Brent Suter ($4,800): The Cardinals have only hit .220 with one homer and three runs in 50 at bats against Suter with eight strikeouts. Suter doesn’t rack up the strikeouts, but he has pitched well against the Cardinals ever time in his career. He held them to just one run in five innings earlier this season. Suter wont put up big numbers, but he has broken the 20 DraftKings points plateau in each of the last two games. One of those was against Arizona. There is good potential here today.

Max Fried ($4,000): Fried has been below average out of the bullpen this year, but was strong as a starter late last year. Fried actually faced the Mets earlier this year, striking out the side in his inning of work. There is serious potential here against a Mets lienup that is struggling without Cespedes. Don’t expect more than five innings out of Fried, but he could get more than a half dozen strikeouts before he departs. That would make Fried more than worth this price.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 05: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals looks on during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park on May 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

Washington Nationals vs. Alex Cobb:

Cobb has looked much better lately, but he hasn’t faced a team like this in a while. Bryce Harper is leading the NL in home runs, and should add to it here. Matt Adams, Trea Turner, and Juan Soto all look very tempting as well. Anthony Rendon also hit a home run yesterday. Don’t be surprised if he does it again.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Mike Montgomery:

Montgomery has not done well against the Pirates this year, and has even managed to struggle in his customary long relief role. Montgomery’s 5.33 ERA is ugly. I really like Starling Marte here. Francisco Cervelli and Jordy Mercer are worth looks as well since they both have homered off of Montgomery in their careers. Josh Bell and Josh Harrison are tempting as well.

Chicago Cubs vs. Chad Kuhl:

Kuhl is in the midst of a strong stretch, but the Cubs have destroyed him in his career. The Cubbies are hitting .372 with five homers and 22 runs in just 86 at bats against Kuhl. Ben Zobrist is 5-9 with two homers and six RBI off of Kuhl. Javier Baez, Jason Heyward, and Anthony Rizzo have homered off of Kuhl as well. Willson Contreras is 3-4, and Addison Russell is 2-6. Both of them are worth a look here as well.

Seattle Mariners vs. Doug Fister:

Fister hasn’t been awful this year, but he is a couple of breaks away from it. With the number of runners that Fister has allowed this year, it’s shocking that his ERA is a respectable 4.22. He is going to go off the rails one of these times, and the Mariners have the bats to do it. Nelson Cruz, Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura, Kyle Seager, and Mike Zunino are all on my radar today. Even Gordon Beckham has a home and four RBI off of Fister.

Miami Marlins vs. Eric Lauer:
Lauer has not pitched well anywhere this season, so his 20.7 DraftKings points that he put up on the Nats last week really did come out of nowhere. There is potential for Lauer here against the Marlins, but this offense is getting better. Bour will be neutralized here, but Starlin Castro, Realmuto, Brian Anderson, Miguel Rojas, and Lewis Brinson are all worth a look.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Homer Bailey:

Chase Field may be more of a hitter’s park than Bailey’s home park is. Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Owings, David Peralta, Jake Lamb, and Nick Ahmed are all on my radar today. So is whoever starts at catcher.

Next: Other Notes for 5-27

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 06: Jose Ramirez #11 and Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians celebrate scoring on a hit by Carlos Santana #41 in the first inning against the New York Yankees during game two of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field on October 6, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Yes, the Astros have faced Domingo German already. German did pretty well in that game, so I’m not going to stack against him. However, George Springer had two hits in three tries against German, so he is worth a look Yuli Gurriel did the damage with a two run homer, and he is very cheap here.

Dylan Covey dominated the Orioles in his last start, but facing Cleveland is an entirely different animal. Even though they are just 1-10 off of Covey as a team, I still like a couple of Cleveland players here. Lindor and Jose Ramirez are both on my radar. So is Michael Brantley.

I want to trust Matt Boyd and his 2.22 ERA at home, but given the fact that he left his last start with oblique trouble, I’m not sure I trust a bullpen session to prove his health. I’m all over Mike Trout here. Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons are worth a look as well.

You don’t have to avoid Freddie Freeman just because deGrom is on the mound. Freeman is 9-33(.273) with two homers and three RBI against him. Markakis has a homer and three RBI off of him. The rest of the Braves are just 11-61 with no homers and one RBI.

All of Luke Weaver‘s numbers for today look average. So average that I’m not inclined to pay his price tag, which is above average. Travis Shaw is 2-7 with a walk, two doubles, two runs, and two RBI off of Weaver. Domingo Santana is the only Brewer to homer off of Weaver so far. Those are about the only Brewers I would consider here.

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Middle Tier:

Aaron Sanchez has been solid against Boston, but I don’t trust him enough to use him. What that also means is I don’t distrust him enough to stack against him. With Mookie likely out, I’m comfortable using Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, the only other Sox to homer off of Sanchez. Dustin Pedroia is 5-19 with three RBI against Sanchez, and could be worth a look as well.

Jose Martinez has the only Cardinals homer against Brent Suter so far. Matt Carpetner is worth a look as well.

There is potential for Matt Koch today, but I still don’t trust him. I would rather use Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto against him. Maybe a little Adam Duvall too. Don’t forget about Billy Hamilton either. When he gets on base, he is very dangerous.

I expect a good game from Plutko, but Jose Abreu is still worth a look here. I don’t know that I trust anyone else in the offense right now though.

Bargain Shoppers:

Every Oriole that has homered off of Gio Gonzalez is is in this tier. Trey Mancini, Joey Rickard, Adam Jones, and Mark Trumbo have the four homers and seven of the ten RBI off of Gonzalez. If you’re brave, that’s a pretty cheap stack!

Of the seven homers that Toronto has against David Price, Curtis Granderson has four of them. Of course, Grandy is only hitting .196 against Price, despite the power. Devon Travis, Kevin Pillar, and Justin Smoak have the other three homers, but none of them have hit Price all that well besides Travis.

Marco Gonzales has pitched well lately, and most of the Rangers power comes from the left side. I do like Profar and DeShields here. Maybe Shin-Soo Choo, but that’s about it. I would rather use Gonzales than stack against him, but for the price of Gonzales, there are better options.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots - Early Slate

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!