DraftKings MLB Picks April 22: Will Flaherty finally solve the Brewers?

FanDuel MLB: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 03: Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on April 03, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks April 22: Will Flaherty finally solve the Brewers?

We have a pretty busy Monday with ten games for our DraftKings MLB tournaments. There isn’t a true ace out there, but we have four pitchers over $9,000 and five over $8,000. There are still plenty of decent options. Who’s going to dominate? Who’s getting hit? Let’s check it out!

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Jake Arrieta ($9,600): Arrieta has been strong to start the year, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA. One of those games was against these Mets when Arrieta racked up 19.2 DraftKings points while shutting down the Mets for eight innings. The bad news was that Arrieta only struck out three in that game. Overall, the Mets are only hitting .257 with a homer and nine runs in 101 at bats with 18 strikeouts. That doesn’t leave much for upside here if you aren’t getting the strikeout potential.

J.A. Happ ($9,300): Happ’s numbers are horrible at Yankee Stadium and still not that good on the road. So why pay the upcharge? Because the Angels have been horrible against lefties this year with the exception of Trout. Mike Minor and Marco Gonzales have just been the latest to hold down this lineup. Happ is better than both of them no matter where he’s pitching.

Middle Tier:

Mike Minor ($8,800): Minor has been outstanding this year, and it could continue here. The A’s are only hitting .170 against him in 47 at bats with just two runs and 13 strikeouts. After a rocky first start against the Cubs, Minor has allowed just two runs in 23 innings since. He’s going a lot of innings, and not even really letting anyone on base. It doesn’t hurt my case any that Minor has only allowed two runs in 7.2 innings in his career at the Coliseum.

Joe Musgrove ($8,100): Musgrove has been flat out dominant this year, putting up a 0.81 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts while striking out 21 in 22.1 innings pitched. You can poke holes in this saying that he played Detroit, but that was in Detroit with an extra hitter. Musgrove also locked down the Cubs in Wrigley. Arizona is not the worst team Musgrove has faced this year, but they aren’t the best either. This should be another strong outing for him.

Zack Godley ($7,900): Consistency has not been Godley’s strong suit here. He has alternated really good and really bad starts this year. He’s due for a really bad one here, but I’m not sure the Pittsburgh offense without Marte and Polanco can pull it off. Without those guys, what’s left is a team that was just 1-15 against Godley in his start against them last year with five strikeouts. I am on Godley for the first time this year here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Yonny Chirinos ($7,400): Much like last year, Chirinos has been really good at home. In 12 home innings this year, Chirinos has allowed just three hits, one run (a solo homer), and struck out 11. The Royals don’t have much for power. They also don’t strike out a lot. But for this price, Chirinos should be more than worth the effort.

Manny Banuelos ($7,000): Banuelos is expensive for a guy who has only worked in relief so far this year. Sure, the Orioles aren’t that good, and they are particularly terrible at home, but will Banuelos even be around long enough to pick up the win? It’s not like he has been dominant in relief either. Banuelos is a top prospect though, so taking a chance on him on the cheap against a weak hitting Orioles team isn’t the worst idea.

Adrian Houser ($5,700): Houser put up a 3.29 ERA in relief last September and has dominated AAA San Antonio so far this year. There is good potential at this price against the Cardinals. He generates enough strikeouts to help bail him out and should go at least five innings unless the Cardinals manage to get ahold of him. I like this punt better than Hess right now.

David Hess ($5,600): Hess dominated the White Sox last year, but that doesn’t mean much right now. The Orioles’ home ERA is almost 9 through the first month of the season. If Hess is going to slow anyone down, it will likely be the White Sox, but there is still a lot of risk involved here too. The eight strikeouts that Hess racked up against the White Sox last year leaves hope for a pretty big score for a really cheap price.

My picks: Happ, Minor; Musgrove, Minor

DETROIT, MI – APRIL 21: Tim Anderson #7 of the Chicago White Sox singles to drive in Leury Garcia #28 of the Chicago White Sox against the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning at Comerica Park on April 21, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the White Sox 4-3. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Steven Matz

Matz was destroyed by the Phillies in the first meeting this year, giving up eight runs (six earned) without retiring a batter. He’s not going to be that bad here, but chances are he wont be very good either. This stack wont be as lucrative as the first time, but the heart of the Phillies order, particularly Hoskins and Bryce Harper, could have big games. It was Maikel Franco that delivered the big blow the first time. Who will it be here?

