DraftKings MLB Early Picks March 30: Strasburg or Thor?

SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 29: Joey Lucchesi #37 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park March 29, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Picks March 30: Strasburg or Thor?

All 30 MLB teams are in action again today, but the DraftKings MLB slates were ginsued by DraftKings. There is an all day one going on. Both the early and the late DraftKings MLB slates have six games. That’s a good balance, but most of the good pitching is in the afternoon for you all day players.

DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

James Paxton ($10,800): Forget about past stats. If you thought the 1988 Orioles were bad (they were), this team could be even worse. The O’s have a couple of righties that might get lucky against Paxton, but as a whole this lineup is overmatched. I’m not a huge fan of Paxton at Yankee Stadium, but I’m willing to make an exception here. The strikeout upside is very real against this team. The real challenge here is trying to stack Yankees bats with Paxton. Good luck with that!

Stephen Strasburg ($10,600): We can’t all be aces. Some sacrifices have to be made. Strasburg’s career numbers against the Mets are better than Thor’s against the Nats. Surprsingly, the current Mets have only faced Strasburg 52 times. They are hitting just .196 with 21 strikeouts. Both of the homers were hit by the National killer. No one else has even registered. I went deGrom on opening day over Scherzer. It’s Strasburg over Thor today.

Middle Tier:

Jake Junis ($8,100): The White Sox have slugged five homers against Junis already, but his last two games against the Pale Hose were significantly better last year than the first two. Still, this price looks a little off to me. The White Sox aren’t a great offense, but Junis doesn’t rack up strikeouts or go deep into games. He pretty much needs a ceiling game for you to feel good about this.

Reynaldo Lopez ($7,800): Lopez had pretty solid numbers last year, but he struggled against the Royals. If that isn’t concerning, it should be. Lopez was not very good this spring either. The only reason these guys are in play is the environment. It’s cold and possibly rainy in Kansas City. The ball isn’t going to fly. Lopez has much higher strikeout upside than Junis does, so if you are going to play pitcher roulette here, I think I would go with Lopez.

Bargain Pitchers:

Aaron Sanchez ($7,000): The Blue Jays had planned to bring Sanchez along slowly, but his dominant spring may get them to change their position a little. Sanchez only faced Detroit once last year, but he gave up just two hits and a homer in six innings. The Detroit offense has not been very good so far this year. Sanchez is going to be a very popular bargain play, but I will get my separation with hitters. This is too good to pass up.

Trevor Williams ($6,800): Williams was bombed by the Reds last year despite his strong overall numbers. You could argue that Williams was the best pitcher in baseball over the final two months of 2018, and I would have a hard time arguing that. Williams doesn’t really strike out a lot of batters, so I feel like he’s being penalized for that. That diminishes his value on DraftKings, but this price still looks low to me. The big question to me is if Pittsburgh will even try throwing Williams with a delay likely and rainout probable.

My picks: Strasburg, Sanchez

HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 06: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians reacts after a strikeout against the Houston Astros during Game Two of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park on October 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB: Early stack options

New York Yankees vs. Nate Karns:

Yes, this is the sort of trash that Baltimore is throwing out there now. Don’t worry….it gets worse. The Yankees came through on opening day, though it wasn’t Judge or Stanton. Stanton is 0-3 against Karns, for what it’s worth. Brett Gardner is 4-10 with a homer and three runs, and he’s batting leadoff. I know I want Gardner, Judge, and Gary Sanchez. Troy Tulowitzki is still priced low enough to use here. Stanton is a notoriously slow starter. His March/April average is his lowest of any month. His homer total is also the least of any month. I would fade Stanton in favor of someone like Luke Voit.

Minnesota Twins vs. Trevor Bauer:

No, I’m not just being a homer here. For whatever reason, the Twins have hit the Indians well. ALL of them! From the top of the rotation to the bottom of the bullpen. It’s no different against Bauer. The Twins are hitting .301 against him. in 153 at bats, so it’s not some kind of fluke. They have six homers and 26 runs with only 36 strikeouts. Jorge Polanco treats Bauer as hit pitching machine. He has three homers off of him already. Eddie Rosario has taken him deep twice and driven in nine of those 26 runs. Nelson Cruz is 7-12 with a homer and three RBI. I would finish this off with Jonathan Schoop and Marwin Gonzalez.

Cleveland Indians vs. Jake Odorizzi:

I think many are going to stack Royals/White Sox, but I prefer this game. Cleveland is hitting .264 in 72 at bats against Odorizzi. Big deal, right? Well they have five homers and 16 runs in that small sample. Jake Bauers, Carlos Santana, Hanley Ramirez, and Jose Ramirez have the homers. Jose Ramirez has two, so I’m particularly interested in him if he is able to play. Brad Miller and Leonys Martin look tempting on the cheap.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Trevor Williams:

Williams was outstanding in the second half last year, but the Reds have him figured out. They are hitting .382 with a 1.039 OPS in 76 at bats with three homers and 11 runs. Derek Dietrich, Yasiel Puig, and Scott Schebler have the homers off of Williams. Matt Kemp has three RBI in five at bats. Tucker Barnhart is a nice punt at catcher. Jesse Winker is 4-6 against Williams already, so he’s worth a look too.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 12: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals high fives his teammates after scoring a run in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 12, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Reynaldo Lopez had his ups and downs last year. For whatever reason, the Royals have had his number. They are hitting .304 with three homers and ten runs in just 69 at bats. Whit Merrifield has hit Lopez particularly hard, going 7-18(.389) with a homer, four RBI, and a steal. Alex Gordon has a homer off of Lopez, but he is only 3-16 overall. Hunter Dozier and Adalberto Mondesi are a combined 5-13, but only have two runs to show for it.

More from FanSided

I like Jake Junis on the other side of this, but the White Sox have managed to hit him hard as well. Yoan Moncada is 5-11 with two homers against Junis. Welington Castillo, Adam Engel, and Daniel Palka have all homered off of him in the past. A White Sox mini stack could be a good way to leverage ownership on Junis.

I don’t want a lot of exposure to the Nats-Mets from a hitter’s perspective. These two teams are loaded. However, there are a couple of interesting BvP tidbits. Anthony Rendon has two homers and seven RBI against Thor. The rest of the Nationals team has just three RBI in 62 at bats. From the other side, Michael Conforto has two homers and four RBI against Strasburg. The rest of the team has just one run in 33 at bats. Conforto was a dud on Opening Day, but the price is right to try again.

I kind of want to attack Sonny Gray here, especially in an extreme hitters park like this. Corey Dickerson is a nice play here for sure. Dickerson is 5-17(.294) with two homers and four RBI against Gray, and he hasn’t had the privilege of facing him at Great American Launching Pad.

I don’t know that I would go with a full on stack against Spencer Turnbull, but it’s worth taking a shot at him with some Blue Jays. Turnbull posted a 6.06 ERA in four September starts last year, and his minor league numbers weren’t that great either. However, Turnbull put up a solid spring, only allowing three runs in 15 innings. I like Smoak and Billy McKinney here for sure. Beyond that, the only one I might chase is Lourdes Gurriel.

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