Main DraftKings MLB Picks May 1: Is Ryu the safest play?

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) /

Main DraftKings MLB Picks May 1: Is Ryu the safest play?

We have a split slate again today on getaway day for our DraftKings MLB tournaments. Let’s try and break this thing down as best as possible. Both games that were postponed yesterday turns what would have been a three game early slate into a five gamer.

However, DraftKings left the second game of both twin bills out of the main slate, so it takes that from 11 down to nine games. The bad part about that is that the Rays are starting Snellzilla in the second game, so he’s off the slate again. Seattle and the Cubs, whose first pitch is at 6:40 eastern, and told to take a hike and are on their own for showdown mode.

Main DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($10,900): Scherzer has held the Cardinals to a .215 average with four homers and 15 runs in 158 at bats with a healthy 52 strikeouts. You are definitely paying for Scherzer for the strikeout potential. There’s a Cardinal or two that could get to him, but the strikeouts minimize that damage quite a bit. Seeing as how deGrom is in a rough patch, it makes sense to pay the extra $700 for Scherzer tonight. Mad Max has a 2.60 ERA in four home starts, so he has been golden there.

Jacob deGrom ($10,200): deGrom hasn’t looked right since his first two starts of the year, so there is huge risk involved here. He has been especially thumped at home where he has a 12.30 ERA in two starts. The Reds have the power to make deGrom pay if he can’t locate his pitches, but they are also free swinging enough to put deGrom way up the leaderboard. If you take this risk, you could be handsomely rewarded. After all, the Reds are only hitting .226 in 84 at bats against deGrom with two homers and a staggering 34 strikeouts.

Corey Kluber ($9,400): The current Marlins are a pathetic 5-36(.139) against Kluber with no runs and 11 strikeouts. That’s the kind of dominance we look for when choosing a pitcher to spend up on. The strikeouts are also back for Kluber this year. He has racked up 35 punchouts in 31 innings. The good news ends there. The unsightly 5.81 ERA says all we need to know. However if Kluber is going to get back on track, it will start here against the Marlins. After all, he did dominate the Tigers earlier this year.

Middle Tier:

Hyun-Jin Ryu ($9,200): Ryu picked up 22.2 DraftKings points on the Giants in San Francisco earlier this year. There are a lot of struggling aces in the price range, and I see the upside for all of them in GPP formats. However in cash games, Ryu is a great alternative to Scherzer. He’s solid, and he has already shut down the Giants once this year.

Aaron Nola ($9,000): Here we have another slow starting ace that has a bit of a price drop. Nola has looked defense in the last two starts, one of which was at Coors Field. Is Nola finally coming around? It may not matter. The Tigers’ offense is really weak no matter how you look at it. Not only that, but they are down a hitter in the NL Park. I expect at least a sneak peek at the vintage Nola dominance tonight.

Marcus Stroman ($8,800): If you only look at past stats, Stroman is a bust tonight. However, he has a brilliant 1.43 ERA in six starts this year even if his offense hasn’t been scoring for him. Stroman has been nothing short of dominant, and there is very little to be scared of in the Angels lineup. I see a lot of upside with this play.

Caleb Smith ($8,600): It’s a tall task tonight for Smith against Cleveland, but I’m all over this. Cleveland is only hitting .223 against lefties this year with just four homers in 242 at bats. On top of that, Smith has dominated at every turn this year. He is 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 29 innings over six starts. Smith’s ERA gets even better at home (1.59). Avoid this if you want, but I see far more upside for Smith than Kluber.

Bargain Pitchers:

Daniel Norris ($7,500): This is a tough sell especially when you consider that Norris has only broken double digit DraftKings points in one of his five starts. Norris started slow with the strikeouts, but the punchouts have come more frequently lately. The thing that has me considering this is Philly’s struggles against lefties. It doesn’t make a lot of sense really, so it could change at any time. This is a purely speculative GPP dart that will either pay off nicely or M-80 your lineup. I don’t see an in between.

Chase Anderson ($6,900): Anderson has had two home starts this year. He dominated the Dodgers and Cubs in those games. The Rockies offense isn’t nearly as intimidating away from Coors. Anderson has not given up more than two runs in an outing this year. I see him as one of the more solid bargains on the board tonight.

Antonio Senzatela ($6,700): Like Marquez, who dominated the Brewers last night, Senzatela is given a bad rap because of average or worse numbers. That comes with the territory of calling Coors Field home. Senzatela has a 2.92 ERA on the road this year, and his career road ERA is almost two runs lower than at Coors. There is risk here with the left handed power that Milwaukee has, but it’s been dormant lately. There is solid potential here.

