DraftKings MLB Main Picks April 11: Pitchers duel at Fenway?

FanDuel MLB: OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 31: Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics hits a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on March 31, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Main Picks April 11: Is there really a pitchers duel at Fenway?

We have an even split today with five early and five late games for our DraftKings MLB slates. We don’t really have any aces on either slate, but there are a few matchups that stand out. Who can win us money tonight?

DraftKings MLB Main Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Joe Musgrove ($9,000): If this game starts on time, Musgrove may be worth a look. The rain is supposed to arrive in earnest around 8:30 central, but that timeline could change throughout the day. Keep an eye on this one. However, if the rain shows up a little late, Musgrove is a strong play. The Cubs are only hitting .193 against him in 57 at bats with two homers, four runs, and 11 strikeouts. That strikeout total isn’t very high, and the weather risk makes me pause about paying this price.

Nathan Eovaldi ($8,600): The current Blue Jays have only faced Eovaldi 19 times, but they have just one hit, a Danny Jansen single, in that span with seven strikeouts. Like all of the other Boston starters, Eovaldi is off to a rough start as well. Of course, The Red Sox have had the misfortune of facing two of the hottest offenses in the league in Oakland and Seattle. They should start to settle down. Here against the Blue Jays is a prime time for Eovaldi to get on track

Middle Tier:

Steven Matz ($8,100): The Braves are hitting a strong .295 against Matz in 61 at bats, but they have no homers and only three runs. When it comes down to it, this is a strong play. Matz is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two career starts at SunTrust Park. This is the perfect park for him since he’s tough on lefties anyway. Factor in Matz’s strong start to 2019, and there is a lot to like about him here tonight.

Bargain Pitchers:

Kevin Gausman ($7,500): Gausman had one of the best starts of any pitcher this year in his first outing against the Marlins. It seems as though last year’s troubles might be behind him. The blizzard warning in Denver sends Gausman home to start with the wind blowing in as opposed to a date in Coors. The Mets offense is looking good right now, but Gausman is cheap enough to consider here.

Aaron Sanchez ($6,500): Sanchez has pitched very well in his two starts this year. He’s cheap since he’s going against Boston, but Sanchez does have a 3.79 ERA in nine career starts in Fenway. The Red Sox are only hitting .239 in 180 at bats with five homers and 41 strikeouts. They do have 22 runs though. Still, the Boston offense hasn’t found it’s footing yet, and Sanchez seems to be back to his old form. He is too cheap at this price.

My picks: Eovaldi, Matz; Matz, Sanchez

PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 07: Josh Bell #55 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits an RBI double to right field in the fifth inning during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on April 7, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB: Main stack options

San Diego Padres vs. Zach Godley:

Wait a minute, you say. Isn’t San Diego below average against right handed pitching? As a general rule, yes, but Godley’s splits strongly favor right handed hitters. Over his career, Godley has given up 31 homers to righties compared to just 19 for lefties in only 92 more at bats. On top of that, righties hit three points higher and have a SLG 24 points higher than lefties. That means all these right handed mashers are in play tonight. Franmil Reyes is 2-6 against Godley. Both hits are homers. Wil Myers is 8-19 with a homer, seven runs, and five RBI. Hunter Renfroe and Eric Hosmer have good averages as well. Throw in a pinch of Tatis for a potentially lucrative stack here. You can even use Avila in his major league debut if you want. I’m not sold that Arizona is going to crush him.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Jose Quintana:

Okay, so Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly hammered Quintana, but he has a 4.17 career ERA at Wrigley in 25 starts. With the wind blowing out to left and the platoon advantage, not to mention Quintana is a fly ball pitcher anyway, and there are just too many things that can go wrong for him. Josh Bell and Cervelli have homered off of him so far. Bell’s metrics make him a favorite to repeat. Jung Ho Kang is a strong play if he is in the lineup. Cap it off with Starling Marte and Melky. I want all of that right handed power! Look out below on Waveland Avenue!

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Pedro Avila:

Pedro Avila only has one start above AA, but will make his debut tonight in Arizona. Poor guy. This is a hitter’s park. I can’t think of five Arizona hitters that I actually want to use though. Can you? Ketel Marte and David Peralta are good plays here. Avila has decent numbers in the minors, but a 3.56 career ERA in A ball makes him worth going after. He’s either going to dominate hitters that know nothing about him or get chased within three innings. I don’t see an in between. If you want to turn this into a full blown stack, Jarrod Dyson, Adam Jones, and Nick Ahmed are the only other three Arizona hitters I would consider.

DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 09: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves circles the bases after hitting a 3 RBI home run in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 09, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Jackie Bradley is 5-16(.312) with a homer and five RBI off of Aaron Sanchez. Benintendi, Mookie, J.D. Martinez, and Bogaerts have the other homers, but I’m not sure just how hard I want to go after Sanchez here because of his good start and the cold start of the offense. Bradley makes sense because of the price, but the others are still rather pricey. If Steve Pearce starts, he has the highest exit velocity (104.6 mph) on the slate with an 11 degree launch angle. That’s a lot of hard hit balls even though the angle is a little low.

More from FanSided

Looking up and down the Toronto lineup, I wouldn’t be a bit shocked if Eovaldi dominated them again. Freddy Galvis and Randal Grichuk are about the only guys who have been solid so far this year. I’m going to limit my exposure to them, if anything.

It’s to the point that I might play Dansby Swanson even if I have the opposing pitcher. That’s how good he has been to start 2019. I can justify taking a shot at Matz with him, but not much else.

Was Gausman’s first start against the Marlins a fluke? If you think so, go after him with Mets. That offense is cooking right now, and they have hit Gausman well in a small sample. Wilson Ramos has the only homer off of Gausman so far and has an exit velocity of 88 mph with a 20.8 degree launch angle. That’s about home run angle right there! Conforto’s numbers are very similar. Those are the two best bets to go deep, even fighting the wind. Robinson Cano is a solid play as well.

Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist have the homers off of Musgrove. With the wind blowing out to right, they have a good chance here again. Javy Baez is just 1-9 against Musgrove though, so I’m not paying the premium there.

I just can’t stack Giants here no matter what the stats say. AT&T Park has been a personal house of horrors for Jon Gray. He is 0-2 with a 5.48 ERA there in five career starts. Yes, those are even worse than his numbers in Coors. Brandon Belt has the only Giants homer against Gray, but Solarte, Brandon Crawford, and Joe Panik all have three RBI each. Center your build around these players if using Giants.

I also can’t bring myself to stack Rockies on the road. Shark has been okay to start the season. That’s about as ringing of an endorsement as I can give. Ian Desmond is 10-27(.370) with two homers and six RBI against Samardzija. Chris Iannetta, Trevor Story, and Charlie Blackmon have all homered off of Samardzija, and the Rockies are hitting a collective .307 against him in 166 at bats. That said, only Nolan Arenado and Desmond have a career average above .250 at AT&T Park. I’m limiting my exposure to them.

Next. DraftKings early picks April 11. dark

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