DraftKings MLB Picks April 30: Is Castillo for real yo?

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 07: Blake Snell #4 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the New York Mets during their game at Citi Field on July 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks April 30: Is Castillo for real yo?

We have a 15 game monster for our DraftKings MLB tournaments tonight. Weather took out one game of the first 15 game slate of the year, so we still haven’t had a full 15 gamer yet. Will tonight be that?

There are a lot of aces going, so who is worth paying up for? Where can we find the bargains to make this happen? This is one of those nights where we are going to have to get creative and hopefully find a few BvP gems on the cheap side.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Trevor Bauer ($10,900): Bauer has been dominant this year, going 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 40.2 innings over six starts. The Marlins lack power and aren’t a particularly patient team. There is really good upside here. I don’t like Castillo’s matchup, so this may be the time to find that extra $700 for Bauer. I think they both have good games, but Bauer stands out more because of the opponent.

Luis Castillo ($10,100): This is a tough one seeing Castillo at five figures, but you can’t say he hasn’t earned it. Castillo has been brilliant with a 1.23 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 43 strikeouts over 36.2 innings in his six starts. The Mets are a solid offense, but this is a day where I’m avoiding all of them. If you have watched Castillo this year, you wouldn’t play anyone against him right now either. He is filthy! The Mets are just 3-14 against him in a small sample size with no runs. All hits are singles. That should be the theme for the night.

Zack Greinke ($9,700): Greinke hasn’t allowed a run in his last two start, spanning 13 innings. Actually, he has only one bad start on the season, in the opener against the Dodgers. Other than that, Greinke has been really good. Add to that the fact that he is facing a watered down Yankees lineup in Chase Field, a place where Greinke is 32-12 with a 3.28 ERA in 60 career starts, and you have the makings of a sleeper ace tonight.

German Marquez ($9,700): People are going to look at the Brewers’ past stats against Marquez and walk away. Why wouldn’t you with all of the other good options out there? Because most of that damage was done at Coors Field. Marquez pitched well in his one start at Miller Park. He has also dominated on the road this year, posting a 0.41 ERA and 0.55 WHIP, not to mention a .055 average against, in three road starts. Good luck Brewers. You’re going to need it, especially if Yelich is out again.

Middle Tier:

Chris Paddack ($9,000): Paddack has been nothing short of brilliant to start his career, posting a 1.67 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts in 27 innings. That’s the thing though. 27 innings in five starts. The Padres aren’t letting him go deep into games no matter how efficient he is with pitches. That limits the upside. Those stats are also due for some sort of regression, and it could happen in SunTrust Park. Lefties have hit both the homers Paddack has given up in his career. I expect another strong game from Paddack, but maybe not up to the level of dominance he has displayed so far. That said, he is still a good play for this price.

Vince Velasquez ($8,700): The Tigers offense is starting to come around a little, but Velasquez is off to the kind of breakout season that we have been expecting from him. Velasquez has a 1.99 ERA in four starts while striking out 22 batters in 22.2 innings pitched. The Tigers aren’t heavy on power and aren’t scared of swinging and missing. Velasquez has good upside here, but keep in mind that he has only finished six innings once in those four starts. That limits his upside.

Julio Teheran ($8,000): I realize that Teheran doesn’t like his new home park. It hasn’t been very nice to him. That’s because lefties hit him well. The saving grace here is that the Padres really only have one lefty that he has to worry about. There’s a ton of right handed power on this team, but Teheran is solid enough against righties. Here we have a guy whose metrics don’t look good, but with only one bat that Teheran really has to worry about, he could be in for a really good night, relatively speaking.

Bargain Pitchers:

Drew Pomeranz ($7,900): Pomeranz gave up two solo homers in his first start against the Dodgers this year, coming up with 15.1 DraftKings points. That’s a decent return on the price. The Dodgers are hitting just .180 with three homers, but only four runs in 61 at bats against Pomeranz. The only issue I see here is the lack of strikeouts. If the Dodgers get to him, Pomeranz doesn’t have any way to mitigate the damage.

