DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 3: Lester could be better than we think

BALTIMORE, MD – OCTOBER 01: Members of the grounds crew work on the infield during a rain delay in the first inning of the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on October 1, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks June 3: Lester could be better than we think

DraftKings made things a little weird on our Sunday. There is no all day tournament, the nine early games are the main one, and the afternoon and night are split up into four and two games respectively. We are lacking star power in this slate, but there are plenty of intriguing options out there.

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Once again, rain is likely in Baltimore. They got the game in yesterday. Can they do it again?

Wind will be blowing in at 12 mph from right in Baltimore and at 18 mph from right in New York. that is going to cut down on lefty power in that game. There are brisk winds blowing out to center in Chicago (18 mph), to right in Minneapolis (19 mph), and right in St. Louis (16 mph), so we have plenty of places to make up for the shortage in New York.

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

CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 29: Starter Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Progressive Field on May 29, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Mike Clevinger ($11,100): The Twins are hitting just .229 against Clevinger with only three solo homers to show for it in 48 at bats with 15 strikeouts. I expect much of the same from Clevinger here. I expect a couple of solo homers, and about seven innings with eight strikeouts for Clevinger. That would make him worth this price.

Jon Lester ($10,400): Well, only one current Met has really hit Jon Lester, but that seems like a lifetime ago. If you take out Bautista’s numbers, the Mets are just 16-86 with no homers, six runs, and 25 strikeouts. I’ll take my chances with Lester here since Bautista is a shadow of his former self right now.

Michael Wacha ($9,700): Wacha’s career stats against Pittsburgh aren’t great, but Wacha has been great at Busch Stadium this year. In seven home starts, Wacha has a 2.21 ERA even though he has had issues keeping guys off base. The bad news is that the Pirates are hitting .263 with four homers and 18 runs in 152 at bats with just 27 strikeouts. That’s a little too much risk for me at this price point.

Middle Tier:

Jake Junis ($9,000): Junis dominated the A’s in his only start against them last year. Junis has not had a game score under 13 DraftKings points since the end of April. The 16 spot that the A’s put up on Friday is a distant memory. I expect another solid start from Junis, but maybe not solid enough for this elevated price tag.

Nick Kingham ($8,200): Kingham baffled the Cardinals at home in his major league debut, racking up 37.2 DraftKings points in the process. In three combined major league starts since, Kingham has 39.9 DraftKings points. He isn’t going to duplicate that feat at Busch Stadium, but Kingham should be able to pitch well enough for his price point. After all, he did strike out nine Cardinals in that game.

Aaron Sanchez ($8,000): There is some risk here, but the Tigers are hitting a pathetic .103 off of Sanchez in 29 at bats with two runs and eight strikeouts. The Detroit offense has looked much better with Miggy back in the mix, and the 4.77 ERA posted by Sanchez will have more flocking to stack Tigers than to use Sanchez against them. I may just avoid the situation completely.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jeremy Hellickson ($7,500): You can’t help but be impressed with what Hellickson has done this year. On top of that, the Braves are only hitting .153 off of Hellickson in 111 at bats. That’s too much of a sample size to be a fluke. The Braves do have three homers and ten runs, and Hellickson has never been a strikeout pitcher, so there is risk here. Hellickson wont save a game score with strikeouts. If he gets knocked around, you’re getting negatives.

Michael Fulmer ($7,200): Fulmer has been mostly a disaster this year, but the Jays are only hitting .152 off of him in 33 at bats with one run and four strikeouts. The absence of Donaldson makes this matchup a little better, but Fulmer has even struggled at home this year. There is plenty of risk involved here.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 14: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates with Ian Desmond #20 after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

Baltimore Orioles vs. Domingo German:

German has mostly struggled lately, surrendering four homers in the last three games. The downside to this stack would obviously be a delay knocking out German and getting to better options in the bullpen. Manny Machado is a great play as a standalone or a stack anchor. Schoop, Chris Davis, Trumbo, and Adam Jones are all worth a look and are fairly cheap.

