DraftKings MLB Picks May 24: Chase the chalky Rockies

CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 28: Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito #27 of the Chicago White Sox delivers the ball against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 28, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks May 24: Chase the chalky Rockies

We have a massive 14 game slate for our DraftKings MLB tournaments tonight. The Reds and Cubs have a matinee duel in Wrigley, but the other 28 are duking it out under the lights.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Blake Snell ($11,400): The Indians were dominated by a lefty with a 8.10 ERA that was fresh returned from a minor league exile last night. Snellzilla has held Cleveland to a .167 average in 42 at bats with one homer, three runs, and 12 strikeouts. Those numbers are good. Couple that with how they struggled against Yarbrough last night, and I’m inclined to let Snellzilla decimate Cleveland on my roster.

Jose Berrios ($10,200): Berrios at home against the White Sox? Yes please! We all know that Berrios is a lot better at home. This year is no different. Berrios is averaging 6.5 more DraftKings points per game at home than away this year. The White Sox are only hitting .197 against Berrios in 117 at bats, but they have hit six homers and scored 14 runs to go with their 34 strikeouts. These aren’t dominant numbers, so I get a fade here, but I think I want to play this matchup here.

Noah Syndergaard ($10,100): Forget for a minute about Thor’s struggles this year. The Tigers were shut down by Trevor Richards yesterday. What do you think Thor is going to do to them? Syndergaard’s ERA is a run and a half lower at home and he is still averaging more than a strikeout per inning at CitiField. I like Thor at a somewhat discounted price tonight.

Middle Tier:

Joey Lucchesi ($8,900): There is some risk involved here because Lucchesi has been awful on the road so far this year. However, this Toronto offense was silenced yesterday by some guy named Ryan Weber. I think Lucchesi has better than a puncher’s chance at netting 20 here. That’s a good return for the price if you are looking to move out of the top tier of pitchers.

Bargain Pitchers:

Daniel Mengden ($7,900): Mengden’s one career start against the Mariners was a solid one, and that’s pretty much all we are hoping for here. Something solid. I don’t really trust this Mariners lineup that’s gone cold. The Mariners have scored four runs or fewer in 14 games this month. I don’t see a huge number from Mengden because of the lack of strikeouts, but if he hits the high teens, we have to be pretty happy with that.

Jeff Hoffman ($6,800): I don’t have Hoffman on here because I have delusions that he’s good. He’s not. The Orioles are just bad enough to consider him here. We are going to need value to go with Coors bats, and Hoffman has a chance to provide that. He allowed four runs against the Nats in five innings, but still picked up 11.7 DraftKings points because of six strikeouts and no walks. Hoffman could give us a dozen points, and I would be happy with that.

My picks: Berrios, Lucchesi, Mets stack; Mengden, Hoffman, Rockies stack

FanDuel MLB: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 04: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets reaches first base on an error in the first inning against Washington Nationals fails to make a play at first base on April 04, 2019 during the Mets home opener at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB stack options

Washington Nationals vs. Pablo Lopez:

The Nats have hit Lopez hard so far. They are hitting .385 with two homers and seven RBI in two games against Lopez. It’s not getting any better tonight. Sure, Lopez’s numbers on the season aren’t horrible, but when you dig deeper, there is a disturbing trend. Lopez has a 8.03 ERA in five road starts. I’m a big fan of Juan Soto and Rendon here. Adam Eaton, Trea Turner, and Matt Adams aren’t far behind. You can’t go wrong with any of them tonight. For what it’s worth, Turner and Soto have the prior homers off of Lopez.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. RuPaul (Montana DeRapau)/Steven Brault:

This is pretty much the worst case scenario for the Pirates. The Dodgers stacks have failed what seems like hundreds of times so far this year (which is literally impossible), but this looks like a spot where they can mash. The saving grace is that Steven Brault is a lefty, but upon further inspection, the Dodgers are hitting lefties hard as well. Kike Hernandez moves to the top of the heap with a lefty. Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy remain really good options. I also like Justin Turner and Corey Seager as slightly cheaper option.