Griffin Canning ($7,800): The 23 year old Canning will make his major league debut after dominating the PCL so far. Canning had a 0.56 ERA in three starts for AAA Salt Lake City. Canning has strong minor league numbers after rocketing through the Angels system last year. Canning is the Angels’ number two prospect, and should turn in a strong debut against the Blue Jays.

Jordan Lyles ($7,400): Lyles wasn’t all that great against Arizona in his last start, so it’s okay to be nervous. However, there isn’t much in the bargain tier and whenever you can get a guy with a 2.05 ERA at this price, he deserves a look. Lyles dominated in his only road start this year in Wrigley. The bad news is that there is hitting weather in Texas despite the wind blowing in. Lyles gave up two gopher balls to an Arizona team that isn’t great at hitting them. There is risk involved here.

Felix Hernandez ($6,800): The King is cheap and the Cubs are only 8-54(.148) against him lifetime with one run and 20 strikeouts. Those are dominant numbers. We know that Felix doesn’t have that kind of stuff anymore, but Felix still boasts a 3.18 ERA at home this year. There is risk using him against the Cubs, but Felix’s upside is near 20 DraftKings points. He is probably worth the risk.

My picks: Castillo, Greinke, Pirates stack; Marquez, Hernandez, Red Sox stack

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 23: Michael Chavis #23 of the Boston Red Sox hits his first career home-run in the eighth inning during the second game of a double header against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on April 23, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Tyson Ross:

Lefties hit Ross well (.263 average). Righties hit him hard (38 HR to 32 for lefties in 17 more at bats). That means we can use both Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper and feel good about it. Not like we wouldn’t anyway. Jean Segura is 6-14 with two homers and six RBI against Ross. If he’s in the lineup, play him! McCutchen also has a homer despite just being 3-16 lifetime against Ross. Realmuto and Cesar Hernandez have also hit Ross well.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Jason Vargas:

This is actually a nightmare matchup for Vargas. Righties hit him hard. Actually, lefties do too. The Reds are 9-24 (.375) lifetime with five RBI so far. I’m betting we get a homer in there tonight. Eugenio Suarez is 4-7 with four RBI. Tucker Barnhart, Puig, and Jose Peraza all look good here. You can even punt with Matt Kemp if you want. He has to show signs of life sometime, right? This would seem to be the place.

Boston Red Sox vs. Aaron Brooks:

Every single Red Sox hitter is on my radar tonight. Everyone in a Red Sox uniform with a bat in their hand. Even the bat boy if DraftKings puts him on there. Righties are hitting .337 against Brooks with eight homers in his career so far. Lefties are hitting .288 with eight homers. He has given up 112 hits in 357 at bats. That’s not many outs. Mookie and J.D. headline this. You can mix and match whichever Sox hitters fit your budget. Chavis is a great way to save some money. You can go back to the Jackie Bradley Jr. well again, but it hasn’t yielded anything yet.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. CC Sabathia:

CC is going to get the strikeouts he needs for 3,000, but that’s going to be the highlight of his night. The current Diamondbacks are hitting .288 with six homers and 21 runs in only 139 at bats. Adam Jones has destroyed CC from his days in the AL East. Jones is 26-90(.289) with five homers, two steals, and 14 RBI. Wilmer Flores is 3-5 with a homer against CC so far. The hot Eduardo Escobar is worth a look as well. Ketel Marte and former Yankee John Ryan Murphy look like good places to finish this off.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Clay Buchholz:

After a strong first start, Buchholz has been knocked around lately. Most recently by a Giants team that can barely grab a bat with both hands. The Angels aren’t a great offense either, but they do hit righties much better than lefties and are hitting .253 with four homers and 12 runs in 75 at bats against Buchholz. Pujols and Mike Trout have each homered twice against Buchholz and driven in 10 of the 12 runs. Kole Calhoun is just 1-12 against Buchholz lifetime, so we are probably better off summoning Tommy LaStella, Justin Bour, and Andrelton Simmons.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Adrian Sampson:

With Chicago most likely rained out, this is the only free space left. Sampson has been bludgeoned at home, and the Pirates get an extra bat here. You can attack with youngsters Cole Tucker and Bryan Reynolds. The surging Melky Cabrera is still cheap. Pair that with the expensive options of Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell and you have a stack that allows you to afford two really good pitchers. That alone makes this worth using in at least one line.