New York Yankees vs. Alex Cobb:

The only thing making me nervous is the weather. Judge, Sanchez, and Brett Gardner have homered off of Cobb before. Stanton is obviously a great option. Greg Bird looks good to me at a lower price as well. Just watch that radar!

Cleveland Indians vs. Kyle Gibson:

Gibson has had his best major league season so far, but he still can’t figure out Cleveland. Or Target Field for that matter. Gibson has a 5.76 ERA in five home starts, and Cleveland is hitting .354 with eight homers and 30 runs in 164 at bats against Gibson. Edwin has three homers and eight RBI in just 17 at bats. Yan Gomes has two homers off of Gibson with four RBI. Brantley, Jose Ramirez, and Kipnis have the other three homers and have a combined 17 runs scored and five RBI. You really can’t go wrong with any Indians today. Well, besides Melky. Melky is just 3-28 lifetime against Gibson. If you take his stats out, the Indians are a dominant 55-136 against Gibson. Stack it up!

Colorado Rockies vs. Alex Wood:

Alex Wood has a 8.18 ERA in three career starts at Coors Field. Find a way to afford Story, Arenado, Blackmon, and Ian Desmond for sure. They have a combined five homers off of Wood. LeMahieu is also worth a look.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chad Bettis:

The Dodgers have scored 18 runs off of Bettis in just 93 at bats. Matt Kemp is on fire, and surprisingly has the only homer off of Bettis. That likely ends today. Turner is my next favorite to go deep. Max Muncy, Bellinger, and Puig all look like good fits in a nice pivot stack off of the Rockies today.

Next: Other Notes for 6-3

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 01: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs hits a go ahead RBI single in the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 1, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Anthony Rizzo is finally heating up, and he is 2-6 with a homer and three RBI off of Steven Matz. Kris Bryant and Javier Baez has also homered off of Matz. The thing here is with the wind blowing in from right, it wont affect the right handed power of the Cubs. Sprinkle in some Addison Russell, Albert Almora, and whoever starts at catcher for a sneaky stack.

The Braves aren’t off limits despite the poor overall stats of the Braves off of Hellickson. Freddie Freeman is 3-10 with a homer and two RBI. Nick Markakis is only 10-53(.189), but he has two homers and seven RBI off of Hellickson.

Daniel Gossett has been a disaster, but so has the Royals offense. Those risk takers will fly with Gossett in GPP’s. Me? I’ll play Moose and maybe Salvy and call it good.

Anibal Sanchez has struggled at SunTrust Park anyway, so Bryce Harper is a no brainer considering he is the only current Nationals player to homer off of Sanchez. Matt Adams is in play if he plays. So is Juan Soto.

Dylan Covey has been decent this year. Decent enough to consider using if you can handle the risk. However, I still don’t trust him. Travis Shaw is on my hot list for today, but I don’t know that I trust any other Brewers.

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Middle Tier:

Brent Suter has been better on the road, but with the wind blowing out on the South Side and all of the right handed power in this lineup, I hate this matchup for Suter. Abreu, Tim Anderson, and Moncada are all among my favorites today.

Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and Brian Dozier have the three solo homers against Mike Clevinger if you think any of them can repeat. If not, I suggest Eduardo Escobar, who has good power and is hot right now anyway.

Starling Marte, Adam Frazier, Josh Bell, and Cervelli have all homered off of Michael Wacha before. David Freese is 7-15 in his career against Wacha, and is worth a look if he starts.

Bargain Shoppers:

All five of the Blue Jays’ hits off of Michael Fulmer in 33 at bats were recorded by Kendrys Morales. He’s worth the $3,300 price tag.

Well, it has to be said. Jose Bautista is 14-61(.230) with five homers, nine runs, and 10 RBI in his career against Jon Lester. However, Bautista has two homers in 65 at bats this year. Where’s the power?

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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