DraftKings MLB Picks May 3: Will Sale dominate his former team?

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 22: Mike Minor #36 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the first inning against the at Globe Life Park in Arlington on September 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks May 3: Will Sale dominate his former team?

The Angels and Astros are off, and the Cubs and Cards play a matinee in Wrigley. That leaves 13 games for our main DraftKings MLB slate. There are a lot of cheap pitching options if you’re brave. We also have a few aces that aren’t priced as highly as usual. Where can we take advantage?

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

James Paxton ($10,300): The Twins are only hitting .209 in 91 at bats against Paxton with three homers, six runs, and 26 strikeouts. Remember how Paxton struggled at home after the Yankees picked him up last year? That is no more. Paxton has a 0.46 ERA and 0.61 WHIP in three home starts this year. Paxton looks poised to dominate if you choose to pay up.

Clayton Kershaw ($10,100): The Padres are only hitting .195 with two homers and five runs in 87 at bats with 23 strikeouts against Kershaw. Those are the kind of dominant BvP numbers you look for when paying for an ace. Kershaw also has a 1.61 ERA in 14 career starts at Petco Park. I see no reason not to pay for him here, except for the little revenge factor of Sale on the South Side.

Chris Sale ($9,900): Sale has put up more than 23 DraftKings points in back to back games. 18 of his 32 strikeouts this year have come in that span, so I think he’s getting to the point where he’s safe to use. Sale is still giving up some runs, but not at an alarming rate with no strikeouts like he was early on. Add to that the fact that he’s returning to Chicago, and Sale becomes an elite play. Things did not end well between Sale and the White Sox, so you can be he’s going to be locked in for this one. His former mates are hitting just .161 in 62 at bats with three runs, one extra base hit (a McCann double) and 21 strikeouts. LOCK AND LOAD!

Tyler Glasnow ($9,600): The Orioles are only hitting .222 against Glasnow with just two runs and 11 strikeouts in 36 at bats. This offense hasn’t been as bad as you would expect against righties with all of these right handed hitters in the lineup, but they still aren’t that good. For those of you looking for an edge, Glasnow has actually been better against lefties so far, but that’s just fueling the dominance. He’s still good against righties. I want no part of the Orioles tonight.

Middle Tier:

Sonny Gray ($8,200): The Giants have been awful offensively no matter who is on the mound, but they have exhibited an astonishing lack of power not seen since 1968. Add their lack of power to a ground ball pitcher, and I don’t care if you’re playing in an American Legion Park. Not much is flying out of here. Gray has actually notched the strikeouts up a little this year. I expect a strong start out of Gray. Some will shy away because of the price, but I wont.

Shane Bieber ($8,000): Bieber has only faced the Mariners once, and he dominated them. Bieber allowed four hits and one run while striking out five in six innings en route to 21.3 DraftKings points. That’s a really good return for Bieber’s price point tonight. The thing to watch here is Bieber’s struggles at Progressive Field. He has a 6.12 ERA in 11 career home starts.

Joe Musgrove ($7,200): How is Musgrove this cheap? I understand that the A’s are a good and patient offense, but Musgrove has a 1.54 ERA and 31 strikeouts in five starts. This is definitely a pitcher’s night in Pittsburgh. I see a lot of upside with Musgrove, as I would be pretty surprised if anyone hit a ball out in Pittsburgh tonight. It’s going to be really hard for me to move off of Musgrove as my SP2.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jorge Lopez ($6,500): Lopez was tagged by the Tigers last year, but he only gave up one earned run in six innings in Detroit back on April 6th. Lopez picked up 12.7 DraftKings points in that one. That’s not a total to get really excited about, but it’s a solid return for the price. I see Lopez as a pretty solid value pick, especially since that was his lowest strikeout total of the season. He should pick up a few more tonight.

Tyler Beede ($6,100): Beede has put up an impressive 1.99 ERA in five AAA starts. Now he gets a Reds team that is really struggling with right handed pitchers. With the kind of power the Reds have, there is some risk involved here. That said, most of it is from the right side. Beede was awful across every level last year, but he seems to have it figured out, at least for now. He’s definitely worth a dart throw against the Reds.

Brett Anderson ($5,800): Anderson is fresh off of getting destroyed by the Blue Jays, so if he wasn’t risky enough in the first place, we now have that to contend with. However, it’s going to be cold with light rain most of the night in Pittsburgh, which is decidedly a pitcher’s advantage so long as it doesn’t rain too hard. Keep an eye on the weather for this, but a damp ball is a deadened ball. Against a light hitting offense anyway, Anderson could put up decent numbers. He’s still not going to strike anyone out though.

My picks: Sale, Musgrove; Sale, Lopez; Musgrove, Lopez; Sale, Paxton

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 06: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits a home run off of Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners in the first inning at Safeco Field on July 6, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Dan Straily/bullpen:

Dan Straily has been money on the road, but has been clobbered at home. The only thing that has me questioning this Rays stack is Straily’s good career numbers against them. However, the Rays should still get at least four innings of that Baltimore bullpen. That alone makes them worth using. Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and Tommy Pham are my favorites, but Adames and Kiermaier are heating up. So is Avi Garcia. I’m not sure there’s a bad choice to be made with this offense.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Jeremy Hellickson:

Philly is hitting .272 with two homers and 15 runs in 103 at bats against Hellickson. The cold Bryce Harper has both homers, but there is plenty to be had elsewhere in this lineup. Realmuto has four RBI so far. McCutchen, Maikel Franco, and Cesar Hernandez are all hitting .333 or better. Hoskins is really the only Phillie that has struggled against Hellickson so far. He is 0-6, but that could change tonight.