Chicago White Sox vs. David Hess:

Yolmer Sanchez is the only White Sox player that has homered off of David Hess so far, but considering how awful the Orioles, in particular their bullpen, have been this year, I could take a shot here. One of my lineups will load up White Sox just in case. Welington Castillo, Moncada, Yonder Alonso, Tim Anderson, and Leury Garcia look like a good five to me!

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Jack Flaherty:

The DraftKings pricing on Flaherty is rather ludicrous when you think about it. He has failed to go five innings in either game against the Brewers this year, and picked up a grand total of three DraftKings points over the two games combined. Braun has homered off of him twice, but not this year. Grandal, Jesus Aguilar, and Lorenzo Cain have the other homers. Christian Yelich has yet to homer against Flaherty, but I wouldn’t rule it out with the way he’s hitting. This looks like the place to stack Brewers just in case people are still drinking the Flaherty koolaid.

Colorado Rockies vs. Jeremy Hellickson:

Hellickson has pitched in 30 major league stadiums in his ten seasons, but this will be his Coors Field debut. That’s right, he pitched in two Atlanta stadiums before ever pitching in Denver. Hellickson doesn’t have the best stuff for Coors and the current Rockies have ten runs off of him in just 46 at bats. Ian Desmond has the only homer, but I like Arenado, Story, Charlie Blackmon and Raimel Tapia here too.

Washington Nationals vs. Tyler Anderson:

Anderson is making his return against a powerful offense at Coors. That can’t be good. I want to see Anderson get back on track before I start using him in spot matchups like last year. Even this is not a good matchup though. Anthony Rendon may be my favorite hitter on the slate with Juan Soto not far behind. You can fill this in with various pieces once the lineup is released. Wilmer Difo and Victor Robles both hit lefties well.

New York Yankees vs. Matt Harvey:

Harvey has not made it out of the fifth inning in any of his last three starts, allowing a combined 19 runs (18 earned) in just 12.2 innings in that span. I don’t care if the Yankees call up the entire lineup of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders, I would still stack against Harvey. The only way to really get the most out of this stack is to be creative. I don’t think you can go without Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, and Brett Gardner, but don’t be afraid to go with Gio Urshela over LeMahieu or to use Austin Romine as part of the stack.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – APRIL 16: Trey Mancini #16 of the Baltimore Orioles rounds third base after Rio Ruiz #14 hit an RBI single off of Tyler Glasnow #20 of the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at Tropicana Field on April 16, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Michael Conforto is the only current Met that has homered against Arrieta. He also has three of the nine RBI. Wilson Ramos is really the only other Met that has hit Arrieta well (4-7).

Brad Keller has been really good this year, but not so good on the road. Tampa’s offense has been one of the most dangerous in the American League, so I wouldn’t use Keller here. I may even throw Austin Meadows or Brandon Lowe at him just in case.

More from FanSided

Well, if you ever going to attack with Orioles bats, it should probably be here. Trey Mancini, Jonathan Villar, and Joey Rickard all hit lefties well, and all but Mancini are cheap.

With this many young pitchers on a slate, it’s very tempting to go after them. Houser was good enough in the minors that I’m not ready to stack on him, but using Matt Carpenter or the hot Marcell Ozuna isn’t the worst idea I’ve heard. Neither is using Kolten Wong if he’s batting leadoff.

The Astros offense is starting to get going. Jake Odorizzi has been solid this year, so I’m not really on a full stack, but Robinson Chirinos, Alex Bregman, and Michael Brantley have all homered off of him before.

This Twins offense isn’t as bad as you make think. Of course, they looked like the 1927 A’s in Baltimore, but so has everyone else. Peacock is going to slow them down, but there are still a couple of places to look here. Max Kepler has the only homer against Peacock.

Honestly, I am more than a little surprised at how bad Happ’s numbers are against the Angels. They aren’t super terrible, but with the Angels struggling against lefties this year, I expected worse. Kole Calhoun is 5-16 with two homers and three RBI against Happ. Mike Trout is the same with no homers and six RBI. Albert Pujols is 10-38(.263) with a homer and seven RBI. There are a couple of different places to go here if you think the Angels finally break out.

The Rangers hit Chris Bassitt hard last year, but Joey Gallo was the only one that hit a homer. This is not a hitter’s park, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to stack this. However, Gallo, Elvis Andrus, and Choo look like good picks.

If you’re feeling froggy, there are a few different spots to try to get at Minor. Mark Canha and Khris Davis have the homers. They are also the only two hitting better than .250 against Minor. I would limit my exposure to them.

Next. MLB DFS value plays April 22. dark

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