Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 8: Chase the K's with Ray

OAKLAND, CA – MAY 07: Mike Fiers #50 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates after pitching a no hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at the Oakland Coliseum on May 7, 2019 in Oakland, California. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Cincinnati Reds 2-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 8: Chase the K’s with Ray

Once again, the DraftKings MLB slates are thoroughly chopped up for today. The four early games are the early tournament. The strange start time in San Diego relegates that game to its own showdown tournament. Then there is the two game turbo for the Indians and Yankees once again since they are starting an hour earlier than everyone else. This piece will concentrate on all of that mess.

DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Charlie Morton ($10,100): Is Morton worth the money? That’s the big question here. The past stats for Morton against Arizona aren’t great. However, Morton has bordered on great this year. He has been much better on the road than at home, so I’m not sure how I feel about this. Arizona is better against lefties than righties, so I do see the upside here.

Middle Tier:

Jack Flaherty ($9,500): Don’t like the price on Flaherty? You aren’t alone. Why am I still considering him? The short slate helps, but Flaherty has also dominates at home. Flaherty has a 1.88 ERA in four homer starts, and a 3.00 career ERA in 19 starts at Busch Stadium. That’s over a run and a half lower than his road mark. So yeah, the Phillies are a little dangerous. Flaherty pitched pretty well against them last year. I still think Ray has the higher strikeout upside, but Flaherty’s splits could keep him at the top of the list.

Robbie Ray ($9,100): I don’t really like using pitchers against the Rays, especially at home, but there just aren’t a lot of options on a small slate like this. Ray has by far the most strikeout upside on the slate, so even if he does give up a few runs, he should bail you out with a solid score. I doubt the Rays punish him, but they aren’t getting shut out either. It’s up to you to decide if the strikeouts are worth it.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jerad Eickhoff ($8,600): Eickhoff’s only semi-tough start came at Coors. In the other three starts, he has given up one run combined. I don’t know if he can dominate in St. Louis, but I certainly expect a strong outing from Eickhoff here. He hasn’t struck out less than six in any of his four starts, and one of those only lasted four innings. I wouldn’t shy away just because he’s playing the Cardinals. Eickhoff is still a pretty strong option.

Brandon Woodruff ($7,700): I’m not all that crazy about Woodruff, but he is the cheapest pitcher that I would even consider today. Woodruff has only allowed one run in each of his last two starts after a horrid start to the season. That’s the best endorsement I can give to anyone in this tier. I can see the upside. Washington is less potent with Soto, Matt Adams, and Trae Turner out of the lineup. Woodruff hasn’t been great at home, but he’s good enough if you need salary relief.

My picks: Ray, Eickhoff

PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 07: Gregory Polanco #25 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates his two run home run with Starling Marte #6 during the fifth inning agains the Texas Rangers at PNC Park on May 7, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Notes

If you’re looking for the stack bait, it’s Shelby Miller. Miller only lasted 3.1 innings against this same Pirates team in Texas. While the park may stymie some of the right handed power, Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, and Gregory Polanco all pack a punch from the left side. You can go all out with lefties and put Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds out there too, but Miller has been terrible against righties too. Starling Marte is a good play as well.

It isn’t looking good for Nick Kingham on the other side of this either. He has a 6.40 ERA out of the bullpen, and lefties have demolished him. A full on lefty stack of PNC Park is definitely going to be one of my lineup builds. I like Gallo and Rougned Odor the most for the Rangers, but there is nothing wrong with Choo or Profar either.

Like I said before, Ray isn’t getting out of this unscathed, but it could be difficult to figure out just who is going to get to him. Tommy Pham is a good bet. Avi Garcia is solid too. I don’t really want to go hard after this either.

I don’t really want to go after Charlie Morton either. There are better places to attack tonight is my general feeling. Arizona’s lefties or switch hitters are expensive. The only one that feels like he may be worth it is David Peralta, but even then, I think we can do better for $4,500.

There isn’t one pitcher in the lower tier that I am even entertaining using today. That’s how bad it is. The Brewers are hitting .271 with three homers and 16 runs in 118 at bats with just 21 strikeouts. Grandal, Ryan Braun, and Yelich have the homers, but that shouldn’t be the limit of your scope of interest. Lorenzo Cain has hit Hellickson well too, and so has the cheap Orlando Arcia. Travis Shaw is worth a look on the cheap too.

Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon are both solid plays against Woodruff, but I’m not sure how many pitches they’re going to see that are actually hittable. This lineup is pretty barren around them. However, Brian Dozier is the only current National to homer against Woodruff so far.

The Cardinals have lit into three homers off of Eickhoff in 39 at bats, but they only have four runs. Goldy Marcell Ozuna, and Dexter Fowler have the homers. I could probably get on board with a Matt Carpenter play here as well, but I’m not going after this too heavily.

Rhys Hoskins has the homer against Flaherty. Bryce Harper is also a career .300 hitter with five homers and 13 RBI in 70 Busch Stadium at bats.

DraftKings MLB Late Notes:

For the showdown, it feels pretty simple: Target the bats. Wilmer Font is going to go about 75 pitches for the Mets, but he had a 5.79 ERA with the Rays. What’s to like? Matt Strahm will go for the Padres. He has been better at home, but I’m still not sure I want to pay the price for him here.

Hunter Renfroe, Hosmer, and Manny Machado would be my favorite hitter targets here. Drew Gagnon or Robert Gsellman will probably take over for Font once he hits his pitch limit, so some Mets bullpen arms have some value to try and cram some bats in there.

My favorite Mets bat is by far Pete Alonso, to the point where I would consider using him as the captain. It’s either him or Machado for me.

More from FanSided

As for the “turbo” slate, we have the same player pool as the last two night. I missed the cash on Monday, but made minimum cash last night thanks to sticking on Giolito and Rodriguez and getting a couple of homers. No small feat for a slate which was very low on scoring.

Yusei Kikuchi dominated Cleveland in his last start, but I don’t know that I’m ready to throw him out there at Yankee Stadium yet. The consensus top arm is Shane Bieber. That seems fair, and so does the price. I do like Loaisiga, but he has not gone more than four innings yet. That really limits his upside, but this Seattle offense is the worst on this slate.

That would leave Reynaldo Lopez, and that’s a scary thought. Never mind the 6.69 ERA on the season, Cleveland has hit him pretty well in two games against him. The only lock here is Bieber. Who we choose as the second arm could decide this slate. Do we go with the unknown but talented Kikuchi or Loaisiga, who probably wont go more than four innings? Kikuchi doesn’t look so bad after all.

Jose Ramirez is the only guy that has a homer against today’s starting pitchers, so we are kind of flying blind. Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, and Miguel Andujar all hit lefties well, so I can understand going after Kikuchi. However, Clint Frazier may be the top play of the slate behind Ramirez.

The problem with that is that you have to either use Kikuchi, who you would essentially be stacking against, or use Reynaldo Lopez. Unless you can find big bargains elsewhere. You may be in luck!

You can use whoever catches for Cleveland for value and forego Sanchez or Omar Narvaez, but I don’t know if I want to go that route either. Jason Kipnis is still super cheap, and Yonder Alonso looks cheap as well. Thairo Estrada is off to a good start in his career, and he’s still very cheap.

Moving into the outfield, Leonys Martin and Carlos Gonzalez both catch my eye for their price. I see no reason to go below that unless you use Estrada in the outfield.

Next. MLB and NBA Betting Picks May 8. dark

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