Main DraftKings MLB Picks May 22: Stop! Hamels time!

HOUSTON, TX – JULY 15: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros catches the ball after giving up a home run to Jim Adduci #37 of the Detroit Tigers in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on July 15, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Main DraftKings MLB Picks May 22: Stop! Hamels time!

Most of the action is in the main DraftKings MLB slate tonight with ten games in prime time. Arizona and San Diego are in their own showdown match as penalty for starting at 3:40 Eastern. The second game of the twin bill between the Royals and Cards will more than likely be omitted from this one as well.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($11,100): The Mets are hitting just .153 in 137 at bats against Scherzer with three homers, only seven runs, and a staggering 57 strikeouts. This offense has woke up lately, but I see Max shutting them down here. That’s sheer dominance by Scherzer, and I’m jumping on that train tonight. Just look at the .095 ISO against him! What more do you need?

Jacob deGrom ($10,500): deGrom already outdueled Scherzer once this year. Can he do it again? His numbers against the Nats are equally impressive, holding them to a .174 average in 161 at bats with only two homers and eight runs to go with 56 strikeouts. There are actually enough cheap hitters to cram both Scherzer and deGrom in your lineups tonight. However, if you have to use just one, it’s hard to say deGrom isn’t the better option.

Middle Tier:

Cole Hamels ($9,500): Yes, I know the wind is blowing out to right at Wrigley, but I don’t really care. First off, Hamels has dominated at Wrigley, posting a 1.92 ERA in the friendly confines in 16 career starts. On top of that, Hamels is making his first start against his former team. That’s right…..he has never faced the Phillies before, a team that he dominated for for a decade. Think he’s going to be amped up for this one? Hamels may actually be underpriced here!

Martin Perez ($8,700): The Angels have hit Perez well in his career, but Perez has figured things out in 2019, and the Angels still can’t hit southpaws this year. Perez is averaging 27.3 DraftKings points per game in four May starts. He should have no issues hitting that mark here. Not with the way the Angels are hitting lefties.

Max Fried ($8,500): Fried dominated the Brewers the last time out, so I think he’s safe to deploy, especially against the Giants. The Fried train has slowed down some, but not enough to keep me off of him by the Bay. This is a pitcher’s park and a poor offensive team playing in it. The difference between him and Urena is that Fried is much, much safer.

Bargain Pitchers:

CC Sabathia ($7,400): Yeah, I know. Tons of right handed power in the Baltimore offense, and they already got to Happ some in this series. However, CC still looks underpriced when you consider his 2.97 ERA. The strikeouts aren’t really there anymore, but CC still knows how to get outs. He is a suitable low priced pitcher if you need the cap relief. Besides, Baltimore is only hitting .243 with two homers and nine RBI to go with 39 striketouts against him in 107 at bats.

Jeff Samardzija ($6,400): Samardzija actually has really good numbers against the Braves. They are only hitting .205 against him with two homers and seven runs in 78 at bats. The 15 strikeouts are a bit of a letdown, and highlight the danger of using Samardzija tonight. Samardzija has a 2.61 ERA in four home starts this year. If you are ever going to trust Shark, this looks to be a good place for it.

Jose Urena ($6,200): If ever there were a time to use Urena, it’s probably here against a weak offense in a pitcher’s park. Urena has only given up two earned runs in his last two starts but has only picked up 25.7 DraftKings points combined in those games. He doesn’t go deep into games and doesn’t rack up strikeouts. There is virtually no upside, but this is as good of a spot as Urena is ever going to have.

My picks: Hamels, Perez; Scherzer, Fried

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 28: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees celebrates a home run with Gary Sanchez #24 during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on April 28, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

New York Yankees vs. Dan Straily:

Yep….more Yankees chalk stacks. If you didn’t stack Yankees last night, you likely had to really fight just for minimum cash. It’s more of the same tonight. Gleyber Torres is the Oriole killer, so he needs to be in there. Both Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier have homered off of Straily and they both homered last night. Put them back in there! Kendrys Morales has two homers and four RBI in 14 at bats against Straily. LeMahieu is a good place to finish this off, especially if he is leading off again.

Houston Astros vs. Ivan Nova:

The Astros are hitting just .180 against Nova in 50 at bats, but I don’t care. Nova has a 7.42 ERA, and conditions are very favorable for hitters tonight. Josh Reddick is 5-16 with two homers against Nova, so start there. Bregman, George Springer, Tyler White, Correa, and Aledmys Diaz are all on my want list. They also get the benefit of facing off against a poor bullpen once they knock Nova out of there.