New York Mets vs. Gregory Soto:

I think Soto will be a good pitcher at some point, but not yet. His first two major league starts have not been good at all. The Mets offense is coming out of their slump. They are likely going to do their best Twins impression here. Hell, the Mets started nine righties against Strasburg yesterday. Tonight they are throwing nine righties at a rookie lefty. Pete Alonso is head and shoulders above the rest. Rajai Davis and Carlos Gomez are great cheap plays. So is Wilson Ramos. I also like Amed Rosario leading off. The best part is that four of those five are under $4,000!

Boston Red Sox vs. Wade Miley:

Miley wasn’t awful against Boston last week, but there is always the potential for it. The Red Sox are hitting .342 in 76 at bats against Miley with six homers, 16 runs, and a staggering .303 ISO. Steve Pearce homered yesterday, and I want all of him again. Pearce has two homers against Miley. Mitch Moreland, J.D. Martinez, Mookie, and Eduardo Nunez have the others. Even Jackie Bradley is hitting .333 against Miley, so I can’t say that I would avoid any Boston player here.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Jerad Eickhoff:

Eickhoff had his worst start of the season against Milwaukee earlier this year, and that wasn’t the first time the Brewers have touched him up. Milwaukee is hitting .333 with six homers and 12 runs in just 48 at bats. Ouch! Grandal and Ryan Braun have both homered off of him twice. Ben Gamel got him once. So did Yelich. I also like the idea of using Keston Hiura as a salary saver here. Only Eric Thames is hitting under .250, so just about everyone else is in play here depending on your budget.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chase Anderson:

Anderson has looked good this year. Good enough to get moved back into the rotation. However, the Phillies have hit him hard in his career. They are hitting a robust .341 with five homers and 13 runs in 88 at bats. Maikel Franco has done most of the damage, going 5-10 with three homers and six RBI. Hoskins and McCutchen have the other homers. Realmuto and Odubel Herrera are both hitting better than .400 against Anderson as well.

St Louis Cardinals vs. Mike Foltynewicz:

Mike Foltynewicz has struggled this year, and the Cardinals just destroyed him for eight runs in 4.2 innings ten days ago. Folty gave up three homers in that game and has now surrendered seven in only 123 at bats against the Cards. Marcell Ozuna has two of them. Kolten Wong, DeJong, Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, and Yadi Molina have the others. The only Cardinal I would think about fading is Goldschmidt. He is only 3-18 lifetime against Foltynewicz.

Colorado Rockies vs. John Means and horrid bullpen:

I’m calling it now: the Rockies are scoring 50 in this series. That’s how bad the Orioles pitching staff is. Means is the best one, and I still think the Rockies get five on him before tagging the bullpen for a half dozen more. Arenado is a must play, then mix and match the rest. I wouldn’t avoid anyone in this lineup. I would even play the batboy, owner, GM, and wives of the players. The Orioles pitchers are that bad.

FanDuel MLB: SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 3: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park April 3, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

If you’re desperate for value you could try throwing Kyle McGowin out there against the Marlins. However, the Marlins aren’t that bad. I would rather use a couple of them against McGowin. Harold Ramirez and Austin Dean are my favorite value plays from the Marlins.

I still have reservations about paying nearly $10,000 for Walker Buehler, but he does have three straight games of more than 20 DraftKings points. That streak likely continues against Pittsburgh, but I think there are better places to spend up on pitching. And some guy named Josh Bell is a serial killer of baseballs right now. He may find another victim tonight.

I’ll consider Vlad Jr. against a lefty tonight, but I don’t really see anyone else in the Toronto lineup that stands out. I’d bet more on Lucchesi having a good game.

More from FanSided

Trent Thornton has allowed six home runs in five home starts. That’s not good with the Padres invading Canada. Eric Hosmer and Hunter Renfroe are my favorites, but Franmil Reyes is a great lower priced option. So is Wil Myers if you think he can bust his horrendous slump. Don’t forget about Manny Machado either, who has six career homers at Rogers Centre.

