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Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 30: I’m going to Jerad

By Mike Marteny

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 14: Starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff #48 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on May 14, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 14: Starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff #48 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on May 14, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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DraftKings MLB
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets reacts as he walks off the field after the top of the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on April 29, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.The Cincinnati Reds defeated the New York Mets 5-4. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Early DraftKings MLB Picks May 30: I’m going to Jerad

We have a truncated three game slate for our early DraftKings MLB tournament today. That means all six starting pitchers get their name in print, for good or bad. None of them really look great, but we need to dig deeper to make sure.

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There doesn’t seem to be much of a weather issue for the early games. Philly is going to be dodging showers again, much like last night. Delays are possible later in the game, but it should finish regardless.

Two of my three lineups cashed last night. All three were until the Dodgers bats went nuts on Edwin Diaz. I had some exposure, but not enough.

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.

For you first time players, if you would like a free shot at a million dollars, use this link for the referral bonus with your first deposit of $5 or more!

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WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 25: Starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins throws to a Washington Nationals batter in the second inning at Nationals Park on May 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Jerad Eickhoff ($9,000): The highest priced afternoon option is actually a really good one today. Eickhoff went for 26.4 DraftKings points against the Cardinals in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago, and has posted better home numbers this year. The weather is a bit of a concern, but I would think Eickhoff gets at least six innings before weather interferes. The Cardinals are only hitting .222 with three homers and four runs in 63 at bats with 12 strikeouts against Eickhoff. That’s plenty good enough for the price.

Sandy Alcantara ($8,700): Alcantara has been much better at home than on the road, which isn’t much of a surprise. That is true for most of the Marlins staff. Alcantara has actually topped 30 DraftKings points twice this year, so the ceiling is pretty high. The Giants offense is not very good, so I’m inclined to buy the top two pitchers and punt most of Coors.

Middle Tier:

Tyler Beede ($7,800): I’m not convinced that the Marlins are an easy matchup, yet DraftKings keeps jacking up the prices on pitchers facing them. Beede has not gone more than 2.1 innings in three major league appearances this year. The Giants had him starting at AAA Sacramento, so maybe Beede gets a chance to go five innings or so. The Marlins being dominantly right handed will help, but I still doubt Beede is worth the price.

Dakota Hudson ($7,300): This is a tough sell for me. Hudson gave up eight runs to the Phillies earlier this year, but only two were earned. Still, Hudson only picked up 7.3 DraftKings points in that game, so it wasn’t all just bad defense. He wasn’t sharp either. Hudson has also been almost two runs worse on the road than at home. I’m avoiding this one. There is a reason I only do one lineup on small slates like this.

Bargain Pitchers:

Taylor Clarke ($6,800): Clarke has been solid in all three major league appearances. He is mostly a ground ball pitcher, which will help at Coors if he can figure out how to keep it on the ground up there. The knock on Clarke is the lack of strikeouts, but he has been strong enough to consider living dangerously today if you elect to move off of Eickhoff or Alcantara.

Kyle Freeland ($6,200): Freeland has a 8.65 ERA at home this year, which is a far cry from last year’s mark, which was right around 3.50. The Diamondbacks already punished Freeland at home once this year, causing him to lose 7.1 DraftKings points in that start. I expect Freeland to figure it out at some point, but I’m not going to keep throwing him out there hoping he does. This is a day to stack Arizona bats.

My picks: Eickhoff, Alcantara; Eickhoff, Clarke

DraftKings MLB
FanDuel MLB: ST. LOUIS, MO – MAY 7: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a grand slam in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 7, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas /Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Notes

Bryce Harper had the big hit off of Dakota Hudson in the game earlier this year. Harper reached base all four times in that game, homering once and driving in four of the eight runs against Hudson. Realmuto and Maikel Franco drove in the other two runs. Rhys Hoskins was 2-3 in that game as well. I would trust just about any Phillie today.

Marcell Ozuna, Dexter Fowler, and Goldschmidt have the homers against Jerad Eickhoff. They also drove in all four of the runs. Your Cardinals exposure should be limited to those three.

I’m not sold on Beede, but I’m not all that crazy about the Marlins either. Harold Ramirez and Curtis Granderson are the only two that really stand out. I do still like Starlin Castro at that low price too.

I guess you could throw Joe Panik out there leading off, but it’s hard to get excited about anything pertaining to the Giants offense.

The Rockies are less dangerous with Blackmon out. It’s hard to fade Arenado at home, so he’s still in play. I like David Dahl and maybe Daniel Murphy from the left side. I could see going for Trevor Story as well, but for the price, I think I would rather load up on Arizona righties against Freeland.

Ketel Marte, Adam Jones, and Nick Ahmed are all competitively priced compared to the Colorado bats, and we could argue that Freeland is a worse pitcher right now. How about Kevin Cron? He is one of my favorite plays of the early slate today!

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