Minnesota Twins vs. Matt Harvey:

The Twins stack against the Angels hasn’t really worked yet, but I’m willing to go back to the well with Harvey on the mound. Harvey has a 8.63 ERA in five starts at the Big A this year. The Twins wont help that with all of the lefties in this lineup. Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, and Rosario look like elite plays. Don’t forget about free space Luis Arraez, who is also left handed. You can even throw Cron out there if you don’t want to play Jason Castro. Righties pound Harvey too.

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 20: Renato Nunez #39 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 20, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Yeah, I get it. The Pirates offense isn’t great. However, Jon Gray has been worse on the road, and was knocked around in his only career start at PNC Park. If we play Gray we are just chasing strikeouts. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but there are plenty of better options in his price range. I think people will chase Gray, so I want to use a couple of Pirates here. Josh Bell stands above the rest, but Starling Marte and Adam Frazier look good too.

For what it’s worth, I’m not really sure about what to do with Nick Kingham either. The Rockies offense often struggles on the road, but Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl are worth throwing out there. I’m not sure that either one are worth the price though, and don’t even get me started on Arenado.

More from FanSided

If you are chasing Orioles righties, Renato Nunez is the obvious place to start. Jonathan Villar and Joey Rickard are both cheap and have both hit CC well. Those three open up a lot of extra cash, and on a night like this, we are probably going to need it.

It’s tempting to use Rick Porcello, but I’m not for three reasons. One, the Jays jumped on E-Rod last night. Two, the Jays are hitting .242 with six homers and 18 runs in only 62 at bats. And finally, Porcello has an ERA north of 7 on the road this year. Justin Smoak is 12-40 with five homers and 14 RBI against Porcello, so he is one of the better one offs you will find. I also like Grichuk here.

I will admit that I am tempted by Aaron Sanchez here, and while he was good against Boston earlier this year, he was more lucky than good. J.D., Mookie, and Andrew Benintendi have all homered off of him in the past. This may be the place to go with Jackie Bradley on the cheap. Bradley is 5-17 with a homer and five RBI against Sanchez in his career.

I’m not going to go too crazy with Dodgers because Yonny Chirinos is a good pitcher. However, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, and Verdugo are all on my radar as one off plays. So is Max Muncy, who is starting to heat up.

The thought of using and Detroit hitters is nauseating, but they may be worth it tonight. Still, I wouldn’t go nuts with this. Castellanos and Ronny Rodriguez are still the only ones I’m interested in.

This is actually a sneaky good spot for the Marlins bats. They will have an extra righty to put in there against Daniel Norris, and could conceivably put nine right handed hitters out there. Righties are hitting .277 against Norris in his career. Jorge Alfaro, Starlin Castro, and Brian Anderson are all super cheap. So are Austin Dean and Harold Ramirez if you want a couple of complete darts.

Robinson Cano is the one guy that could get to Max. He has two homers off of him, but is still just 3-19 lifetime and is mired in a huge slump this year.

Trea Turner is at a big discount tonight, and is the only Nationals player that I really have any interest in. Turner is 9-28(.321) with a homer and three RBI against deGrom, and the 11 strikeouts don’t count against you on DraftKings.

Cole Irvin has been good enough for me not to stack on him, but the odds are definitely against him with the wind blowing out to right in Wrigley. Kris Bryant is almost a must play here. So is Javy Baez. You could stack this with Almora, David Bote, and Willson Conteras too. There’s a lot of right handed power here.

James McCann is an interesting punt against Gerrit Cole. McCann is 4-10 with a homer and three RBI against Cole. I see why Cole is priced at that level, but I would take both Scherzer and deGrom over him. Cole may strike out 20, but he’ll still allow four runs.

Albert Pujols is actually the one that has hit Martin Perez very well, not Trout. I would rather go with Pujols for nearly $2,000 less tonight if you are taking a shot at Perez.

I’m not really interested in any Giants besides maybe Tyler Austin. Honestly, I’m not interested in that many Braves either. This game feels like a low scoring one, but I could be talked into Freddie Freeman or Acuna, but that’s about it. Matt Joyce does have a homer and four RBI against Shark though.

Next. Early DraftKings MLB picks May 8. dark

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