Atlanta Braves vs. Jose Urena:

The Braves are hitting .292 with five homers and 23 runs in only 120 at bats against Urena. Freddie Freeman has done a lot of the damage, going 8-20 with two homers, seven runs, and five RBI. Tyler Flowers, Ender Inciarte, and Dansby Swanson have the other homers. Nick Markakis is 7-22(.318) with six RBI. The only Brave that has struggled against Urena is Ronald Acuna, so I think you can safely omit him from the stack.

Boston Red Sox vs. Reynaldo Lopez:

Lopez has allowed just three earned runs (and three unearned) over his last three starts, but those were against Kansas City, Detroit, and Detroit. They can make your numbers look better than they actually are. I don’t believe that Lopez is as bad as he looked early in the year, but this is not a good spot for him. Righties are hitting .262 against Lopez in his career to just .235 for lefties. This lineup is loaded with right handed power. Mookie, J.D., and Chavis look really good. Mitch Moreland is on fire right now, and Rafael Devers has looked good against Lopez so far. Lopez does have a ton of upside though, so I usually don’t stack against him. I may have to make an exception here.

Colorado Rockies vs. Robbie Ray:

It may surprise you to learn that Ray’s ERA at Coors is actually better than his ERA at Chase Field. That doesn’t mean it’s good, however. The Rockies are hitting .361 with 11 homers and 29 runs in just 122 at bats against Ray. They are clobbering him everywhere. Charlie Blackmon is 17-36(.472) with four homers, 12 runs, three steals, and 11 RBI. Lock in Blackmon. Ian Desmond is 5-11 with a homer. Nolan Arenado is 11-31(.355) with three homers and nine RBI. Trevor Story is 5-17 with a pair of homers. The only one I would hesitate to play in this lineup is Mark Reynolds since he is just 2-12 against Ray. Everyone else is fair game.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Tyler Anderson:

Anderson has not given up less than five runs in any of his four starts. He has a staggering 14.14 ERA in two Coors starts. Don’t shy away from this side of the game. Right handers are destroying Anderson, so Adam Jones, Nick Ahmed, and Christian Walker are my favorite targets here. Anderson does have good career numbers at Coors, but something isn’t right with him right now. Stacking against him until he gets right is a good way to make some money.

MIAMI, FL – MAY 01: Jorge Alfaro #38 of the Miami Marlins celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Marlins Park on May 1, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Kyle Gibson is painfully average in every sense of the word. However, that also means that he’s not usually worth stacking against. This is no exception. Gary Sanchez is the only healthy Yankee that has homered off of him. Brett Gardner is 5-13 with four runs scored, but no other counting stats. I would probably limit my exposure to those two. This is just not an explosive offense right now.

More from FanSided

C.J. Cron could be the one off we are all looking for. Cron has homered twice in 17 at bats against James Paxton. The hot Max Kepler has also homered off of him if you are looking to buck trends.

Jerad Eickhoff still hasn’t given up a run at home in two starts this year, but I think that changes against the Nationals. I expect a solid start out of him, and can definitely see using him, but the lefties in that offense make me nervous. Adam Eaton is 5-9 with a homer against Eickhoff. Matt Adams and Juan Soto look pretty good too.

I’m not saying that Matt Boyd isn’t worth the money, but I am skeptical. A few Royals have hit him really hard in the past, most notably Hunter Dozier (who is leading the A.L. in OPS, by the way) and Whit Merrifield. Dozier is 3-6 with two doubles and two RBI Merrifield is 12-25(.480) with seven runs, five steals, and four RBI. Mondesi has the only homer against Boyd though.

Yusei Kikuchi has been nothing special so far in the majors, but Cleveland has struggled against lefties. Still, they picked up three runs on Kikuchi the first time around. Nothing really stands out on either side though. On a full slate, there’s no reason to reach for any Cleveland players, though Jose Ramirez did hit a solo homer off of him.

Yes, Shane Bieber dominated the Mariners about two weeks ago. He has also been bombed at home. This is a spot to leverage Bieber ownership with lefties Dan Vogelbach and Jay Bruce. Omar Narvaez is tempting too.

I can’t bring myself to stack Marlins still, but I will have some exposure here. They are hitting .333 with four homers and 12 runs in only 75 at bats against Kevin Gausman. Granderson has two of the homers. Jorge Alfaro and Starling Castro have the others. At least two of those three will be in my lineup.

I kind of think a Reds stack could be popular, and I get why. That makes me want to avoid it more. This offense is just not very good right now. I may take a one off shot with Joey Votto or Jesse Winker, but I’m not sure anyone else in this lineup is worth the trouble.

Targeting Steven Matz for a couple of one-off homers is a good idea. Moose, Ryan Braun, and Hernan Perez have already tagged him. Jesus Aguilar shouldn’t be far behind.

Brandon Woodruff looked pretty good against the Mets earlier this year, but look a little closer. He may have been more lucky than good. The Mets had six hits and a walk in five innings. Woodruff was fortunate to get out of that allowing only one run. Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo both had two hits. It seems only a matter of time until someone gets a hold of one.

Franmil Reyes and Eric Hosmer have the homers against Kershaw. Only Manny Margot is hitting better than .200 among the rest of the team though.

I’m done stacking Dodgers, but Eric Lauer is a place for you do take a shot if you like. It’s a lefty, so of course Kike Hernandez has a homer. However, it is Hernandez’s only hit in ten tries. Max Muncy is the only other Dodger that has taken him deep so far. Honestly, only Cody Bellinger and Muncy have hit Lauer well. That’s enough to keep me out of a stack, and if I’m paying Bellinger type money tonight, it’s going to be for Blackmon. I’m not alone, so that could keep Bellinger’s ownership down.

Next. DraftKings Love, Like, and Leave MLB picks May 3. dark

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