DraftKings Early MLB Picks July 3: Who is the best pitcher?

CHICAGO, IL – JULY 20: Fans sit under the sun in 100 degree heat as the Chicago Cubs take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field on July 20, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Phillies defeated the Cubs9-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks July 3: Who is the best pitcher?

We have an interesting Tuesday. There are two matinee games that make up the early tournament, then the Nats and Red Sox are kicking off an hour earlier than the rest of the league. That one is only available in showdown mode. With only four pitchers on the early DraftKings slate, we are really just looking for who will hurt us the least.

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We have no rain on tap for this afternoon with very light breezes blowing in. Those wont affect batted balls any. The warmth and humidity in Wrigley could help though.

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 $20 in free 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

CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 28: Junior Guerra #41 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Junior Guerra ($8,700): Guerra only picked up 12.2 DraftKings points in his first start against the Twins, but he was on a pitch count in that one so he went only four innings. Guerra has the most strikeout potential against the most strikeout prone team. My thinking is that most will be on Hendricks. These tournaments will be decided by those who take Odorizzi or Guerra. It’s hard to fade Hendricks against the Tigers, so we have to choose between these two. Once again, Guerra’s numbers are strong across the board. I see no reason not to use him here.

Middle Tier:

Michael Fulmer ($7,700): Fulmer has never faced the Cubs, nor has he pitched at Wrigley. Hey, at least the wind isn’t blowing out. We lack star power among the starting pitchers today, but all four are pretty solid. Actually, Fulmer is my least favorite of the four, but he may have the best strikeout upside. He is also the most likely to get blown up, and part of that is the park in which he is in. The other is the offense that he is facing.

Kyle Hendricks ($7,600): Hendricks has been really good at home and really bad on the road. HIs 2.96 home ERA in eight starts is about half of his road ERA. You put Hendricks at home against a team that is having trouble scoring with the wind blowing slightly in, and you have the safest pitcher on the slate. The knock on Hendricks is that he doesn’t pick up many strikeouts. While that is true, Hendricks has 42 strikeouts in 51.2 home innings, which is far better than his overall strikeout rate.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jake Odorizzi ($6,300): If you lean more towards BvP, then Odorizzi is your man. Odorizzi has held the Brewers to a .196 average in 46 at bats with just one homer and two runs to go with a whopping 21 strikeouts. Odorizzi dominated the Brewers in Minneapolis, picking up 26.6 DraftKings points in that one. However, he has never faced Thames. Still, the price is right and the strikeout upside is very high for this low of a price. I’m a big Odorizzi fan today, especially since his ERA is more than a run lower on the road.

Next: Other notes for 7-3

MILWAUKEE, WI – JUNE 04: Eric Thames #7 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with Jesus Aguilar #24 following a home run during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Park on June 4, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez are on my short list of favorites this afternoon. Unfortunately, 1B is pretty loaded compared to the other positions.

Despite the success of Jake Odorizzi against the Brewers, he is not infallible. He has never faced Eric Thames, so throw him out there. Travis Shaw‘s power potential plays well here also. You can also ride the hot hand with Jesus Aguilar. After all, he does have the only Brewers homer against Odorizzi.

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Middle Tier:

Ben Zobrist is always a solid option, especially if the Cubs have him leading off again. Kyle Schwarber is worth a look for the power potential. I also like Addison Russell if he is in the lineup.

Brian Dozier hit a two run homer off of Junior Guerra earlier this year. With the way the rest of this lineup is going, I don’t know that I would trust anyone else but Mauer. However, the power potential of LoMo, Escobar, and Rosario is hard to ignore.

To me, Castellanos looks a little overpriced against Kyle Hendricks. I much prefer a cheaper Jeimer Candelario against his former team.

Bargain Shoppers:

I’m not really a big fan of any Tigers today, but we have to use a catcher. DraftKings says so. John Hicks is not a bad punt. Neither is whoever starts for Milwaukee.

Willans Astudillo doesn’t really have power, but he has only struck out 76 times in nine minor league seasons. Not per year. That is his combined nine season total! That kind of contact makes him worthy of a punt, and he is eligible at catcher.

Jose Iglesias is starting to hit, and though he doesn’t have power, he is reasonably priced and should get us a handful of points at a weak position.

Next: MLB DFS Picks and Pivots

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