DraftKings MLB Main Picks March 28: Is Verlander worth it?

CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 06: A general view of Wrigley Field as renovations continue before the Opening Day game Monday between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates as seen during a media walk through at on April 6, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Main Picks March 28: Is Verlander worth it?

We have all 30 teams in action on Opening Day. Many take that day thing to heart. The “main” slate actually begins at 4pm eastern. Nine games begin then, making this the big slate of the day.

DraftKings MLB Main Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($11,000): The current Rays are hitting a solid .253 against Verlander in 75 at bats, but they have just four runs and 25 strikeouts. That’s one every three batters! You aren’t going to find this kind of strikeout upside anywhere else. It’s hard to fade Verlander with the massive potential here.

Blake Snell ($9,400): Yes, I realize that Snell is playing the Astros. If you are questioning this pick though, you need a refresher. Snell was 10-1 with a 1.27 ERA, 0,87 WHIP, and 101 strikeouts in 85 home innings last year. On top of that, Snellzilla was 2-0 against the Astros last year, allowing just two runs in 14.1 innings over those two starts. Do you still wonder why I’m on Snell? Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the omission: Corey Kluber only averaged 16.2 DraftKings points in three starts against the Twins last year, and the offense is clearly better this year.

Middle Tier:

Jose Berrios ($9,000): Berrios is a bit of a risk considering the Indians are hitting .250 off of him in 88 at bats with two homers and 13 runs, but the 17 strikeouts is encouraging. Add to that the fact that Francisco Lindor, who has six of those RBI, is out and this looks like a pretty good spot for Berrios.

Kyle Freeland ($9,000): Freeland bucked the Coors trend and was actually better at home than on the road last year, but we’re splitting hairs. Freeland’s numbers everywhere were very good. The Marlins are heavy on right handed bats, but still light on power. Some will shy away from Freeland because of that, but that’s all the more reason to jump on. There is also really good win potential here. Don’t overthink this. Righty heavy or not, this is still not a good Marlins lineup.

Madison Bumgarner ($8,800): This is still a premium price to pay for MadBum, who was clearly not himself last year. Is that a trend that will continue? If you subscribe to spring stats, then yes. Bumgarner has had a mostly miserable Spring. However, the Padres are still only hitting .151 with a homer and three runs in 93 at bats with 17 strikeouts. Bumgarner didn’t allow a run to the Padres in eight innings in his one start against them last year. If you are going to use MadBum at all this year, this is as good as the matchup will get.

Jameson Taillon ($8,200): Taillon’s numbers against the Reds aren’t great, but last year Taillon averaged 22.4 DraftKings points in five starts against Cincinnati. While those numbers were boosted by a shutout in Pittsburgh last year, Taillon still owned a 3.16 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on the Reds while striking out 34 in 31.1 innings. The balls really don’t start flying out of Cincinnati until the weather warms up. There is solid potential here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Carlos Rodon ($7,500): Rodon was serviceable against the Royals in his one start against them last year. If you use Rodon, you are really going off of the promise that he showed a couple of years ago. Rodon had flashes of brilliance last year, but it was fleeting. That’s more than he had this spring, which was not encouraging. However, this is the Royals. Almost every pitcher is worth a look against the Royals.

Jose Urena ($6,500): We all know what happens when you take the Rockies out of Coors. The bats dry up. Urena only pitched once against the Rockies last year. It was in Miami, and Urena allowed just one run in seven innings. There is similar upside tonight, but Urena doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, and he can be wild at times like he was almost all Spring. I still think the reward outweighs the risk though.

Brad Keller ($4,800): Keller doesn’t miss a lot of bats, but there aren’t a lot of bats to worry about in this Chicago lineup. The White Sox did hit .250 against Keller last year, but only had one homer and four runs in 79 at bats with 15 strikeouts. That belies his career numbers, but maybe Keller can keep up the good numbers against the White Sox once again.

CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 11: Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs is congratulated by Kris Bryant #17 after scoring a run during the sixth inning of a game at Wrigley Field on April 11, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB: Main stack options

Texas Rangers vs. Jon Lester

The Rangers don’t have much of a history against Lester, but they don’t really need one. There are some nice right handed bats in here that come cheap. Elvis Andrus, Kiner-Falefa, and Logan Forsythe are all worth a look on the cheap. I also like Delino DeShields if he bats at the top of the order. If Hunter Pence is healthy, he will be in my lineup.

Chicago Cubs vs. Mike Minor:

Mike Minor was better than he should have been in Arlington last year, but this is a tough right handed heavy lineup. Willson Contreras, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez are all elite plays. Mark Zagunis has sneaky power, and could start at DH in the American League park. Albert Almora is a good play as well. The cost is the only think keeping me off of Schwarber, but Anthony Rizzo hits lefties well enough to consider him here as well.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Mike Fiers:

Fiers pitched well with Oakland last year, but the Angels have hit him very hard so far. The Halos are hitting .302 with six homers and 21 runs in 116 at bats against Fiers. Mike Trout has two of those homers and seven RBI. Pujols has two homers and six driven in. Jonathan Lucroy and Kole Calhoun have taken him deep as well.

HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 15: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros and Jose Altuve #27 celebrate scoring on Yuli Gurriel #10 of the Houston Astros two run RBI single against the Arizona Diamondbacks n the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on September 15, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

I don’t know that I would go a full stack against Zack Greinke, but he has not fared well against his former team. The Dodgers have ten homers and 21 runs in only 155 at bats. Seager, Bellinger, and Justin Turner have all homered twice off of him with Turner knocking in six runs. Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez, Chris Taylor, and A.J. Pollock have all homered off of Greinke once. This is a god way to leverage one of the arms that could carry fairly high ownership.

Nolan Arenado has slugged two homers off of Jose Urena before, but he is about the only Rockies hitter I would even consider using on the road. Maybe Charlie Blackmon, but I would rather spend on pitching than Rockies hitters on the road.

I don’t recommend going after Blake Snell at home, especially with the price tag still on these guys, but Jose Altuve has two solo homers off of Snell in his career. Alex Bregman is 5-10 with a homer, four walks, and four RBI.

More from FanSided

Trevor Cahill is a solid play against his former team, but Khris Davis is 2-3 with a homer and three RBI against Cahill. I might consider taking a shot with Jurickson Profar here as well. He’s cheap enough.

I’m not going to get crazy and stack Twins against Kluber, but Marwin Gonzalez is 9-20 with two homers and six RBI against Kluber. Nelson Cruz has also homered twice against Kluber. Jon Schoop, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Polanco have homered against Kluber as well. The cold weather in Minneapolis should temper power, but some of these guys are really tempting.

If you think that MadBum’s regression is for real, the Padres are loaded with right handed power. Franmil Reyes, Hunter Renfroe, and Wil Myers all have a lot of pop and none are very expensive. I also heard that Manny Machado guy is pretty good against lefties.

Carlos Santana and Brad Miller have both homered off of Jose Berrios if you want to take a shot or two at him.

The Giants don’t have much for power, but you can try and poach some points against soft tossing lefty Eric Lauer. Buster Posey is 4-8 against Lauer already. Longoria is worth a look as well.

Wilmer Flores kills lefties. Always has, always will. With Steven Souza going down for the season, Flores could see more at bats than initially planned. I like him as a punt against Ryu. Adam Jones is worth a look too.

Luis Castillo isn’t exactly a weak pitcher so I don’t want a bunch of Pirates. However, Colin Moran and Elias Diaz are cheap and they have both homered off of him. Jesse Winker is worth a look on the cheap against Taillon.

Chasing steals isn’t a bad thing. Whit Merrifield is 6-13 with five runs and four steals against Carlos Rodon. Billy Hamilton is likely going to run a lot as a Royal too.

Leury Garcia and Daniel Palka are a combined 8-11 with four runs and three RBI against Brad Keller. Yonder Alonso has the only current White Sox homer off of him. There’s value to be had if you don’t trust Keller.

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