DraftKings MLB Picks May 23: Is Lester chalk vs. Philly?

ANAHEIM, CA – JULY 19: Fans walk on the upper deck access ramp as the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is delayed for rain before the start at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 19, 2015 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks May 23: Is Lester chalk vs. Philly?

The DraftKings MLB tournaments are all crazy today. The Braves and Giants start at 3:45 eastern, so they are only available in the all day or showdown formats. The early slate is the main slate with six games going on. Most of the action will be early in the day, so make sure to get your lineups in early!

DraftKings MLB Early Slate Pitchers:

Top Tier:

Stephen Strasburg ($11,100): The Mets are only hitting .226 against Strasburg in 106 at bats with seven runs and 31 strikeouts. The stat that stands out most to me is the fact that no active Met has homered against Strasburg. There is really nothing to like here from the Mets’ standpoint. Strasburg should be well worth the money this afternoon, especially when you consider that he has picked up 50.8 DraftKings points in two starts against the Mets so far this year.

Matt Boyd ($10,300): The Marlins are just 3-16 against Boyd. It’s a small sample size, but this lineup is probably worse than the one that faced him last year. Boyd is also a whole lot better than he was last year. There is a lot to like about this, and you can argue that this matchup is much better than Strasburg’s. I could get on board a Strasburg fade for Boyd. I really don’t think you can get both without fading the Yankees and Red Sox, which seems very risky.

Middle Tier:

Jordan Lyles ($8,500): Lyles continues to defy the odds, holding a 1.97 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in eight starts. He has been brilliant at home and on the road. You think he doesn’t want some revenge on his former team? The Rockies still aren’t a great road team. I see Lyles coming up with a really nice game here. His former team is only hitting .194 against Lyles with three homers and seven runs in 62 at bats. I see him improving those numbers today.

Jon Lester ($8,300): I usually make it a point not to play Lester, but here we are. The Phillies are only hitting .229 against him in 157 at bats with seven homers and 51 strikeouts. The 17 runs are a bit of a concern, but Lester being a lefty counteracts the wind to right. Lester also has a 3.22 ERA in 75 career Wrigley Field starts and is 8-0 with a 1.49 ERA in ten starts against the Phillies. He looks like one of the safer afternoon plays.

Bargain Pitchers:

Steven Matz ($7,300): You may think I’m crazy, but hear me out. First off, Matz held the Nationals to two hits in five innings earlier this year and picked up a strong 23.7 DraftKings points in that one. Second, Matz has been outstanding at home, posting a 1.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in three home starts. The Nationals are only hitting .236 in 123 at bats with five homers and nine runs against Matz. The wind is blowing out, so that’s the only thing that makes me a little nervous about this. However, there is enough to like to use Matz for value today.

Antonio Senzatela ($6,400): Senzatela only has 25 strikeouts in 38.2 innings this year, so that highlights his risk. However, he has been a different pitcher away from Coors this year. In four road starts, Senzatela is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA. The WHIP is still dangerous and the strikeouts are still low, but he can record outs. That makes him worth a look on the cheap today.

My picks: Lyles, Lester; Strasburg, Senzatela

FanDuel MLB: WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 02: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Nationals Park on April 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Notes May 23

Anthony Rendon is the guy you want to go after Matz with. Rendon is 8-25(.320) with three homers and six RBI against Matz. The rest of the team has two homers and three RBI in 98 at bats.

I know Senzatela has been good on the road, but he still allows a lot of base runners. Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell are definitely on my radar. Adam Frazier and Melky Cabrera would be the two to go after on the cheap.

Trevor Story, Nolan Arenado, and Ian Desmond have all homered against Lyles in the past. If you want Rockies exposure, get it with one of them.

It’s a hard pass for me on Tanaka today. The Orioles have actually hit him pretty well. Chasing the strikeouts isn’t worth it with all of the other good arms out there. I would rather go after him with Trey Mancini, who is 6-17 with a homer. Chris Davis and Joey Rickard have taken Tanaka deep as well.