Jose Ramirez has the only homer and two of the three RBI for the Indians against Blake Snell. If you want to use any Cleveland player, it should be Ramirez.

Shane Bieber dropped 56 on the Orioles last week. Don’t expect a repeat performance here. I expect a strong game from Bieber, but I don’t think he will outscore Thor despite being priced above him. This is not an easy matchup against Tampa. I may even through a little Austin Meadows or Kevin Kiermaier out there to leverage those that go with Bieber.

Chris Sale faced Houston in his last start and came up with 20 DraftKings points. That’s not enough for his high price with so many other strong options out there. Furthermore, I am definitely going to try to leverage some Sale ownership here with Carlos Correa and George Springer if he plays. Both have homered off of Sale in the past.

You know, Reynaldo Lopez has actually pitched pretty well against the Twins. He has held them to a .098 average in 41 at bats, but the Twins have more runs scored than hits against Lopez. You can chance him here, but looking at what the Twins are doing lately, I wont be joining you. I like Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario here. However, I will pass on Kepler. He is 0-12 lifetime against Lopez.

Considering the White Sox have six homers against Berrios, you know there are a couple of one offs to look at. James McCann is the big one. McCann is 5-11 with two homers and seven RBI against Berrios. Yolmer Sanchez, Jose Abreu, Leury Garcia, and Yonder Alonso have the other homers, but only Yolmer is hitting .250 against him. It’s McCann or nothing for me here.

MIkolas has decent numbers against the Braves, but I just can’t justify playing him here after he got blasted by the Rangers last week. Freeman and Ozzie Albies look elite tonight, and I wouldn’t rule out Ronald Acuna either. That said, I’m really only going after MIkolas with the elite bats and maybe Dansby Swanson. However, Matt Joyce has one of the two homers for the Braves against Mikolas.

This is a true bullpen game for the Yankees, so I kind of want to take a shot or two at them. Hunter Dozier is killing baseballs right now. He’s my favorite Royal, though I could see using Merrifield or Mondesi as well.

My issue with Jake Junis is that he allows way too many baserunners. He held his own against the Yankees earlier this year, but still didn’t break double digit DraftKings points because of the hits and walks. The Yankees are probably tired from crushing the Orioles, so I’m not going heavy on them, but Gleyber and Clint Frazier have my attention.

I’m sure that a few Orioles are worth paying, but who? Chris Davis maybe. Dwight Smith and Stevie Wilkerson are better bets, but the price is pretty high. Renato Nunez at just $4,000 looks pretty good though.

There is no way I would play Wade LeBlanc against the A’s even though the past stats are decent. This lineup is just too tough. I’m going to throw Chapman and Marcus Semien at LeBlanc though. Khris Davis has the only A’s homer against LeBlanc, but he’s not right at this point. We just can’t use him.

Jay Bruce and Edwin have both homered against Mengden if you are looking to take a shot with Mariners bats.

Mike Trout has the nuts tonight. He is only 4-15 against Drew Smyly, but two of those hits are homers and he has seven RBI. He’s really the only Angel that interests me though.

I think I’m off of Griffin Canning tonight. This Texas offense is pretty potent. Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor are about the only Rangers that I would use against him though. Maybe Asdrubal Cabrera depending on how my builds end up.

I see no reason to pay up for Robbie Ray tonight with his price where it is. Ray has only gone six innings in two of ten starts. The strikeouts are there, but his last start was a sloppy one against this same Giants team. Ray has a 2.15 ERA in five career starts at AT&T Park, but I don’t want to mess with it tonight. I may try Tyler Austin against him though.

Drew Pomeranz had one of his best starts of the season last week against Arizona, and it still wasn’t very good. I see this game as being low scoring, but I also don’t view either pitcher as being able to provide good return for the money. There is a lot of right handed power on this Arizona team, so Adam Jones or Nick Ahmed may sneak into a lineup, but I’m not prioritizing either of them.

Next. MLB DFS value plays May 24. dark

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