Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 22: Bank on Castillo

Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 22: Bank on Castillo

We kick off DraftKings MLB with a four game early slate. This isn’t just an empty four game slate though. There are some good pitchers on here and a couple of places to get some good bats in. This is one of the better short slates we have had so far, so let’s jump right in!

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Rain wont affect the early games at all, but there is plenty of rain to go around. We have a nice 14 mph wind out to left in Cleveland, which makes me marginally less excited about one pitcher. If the roof is open in Milwaukee, we have a 14 mph wind in from right. That could hurt the Milwaukee lefties and makes the best pitcher on this slate even better.

The rain is gone from St. Louis, but the wind remains. Today, the wind will be blowing out to left at 15 mph, which is not a good thing for the pitchers in this game. It’s the exact opposite in Arlington with a brisk 18 mph wind in from right field. However, it’s still going to be humid, so the ball may still fly pretty well.

Last night was a mess. If you didn’t have Yankees with Verlander, you weren’t cashing. I had all of the above, but none were in the same lineup. All lineups hit triple digits, but even 130 didn’t cash.

These tips are based mostly on past performance. This is a nice tool for building a lineup, but should not be the only pieces of information you use. We have plenty of writers on here who give you relevant information no matter which site you play on, and we all attack the slate from different angles.

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DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Luis Castillo ($11,100): Castillo already dominated this Milwaukee team once this year, racking up 28.2 DraftKings points despite not earning the win. That just underlines how well Castillo has pitched this year given that his only loss was in a game in which he put up one of the better scores of his season. He is easily the ace on the early slate, which means it provides an interesting way to approach the hitters if you are willing to fade Castillo.

Frankie Montas ($9,500): I’m a little nervous about Montas if the wind is blowing out like it is supposed to be. However, Montas put up 18.1 DraftKings points on Cleveland earlier this year. He generates enough strikeouts to really keep him from having a horrible game, but if I’m looking at the price, I think I would rather just pay up for Castillo.

Middle Tier:

Zach Davies ($8,600): Davies has been very impressive this year, posting a 1.54 ERA and a 5-0 record. He still doesn’t really strike many batters out, but Davies has blossomed into a really good pitcher. Some kind of regression is likely coming, but I’m not sure it’s here. Davies picked up 13.9 DraftKings points in a solid start against the Reds his first time out this year. He has been considerably better since then.

Jefry Rodriguez ($7,300): The low strikeout totals for Rodriguez make him a little tougher to use, but I get it. He was serviceable against the A’s earlier this year, putting up 12.1 DraftKings points. That said, Rodriguez has been markedly better at home thus far, averaging nearly three more DraftKings points per game. If he turns that 12 into a 15, that makes his price look pretty good.

Bargain Pitchers:

Marco Gonzales ($7,100): Gonzales is much better at home, but this is a Texas team that is loaded with left handed power and not a lot from the right side. Gonzales owned Texas in Seattle earlier this year, going seven shutout innings and racking up 34.2 DraftKings points. Even if he gets only half that, Gonzales will be well worth the price. I trust Gonzales a lot more than either St. Louis starter.

Michael Wacha ($6,600): There isn’t much to get excited about with Wacha, but the Royals aren’t very good. We probably aren’t getting the night game in the main tournament tonight, so I’m on whichever pitcher ends up going the day game. My guess is that Wainwright goes the night game. I wasn’t big on Wacha on a full slate last night, but he is a good money saving option against a slumping offense today.

My picks: Castillo, Gonzales; Castillo, Rodriguez

DraftKings MLB Early Notes

Despite Castillo’s dominance against the Brewers earlier this year, they have still homered three times off of him in the past. If you are looking to leverage a highly owned Castillo, you could do it by using Yelich, Grandal, or Ryan Braun. However, Braun’s homer is his only hit in 12 at bats against Castillo. This is a risky proposition no matter how you look at it, but it’s a chance to get Yelich or Grandal under market value.

I get wanting to take a crack at Davies, but which Reds do you really trust here? Joey Votto is the only one I’m really comfortable with, and he is 10-25 with a homer and two RBI against Davies lifetime. You could put Jose Peraza out there on the cheap, who is 5-17 with a homer and three driven in. None of these really stand out as must play options though.

If you are going to take a shot at Montas today, you are probably going to have to pay up. Lindor and Jose Ramirez are really the only ones that have hit him well so far. A cheap Jason Kipnis may be necessary to afford decent pitching, but I’m not sure I want a lot of Cleveland exposure anyway. The top three pitchers today are all pitching well right now.

Matt Olson was the one that homered against Jefry Rodriguez in the first meeting. Jurickson Profar is about the only other A’s player that I’m really excited about though. This offense is pretty unspectacular, and Rodriguez hasn’t exactly been bad.

Using a pitcher with issues throwing strikes is always bad against St. Louis. I really like Matt Carpenter here, and Marcell Ozuna isn’t far behind. In fact, as bad as Keller has been in May, I can see stacking Cardinals here. DeJong, Dexter Fowler, and Yadier Molina would be who I finish my stack with.

As with last night, the only Royal I have a lot of interest in is Jorge Soler. Soler is 4-10 with two homers and four RBI against Wacha. I wouldn’t rule out Mondesi or Hunter Dozier, but Merrifield is just 1-9 lifetime against Wacha.

Marco Gonzales has allowed two homers and nine runs to the Rangers so far. Gallo has both of the homers and five of the RBI. Hunter Pence and Choo would be my other picks here, but if you’re going after Marco, it should be with Gallo above the rest.

There’s not a lot to like about Adrian Sampson here, but the Seattle offense has been bad enough that throwing him out there at $1,600 less than the rest of the field is not the worst idea I’ve heard. Vogelbach and Jay Bruce are my Mariners to use here. Maybe Mallex Smith, but no one else has really been anything to get excited about lately.

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