FanDuel MLB: PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 07: Adam Jones #10 of the Arizona Diamondbacks warms up on deck during the first inning of the MLB game against the Boston Red Sox at Chase Field on April 07, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

It seems like an unnecessary risk to play Wainwright tonight. He has fared well against the Nationals, but Waino hasn’t pitched that well on the road. Again. It’s a thing now. I want former Cardinal Matt Adams for sure. Juan Soto and Adam Eaton are tempting as well.

More from FanSided

Anibal Sanchez is not a good pitcher, but he has had longevity because he realizes that he’s not a good pitcher. Sanchez has become sort of a Houdini on the mound. A befuddling escape artist that manages to maintain decent numbers despite a high WHIP. The Cardinals are hitting .292 with four homers and ten runs in only 72 at bats, but he gets out of trouble. I’m staying off a full stack and concentrating on the main Cardinals pieces that have made his life miserable. That would be Paul DeJong and Matt Wieters. If Wieters doesn’t start, Yadi has done a number on him as well.

Miggy has only faced Vince Velasquez twice. He homered off of him both times.

Rick Porcello is righting the ship, but I’m still not throwing him out there against the A’s. Kendrys Morales is only 9-41(.220), but he has two homers and seven RBI. Robbie Grossman has homered off of him as well. The A’s are patient and are good hitters. Porcello may have a solid outing, but there are better options, even for the price.

Sandy Alcantara pitched well against the Indians the first time around, but that was when they were without Lindor and Kipnis. Jose Ramirez homered off of him in that game, so I can see taking a shot with him against since he is affordable. Aside from Lindor though, I’m not sure I want a lot more exposure to this.

I’m not a big fan of Braves against Paddack, but that lineup will get four innings of the Padre bullpen. Freeman and Ozzie Albies look like the best plays to me.

Eric Hosmer is about the only Padres bat I’m interested in tonight. Maybe a little Wil Myers. Myers is only 3-13 against Julio Teheran, but two of those hits are home runs.

Jhoulys Chacin has been decent enough against his former team that I’m not really interested in Rockies hitters for their price points. Story, Arenado, and Daniel Murphy have the homers against Chacin, and all of them are $4,800 or more. With all of the great pitching around, I think we’re better off chasing pitchers and finding the value bats that could put up big numbers. There aren’t any of those in this game.

Hunter Pence is heating up, and he is also the only current Ranger to hit a homer against Jordan Lyles. Choo and Elvis Andrus have had some success against Lyles in the past as well, but I don’t want a lot of exposure here. Lyles is pitching very well so far.

DJ LeMahieu and his good career numbers against Greinke is about the only Yankee on my radar tonight. This looks like a dominant start in the making for Greinke.

I expect a good start from Walker Buehler here. Good enough that the only Giant I might throw out there is Brandon Belt. However, he doesn’t stand out as a pitcher to use on this slate because of the overabundance of aces and his inflated price. Buehler’s 4.50 career ERA at AT&T Park just reiterates the fact that he isn’t worth this price.

Alex Verdugo, Russell Martin, and Chris Taylor have all homered against Pomeranz in his career. Lefty killer Kike Hernandez is 2-7 with a pair of RBI, and his price is down to a manageable level.

You could try and play whack a mole with the Blue Jays against a guy making his major league debut. There are enough good hitters to have a puncher’s chance. Thunder Dan is going to run Canning’s ownership up over 20% by himself, so a Jays mini stack could leverage that. Unless it fails. Then we donate.

The Mariners hit lefties well, and Cole Hamels is no exception. Mitch Haniger is 4-8 with two homers and five RBI against Hamels already. Ryon Healy is 5-11, but only has one RBI. Jay Bruce has two homers against Hamels, but is just 7-34(.209) lifetime. Edwin has the other homer, but he is just 5-21(.238).

All three homers given up by King Felix this year have been by righties, so it looks as though Kris Bryant and Javy Baez are the Cubs to go after him with. You can get salary relief with Albert Almora and Ben Zobrist instead, but I’m not sure I want to stack here.

dark. Next. MLB DFS Stack Options April 30

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