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Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 29: Canning the A’s

By Mike Marteny

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 30: Griffin Canning #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches in the first inning of the game in his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 30: Griffin Canning #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches in the first inning of the game in his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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DraftKings MLB
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MAY 28: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros hits a home run in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park on May 28, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 29: Canning the A’s

We only have four games for our early DraftKings MLB tournaments today. It very likely will be down to three when it’s all said and done. Rain is likely in Cincinnati. If they wait long enough they may be able to get it in. As of now, I would be cautious with anyone, especially pitchers, in that game.

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The only wind is in Cincinnati as well. There is a nice 12 mph wind out to left if this game plays. If they play this later in the day, it really going to be warm and pretty humid, so that ball is going to fly.

Alex Bregman pulled my lineup with Marco Gonzales into the money. The other build with Richards and Dylan Bundy cashed as well. All three lineups broke triple digits, so that’s a pretty solid night.

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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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 14: Chris Paddack #59 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on May 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Chris Paddack ($10,100): We can’t deny just how good Paddack has been this year, but this is a tough spot for him at Yankee Stadium. It’s tough enough that I’m not sure I want to shell out this kind of cash. I wont on the all day slate, but with the weakness of pitching early, we at least have to at least consider the best numbers on the slate. Paddack is probably the best option and maybe by a large margin, but with a rookie, you never know.

Middle Tier:

Griffin Canning ($8,300): Canning has been solid in his five starts this year, going 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched. I don’t see a lot of upside here against the A’s. They are going to work the count and chase him earlier than the Angels plan. The Angels have had Canning on a pretty strict 100 pitch cap. That’s plenty of time to record some outs, but this team doesn’t strike out a lot and they work the count. Temper your expectations with Canning today.

Daniel Mengden ($7,300): Bad stats against the Angels and an uninspiring four inning start against the Mariners his last time out have me wanting to bail out here. However, with one game probably lost to rain and only three others with limited pitching options, we need to look somewhere. Despite the control issues, Mengden is still holding a strong 3.31 ERA in three starts. That 1.47 WHIP is going to bite him somewhere, but it may not be against the Angels.

Bargain Pitchers:

Wade LeBlanc ($6,600): Well, the only reason that LeBlanc is on here is because I wouldn’t use Brault even if that game was free and clear of weather. I also expect the same or better numbers for LeBlanc than Smyly, who is $1,000 more. LeBlanc has only had one really bad start and one that we could consider really good. Expect something in the middle here considering Texas isn’t that good against lefties.

My picks: Canning, LeBlanc

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DFS MLB: CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 18: Joey Votto #19 and Nick Senzel #15 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate after scoring runs in the third inning following a single by Yasiel Puig against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on May 18, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Notes

I wasn’t really planning on using any of the arms in Cincy anyway. With Steven Brault taking the hill for Pittsburgh, the matchup couldn’t get much worse for him. I really like Yasiel Puig, Suarez, and Nick Senzel here. If you want to turn this into a stack, there is enough to like about this. Tucker Barnhart and Jose Peraza make good additions, and Votto hits lefties well enough to consider him.

There isn’t a lot to like about the Pittsburgh offense, but Adam Frazier, Josh Bell, Elias Diaz, Colin Moran, and Gregory Polanco have all homered in the past against DeScalfani. I like what DeSclafani has done this year, I just don’t know if we can trust him here.

I don’t really want to take a run at Paddack. I would much rather go after James Paxton in his return from the IL against a lineup full of right handed power. Hunter Renfroe and Manny Machado are my main targets. Wil Myers is in a horrible slump, but he is 4-6 with a homer in his career against Paxton.

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols have both homered against Daniel Mengden. Considering Mengden wasn’t sharp in his last start, I don’t trust him here, especially with the elevated price. Mengden needed 99 pitches to get through four innings against Seattle. I may throw Kole Calhoun or Brian Goodwin out there as well.

I’m not buying Drew Smyly’s elevated price and you shouldn’t either. Best case scenario he gets us 15 DraftKings points. That’s too big of a risk for the money. I’ll completely punt SP2 and pay up for hitters before I use Smyly at that price. As far as weapons to use against him, Edwin Encarnacion and Mitch Haniger are the best spots, but both are slumping. Kyle Seager hits lefties well enough to consider too.

Choo and Joey Gallo hit lefties well enough to throw out there. Other than that, there isn’t much to like about the Texas bats. Maybe Danny Santana, but that’s about it.

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