DraftKings Early MLB Picks June 28: Will Kershaw hit value in short outing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 05: The 2012 Championship Banner flies next to the American Flag before the San Francisco Giants home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on April 5, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks June 28: Will Kershaw hit value on a pitch count?

There are ten games on our Thursday, which makes it a pretty busy day. Until it’s not. The Marlins and Diamondbacks are teeing it up early in Florida, which leaves them available only in showdown and the all day mode. Five more games make up the afternoon slate. Here is where we dive into those. We have a couple of ace caliber pitchers out there, and a risky middle tier. Who should we lean on here?

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It’s a clear day as far as rain is concerned, and the only wind is the usual gusties to left center in San Francisco. It’s a great day for baseball!

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. We have plenty of writers on here who give you relevant information no matter which site you play on!

For you first time players, if you would like a free $20 in DraftKings dollars, 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

CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 22: Starting pitcher Sean Manaea #55 of the Oakland Athletics delivers the ball against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Clayton Kershaw ($11,700): The Cubs are actually hitting .269 against Kershaw in 52 at bats with four homers and six runs to go with the 17 strikeouts. Kershaw has that elite strikeout percentage that we covet, but Kershaw only went three innings against the Mets in his return from a back strain. He will likely face a pitch count today as well, though it figures to be higher than the 55 he threw against the Mets. Still, paying this for Kershaw who will likely get five innings at the most against a team that has hit him well is a very dangerous proposition.

Sean Manaea ($10,800): Manaea has rebounded after a rough patch in late May to serve up four straight quality starts. Against the Tigers in Comerica, a fifth is pretty much a given. The only question is whether Manaea will have enough strikeouts to live up to this price. I’m not sure he will. Manaea only has 19 strikeouts in his current four game stretch. I expect a strong game from Manaea, but the lack of strikeouts has me nervous about paying five figures for him.

Middle Tier:

Jon Gray ($9,500): Gray gives you the strikeout upside that you miss out on with Manaea, but he has been thumped by the Giants this year. In fact, he gave up more runs to them in San Francisco than in Coors. Chase the strikeouts if you want, but I’m staying away from this powder keg. That said, a strong game from Gray could help you win quite a bit of cash.

Michael Fulmer ($7,900): Fulmer is a risky proposition, even against a team that strikes out quite a bit like the A’s do. The A’s are only hitting .200 in 25 at bats against Fulmer with eight strikeouts and no runs. Fulmer has also racked up 47 DraftKings points in his last two home starts. There is potential here, but also some potent bats facing him.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jake Odorizzi ($6,300): The White Sox are hitting a solid .259 off of Odorizzi, but with 21 strikeouts in 58 at bats, that leaves a lot of leeway for Odorizzi to mitigate damage. The Sox do have seven runs in that span, but with the way they have been going lately, I’m not all that scared of this lineup. Of course, I wasn’t last night either. Odorizzi has made two starts against the White Sox this year. He has 32.2 DraftKings points in those games, which is a solid return on the investment.

Jimmy Yacabonis ($4,300): Yacabonis is making his first major league start here, but he has 13 starts at AAA this year, posting a strong 3.14 ERA. There is a lot of risk involved here, but I tend to think that the Mariners are going to hold Nelson Cruz out of this one, which takes some of the power away. I don’t expect miracles for Yacabonis, but it he hits double digits in DraftKings points for this price, I think we can all be happy with that.

Next: Other notes for 6-28

DETROIT, MI – MAY 31: Nicholas Castellanos #9 of the Detroit Tigers singles against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Comerica Park on May 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Nick Castellanos is 2-3 with a solo homer off of Sean Manaea. He is the only Tiger that I would touch this afternoon whether I’m playing Manaea or not.

Lucas Giolito has been downright awful at home, posting a 9.91 ERA in eight starts. His last start in Oakland was easily his best of the season. We all know that Giolito has the talent to turn it around, but to ask him to do so against the Twins could be a little much to ask. I’m definitely buying stock in Rosario and Eduardo Escobar today. Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier are definitely worth a look as well. You can add Grossman or Kepler on the cheap to stack this if you want.

Jimmy Yacabonis will make his first major league start after making 16 relief appearances between last year and this year. Success has eluded Yacabonis so far, but he has a 3.14 ERA in 13 starts for AAA Norfolk this year. Seattle has a decent offense, and I still want Segura and Haniger here, but I’m not really ready to stack this.

The Rockies have hit Chris Stratton hard no matter what mound he’s throwing from. Blackmon is 4-7 with a solo homer and three runs off of Stratton. I’m not going to go crazy since this isn’t at Coors, but Desmond and CarGo look pretty good too.

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Middle Tier:

I’m not going to go wild with Oakland bats, but I want some lefties against Fulmer. Matt Olson is definitely a guy I have interest in. Matt Joyce on the cheap is a good one as well. Dustin Fowler leading off is another good option depending on how much exposure you are comfortable with.

Surprisingly, the Giants have not hit a home run off of Jon Gray. However, Brandon Crawford is 4-9 with three RBI. McCutchen is 7-12, so I want heavy doses of them both.

It’s time to take advantage of some Cubs bargain pricing. Anthony Rizzo is only $4,400, and he is 5-14 with two homers and four RBI off of Kershaw. Willson Conteras and Javier Baez have both homered off of Kershaw as well.

There is no part of me that trust Jose Quintana against the Dodgers. The Boys in Blue are hitting .391 with a homer and seven runs off of him in just 23 at bats! Believe it or not, Logan Forsythe has the homer and five of the RBI. He is creat on the cheap. I also like Puig, Matt Kemp, Chris Taylor, and Kike Hernandez here if you are pulling the all out stack.

Bargain Shoppers:

The Orioles have actually hit Mike Leake pretty well. If you look at Leake’s numbers, his ERA is fooling you. They aren’t that good. Colby Rasmus will only set you back $3,400, and he has two homers and three RBI against Leake in eight at bats. Schoop has homered off of Leake as well. If I trusted Chris Davis at all, I would considering using him as well.

Both Avi Garcia and Daniel Palka have taken Odorizzi deep so far. They also have five of the seven RBI, and come very cheap.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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