My picks: Scherzer, Smith, Dodgers stack; Ryu, Stroman, Braves stack

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 25: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves watches his two run home run in the eighth inning against the New York Mets on September 25,2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

Washington Nationals vs. Miles Mikolas:

The wheels started to come off of Mikolas in the second half last year. What we have seen so far this year is a culmination of the wheels coming all the way off. Mikolas has a dreadful 6.60 road ERA, so to say that he’s in trouble is quite the understatement. He allows way to much contact to really have success against a team like Washington. Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon look like elite plays. If you want to go beyond that, lefties are the way to go since Mikolas struggles against them. That means Matt Adams, Adam Eaton, and Wilmer Difo are the next up. The best part is that Adams and Difo are very affordable.

Atlanta Braves vs. Cal Quantrill:

Quantrill will make his major league debut in a very unfavorable place for a right handed pitcher, especially one with aa 4.47 career ERA in the minors. After a horrid first start at AAA El Paso, Quantrill has kept his ERA under 3 since. He’s not going to do that against the Braves. Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, and Acuna are the elite plays with Dansby Swanson and Nick Markakis just behind.

Houston Astros vs. Martin Perez:

Houston is hitting .283 with three homers and 22 runs in 145 at bats against Perez. George Springer is 6-21(.286) with two homers and five runs. Altuve and Correa have driven in four each. Yuli Gurriel is 4-7 but has no counting stats. Every Astros righty is worth considering tonight.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Madison Bumgarner:

Sure, MadBum was an ace when he faced the Dodgers many times. Which is what makes these numbers all the more impressive. The Dodgers are hitting .297 with 12 homers and 27 runs in only 202 at bats. Kike Hernandez is a lock tonight. He is 21-42 with four homers and nine RBI off of MadBum. Justin Turner has also slugged four homers against Bumgarner. Davd Freese, Joc Pederson, Bellinger, and Austin Barnes have the other homers. There are so many ways to attack this. The only one you really have to avoid is Chris Taylor, who is just 1-16 against MadBum.

MONTERREY, MEXICO – APRIL 14: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals, is seen in the field prior the second game of the Mexico Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey on April 14, 2019 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Anthony DeSclafani has turned in two strong outings in a row. All that earns him is me not stacking against him tonight. The price is tempting, but the ballpark and opponent are not. Lefties have torched DeSclafani in his career, so if you’re going after him, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are the top choices. Jeff McNeil is awfully tempting if he’s still leading off as well, along with Cano in the two hole.

More from FanSided

I will tell you that I have never really targeted deGrom before, and I’m still nervous as hell about attempting it here. However, if he’s still off, there’s a lot to like about the Reds. Yasiel Puig has both homers against deGrom even though he is just 3-17 lifetime. Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez have hit deGrom well enough, just not hard. However, they are really, really cheap.

Marcell Ozuna is 7-30(.233) against Scherzer, but he does have two homers and four RBI. If you want a one-off shot at chalky Scherzer, this is it. I wouldn’t touch anyone else in this lineup.

Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura look like the ways to go after Daniel Norris tonight. Norris has pitched well enough and Philly has struggled enough against lefties that I don’t want a lot of exposure, but one or two righty power bats make sense.

Cleveland’s struggled against lefties have me wanting to leave this whole thing alone, but Smith likely wont go more than six innings. Three innings against this bullpen is enough for me to hedge my bets with Jose Ramirez and maybe Lindor.

If you’ve read me at all over the last couple of years, you’ll know that I’m a fan of Max Fried. However, I can’t justify using him tonight. The Padres are hitting a homer every 15 at bats against lefties this year. San Diego’s OPS against lefties is .746 on the season, and that includes a pitcher’s spot! This team hammers lefties. We are better off taking a shot with Wil Myers, Machado, and the hot Franmil Reyes.

There is reason not to be all in on Senzatela. The 1.36 WHIP is a little troubling. Jesus Aguilar is one of my favorites tonight since he has homered in two straight games, and Senzatela has some huge reverse splits, especially in power numbers. Ryan Braun is worth a look too.

The Rockies have destroyed Chase Anderson, but most of that damage was done at Coors Field. Still, Nolan Arenado‘s four homers and ten RBI aren’t a fluke no matter where he’s playing.

I could see a case for going after the Twins with Collin McHugh, but their numbers against him are pretty good. Nelson Cruz has slugged two homers off of McHugh in 26 at bats. Jonathan Schoop is 4-11 with a homer and four RBI. C.J. Cron has taken him deep as well.

Buster Posey is hitting .306 with a homer and three RBI off of Ryu. Only Yangervis Solarte and Brandon Crawford are hitting better than .250 off of Ryu. All three of them provide good salary relief as one off plays.

Mike Trout is 6-13 against Marcus Stroman so far, but he only has a steal and a RBI to show for it. Albert Pujols is 5-10 with a pair or RBI if you’re feeling froggy.

I kind of feel the same way about the Blue Jays offense as I did last night. This is a good spot against Felix Pena, I just don’t see much in this lineup to get excited about. I do think that Vlad Jr. gets his first major league homer in this series though, so you can throw him out there.

Next. Top MLB DFS value plays Main slate May 1. dark

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