Yankees chalk again! The Orioles are that horrible, and aren’t getting any better. Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez are killing the Orioles in this series. I want at least those two, and Kendrys Morales has two homers in his career against Dylan Bundy. How many Yankees will you take?

I’m really tempted to stack Blue Jays against Ryan Weber. It’s a good way to save money, that’s for sure. I want Vlad Jr., but beyond that, there isn’t a lot to like in this lineup. Eric Sogard still feels overpriced. Randal Grichuk and Rowdy Tellez give good power potential, but I could just as easily see these guys coming up zeroes.

Clayton Richard will be making his 2019 debut against Boston. Ouch! If you are going to fade Yankees, the Red Sox are the consolation stack. Mookie and J.D. stand out here. I wouldn’t argue with using Xander or Michael Chavis either.

Again, the only Tiger I’m really interested in is Ronny Rodriguez. I want more of a sure thing with anyone else. Despite Detroit throwing another lefty out there, I’m not interested in any Marlins either.

I just can’t get on board with Aaron Nola for that price, especially when you consider that the Cubs have hit him well and the wind is blowing out to right. Rizzo is 2-6 against Nola. Both hits are homers and he has scored four runs. I really like Kyle Schwarber batting leadoff here as well.

If you don’t trust Jon Lester, you wont be alone. The place to attack Lester is likely with Sean Rodriguez. Rodriguez is only 12-55(.218) against Lester, but he has three homers and nine RBI. Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen are my favorite places to chase here though. For the price, I think I’m still on the Yankees and Red Sox instead.

FanDuel MLB: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 06: Lucas Giolito #27 of the Chicago White Sox pitches in the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB late slate daily notes:

For the night slate, the pitching is rough. The Rays pushed Snellzilla back, so that leaves rookie Corbin Martin as the highest priced pitcher. Martin was solid in his debut against Texas, but he got knocked around a little by Boston and failed to record even one strikeout against the Red Sox after racking up nine in his debut.

That alone keeps me off of Martin. He has good potential against the White Sox, but I would rather pay for hitters. Honestly, I think I would rather pay down and use Lucas Giolito here. Giolito has a 2.42 ERA on the road this year. I think Houston likely keeps the homer streak alive, but Giolito is the most likely pitcher on the slate to break 20 DraftKings points.

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The rest of the pitching is ugly as well. Ryne Stanek is the opener, so no thanks on that one. Ryan Yarbrough has been recalled to be the long reliever. After a great year last year, Yarbrough has an ugly 8.10 ERA this year. It seems like a bad idea to run him against the Indians. Adam Plutko against the Rays doesn’t look a lot better, but at least he is reasonably priced.

So that leaves us without a true ace. We have to decide whether to chase the K’s that may or may not be there with Martin or take a chance on Giolito’s strong 2019 against a team that is hitting .341 against him lifetime. If you want to avoid that, that leaves Plutko, who dominated the Orioles in his first 2019 start in the majors. Or we can turn to Yarbrough, who has had a rough go of it at the major league level this year. It’s best just to turn our attention to the hitters and get whichever pitchers we can afford afterwards.

There is no sure plan of attack tonight. If the roof is open in Houston, I’m chancing Yarbrough because it will be home run derby in Houston. The White Sox don’t have a ton of power, but they did do a number on Cole last night. James McCann and Jose Abreu remain favorites of mine, and using Charlie Tilson on the cheap is not the worst idea.

The only sure thing for me is Plutko, and it’s mostly because of price. Even if I use Yarbrough, I have no issue using Jose Ramirez or Lindor against him. I wouldn’t go much beyond that though. This feels like a rebound for Yarbrough.

The only hard fade for me is Martin. I see very little reason to trust him here. I’m also not sure about most of the Houston offense. With Altuve and likely Springer out, Brantley is the only one that really scares me. Due to that, Giolito really isn’t the worst idea.

I ended up landing on Giolito and Yarbrough with a healthy helping of White Sox bats, along with a couple of Rays and Correa.

Love, Like, and Leave: FanDuel MLB picks May 23. dark. Next

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