DraftKings MLB Main Picks March 31: What's HAPPening, Orioles?

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – MARCH 30: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers is congratulated by teammates following a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a game at Miller Park on March 30, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Main Picks March 31: What’s HAPPening, Orioles?

As with most Sunday slates for DraftKings MLB, the main slate is the early slate. There are nine games that start between 1 and 2 pm eastern. That’s where a majority of the action is today!

DraftKings MLB Main Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

J.A. Happ ($10,100): Happ has allowed four homers to current Orioles in 97 at bats, but the are only hitting .200 off of him with seven runs and a whopping 33 strikeouts. The strikeout potential masks any runs Happ may give up, but the Orioles offense is rather awful. Happ could border on dominant today.

Jon Gray ($9,400): The Marlins are hitting a nice .275 against Gray, but they only have three runs to show for it in 51 at bats. The 16 strikeouts has Gray striking out Fish at a rate of about one in three. Gray gets the added benefit of pitching in the pitcher’s haven of Miami against an average offense at best with massive strikeout potential. If you can swing this as your SP2, that’s a formidable pitching lineup.

Middle Tier:

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 debunking that. Williams has his start moved back a day, and the weather will be nice in Cincy, but the wind is blowing out. 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.

Jorge Lopez ($6,100): One of the key pieces in the Moustakas deal showed signs of brilliance late last year, but his overall numbers weren’t good. Still, the White Sox aren’t that scary of an offense. There is potential here, but as with any young pitcher, you’re still taking a risk.

Bargain Pitchers:

Trent Thornton ($5,900): Thornton will make his major league debut against a Tigers offense that has been awful to open the season. Detroit has not scored a run in regulation this season. That’s right, over the first three games, the only runs they have scored were the two run in the tenth inning to win the opener. That’s 18 straight scoreless innings for this offense and 27 of 28. Thornton is not a big strikeout guy, but it may not matter against this offense.

Lucas Giolito ($5,300): Giolito’s numbers in the majors leave a lot to be desired, but he would be an All Star if he only faced the Royals. The Royals are just 9-52(.173) against Giolito with 12 strikeouts. The bad news is that Giolito has allowed four homers. Due to no one being on base, that has only yielded five runs. The strikeout total is lower than we want, but we can overlook that for this price tag. This is the time to take advantage of Giolito’s low price against a struggling opponent.

Sandy Alcantara ($5,000): Alcantara posted a 3.44 ERA in five September starts last year for the Marlins. He also struck out more than one batter per inning. The Rockies are significantly worse away from Coors Field, particularly in the power department. There is risk here, but Alcantara could be worth a look on the cheap.

My picks: Happ, Gray

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 30: Troy Tulowitzki #12 of the New York Yankees high-fives third base coach Phil Nevin #88 after hitting a home run during the ninth inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on March 30, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB: Main stack options

New York Yankees vs. Dylan Bundy:

Bundy did not pitch well against the Yankees last year. There is no reason for that to be different this year. The Yankees don’t have a lot of left handed power anymore, but Bundy has given up a lot more homers to righties than lefties over about the same number of at bats. The average is a lot lower, but you aren’t playing the Yankees for average. You are chasing the power of Stanton, Judge, and Gary Sanchez. Today we may be better off with Greg Bird and Brett Gardner.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Matt Moore:

Moore actually has reverse splits average wise, but righties thump him. Moore has given up 86 homers to right handed batters in his career, or an average of about one per game. Moore only pitched one game against the Jays last year. He didn’t allow a homer, but they chased him with six runs in a little over four innings. Justin Smoak, Lourdes Gurriel, Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kevin Pillar are all in play. So is the hot Brandon Drury.

Minnesota Twins vs. Carlos Carrasco:

No, I haven’t lost my mind. Like many of his teammates, the Twins have also pounded Carrasco. I haven’t led you astray by fading Cleveland starters with the possible exception of Kluber. The Twins are hitting .266 with eight homers and 17 runs in 169 at bats. On top of that, they have only struck out 57 times. Those are decent numbers for Carrasco, but not worthy of paying five figures for. And if you stack here, you can leverage the hell out of the field. Nelson Cruz has two of those homers. Marwin Gonzalez, Mitch Garver, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Byron Buxton, and C.J. Cron have all bombed off of Carrasco as well.

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.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 21: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets poses for a photo on Photo Day at First Data Field on February 21, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Yonny Chrinos fared well with an opener last year, so I’m not sure I want to stack against the Astros against him even as a starter. However, Alex Bregman averaged 11.3 DraftKings points in seven games against the Rays last year. I’m also on Michael Brantley, who is still way too cheap on DraftKings.

I do get the strikeout potential of Corbin Burnes, but how is he priced this high against the Cardinals? This is a solid lineup! Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt look particularly appealing.

Charlie Blackmon is a solid one off against Sandy Alcantara, but I really can’t recommend Rockies bats on the road. It’s Blackmon or nothing, especially at the prices.

More from FanSided

I really want to stack against Sonny Gray, but that may not be the best use of our resources. However, I really like Corey Dickerson, Jung Ho Kang, and possibly Josh Bell here. Gray is a ground ball pitcher, but the wind is blowing out to right today. One of those three could take him deep.

Zack Wheeler‘s numbers against the Nationals are not good at all. It’s not really the runs, just the fact that they are hitting .340 off of him in 97 at bats. Ryan Zimmerman has homered twice against Wheeler and is hitting .348. Matt Adams has the other homer. Trea Turner and Adam Eaton are a combined 10-23 with six runs scored, but no other counting stats.

I have to have some Brewers today, right? Travis Shaw, Mike Moustakas, and Christian Yelich have that lefty power, but they are a combined 6-34 against Michael Wacha with no homers. Yasmani Grandal and Jesus Aguilar have the homers if you want to chase.

I see the name Wade Miley, and my first instinct is STACK! Then I realize he’s playing the Rays. Avi Garcia has three RBI in four at bats, so he’s worth a one-off, but there isn’t a lot to like about this Rays offense.

Jorge Soler and Ryan O’Hearn are about the only Royals I want against Giolito today. You could consider Lucas Duda, but he’s only 2-9 off of Giolito. Whit Merrifield is a horrid 1-12, but the hit is a homer.

The Orioles are the place to go for one off value bats. Chris Davis, despite facing a lefty, has two homers off of Happ. The bad news is that he is just 4-25(.160). Joey Rickard and Renato Nunez have the other homers, but you have to be desperate to chase this.

Don’t look now, but the Mets have smoked Patrick Corbin in his career. If I had any faith in this offense, I would stack against him. Michael Conforto has three homers and eight RBI in just eight at bats against Corbin. So much for hit better lefty splits! Amed Rosario, Cano, and Juan Lagares have also homered off of Corbin.

Most of the Indians have no stats against Michael Pineda, but Brad Miller has a homer and four RBI with a .304 average in 23 at bats and he’s cheap. Paying up for Jose Ramirez here is also not a bad idea.

Next. DraftKings NBA picks March 31. dark

We promised some big news for Fantasy CPR, right? Well here it is! We are now looking for PAID writers to join our team to write about fantasy sports. Seasonal or DFS, any sport you want – get your voice heard and get paid for talking fantasy sports. Apply today HERE!