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DraftKings MLB Picks June 3: Just say Nola!

By Mike Marteny

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 28: Starting pitcher Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the third inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on August 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 28: Starting pitcher Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the third inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on August 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 02: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates with third base coach Ron Wotus #23 after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 2, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks June 3: Just say Nola!

We have one of the strangest slates of the season for our DraftKings MLB picks. There is a matinee in Wrigley, but it doesn’t start until 4:05 Eastern. That’s a showdown/all day waiting to happen. The really bizarre thing about this slate is that there are no games that start at 7 or 8 eastern. All three games on the main slate are west coasters. This could be a night for those of you out east to take a day off, unless you don’t mind waiting until you wake up to see if you won thousands.

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The good thing about a west coast only slate is that there are no weather conditions to worry about. Not even a little bit of wind!

I didn’t get a chance to write for yesterday as it is just one of those difficult days that come around every year. It is also my mother in law’s birthday, but that’s not the reason. At any rate, I did put a couple of lineups in. Brandon Crawford and Mad Max got me a ways up the cash board, but a weak finish knocked me out of the top five. It was still a successful day.

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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PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 09: Robbie Ray #38 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of an MLB game at Chase Field on September 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Early Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Aaron Nola ($9,600): The Padres are hitting just .195 in 41 at bats against Nola with one homer, three runs, and ten strikeouts. The Padres are full of power bats, but almost all of them are from the right side. Nola has the best history on this truncated slate, and should be well worth the price here. Ray has more strikeout upside, but Nola is likely going to be the higher scorer of the two.

Robbie Ray ($9,200): Surprisingly, the Dodgers are only hitting .236 against Ray with 61 strikeouts in 140 at bats. Ray, who struggled mightily at home last year, has been much better at home this year. Ray has the best strikeout upside on the truncated slate, and I think most will lay off of him because of all the potent Dodger bats. This is a good place for leverage at a decent price in GPP formats.

Middle Tier:

Walker Buehler ($8,900): Buehler has had a solid May, but this is the same Arizona team that tagged him earlier this year. On top of that, Buehler gave up five to the Mets at home in his last start. The price is right to take a chance though. The strikeouts are still there, and David Peralta, the guy who did most of the damage in the first game, is on the IL. I can see the allure with Buehler here.

Eric Lauer ($7,300): Lauer has been brilliant at home this year, posting a 2.67 ERA in six starts. The bad part is that the Phillies hammered him last year. There is solid upside here because of Lauer’s home numbers, and one start against a team is not enough to say he’s going to struggle. If you are going after bats, you need some salary relief. Lauer is easily the best place to get that.

Bargain Pitchers:

Corbin Martin ($7,100): Martin had a brilliant debut against the Rangers, but has struggled in his three starts since. If Martin is going to show flashes of what he did in that first game, it would appear to be here against the struggling Mariners. Martin gets a scuffling lineup in a pitcher’s park. There are worse places to chase, but I wouldn’t touch this in cash games.

Wade LeBlanc ($5,000): The Mariners are using an opener to try and keep the Astros from thumping LeBlanc. It wont help. This is the only one of the six pitchers that I would completely avoid. There are a few good bats out there, but there is plenty of value elsewhere that you shouldn’t have to go down to LeBlanc.

My picks: Nola, Ray

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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: Enrique Hernandez #14 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at bat in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants during the 2018 Major League Baseball opening day at Dodger Stadium on March 29, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Notes 6-3

I do like Ketel Marte, but not really at the price. I would be more inclined to pay for Adam Jones, but I can’t say I’m all that excited about that either. This seems a day to pay up for pitching, so my limited offensive budget wont really being going towards Arizona players.

It’s a lefty, so you know Kike Hernandez has torched him. Kike is 8-31(.258) with three homers and five RBI against Ray. If you’re long ball hunting, Kike is the best way to go. Russell Martin and David Freese are the other two that have homered against Ray, and both have crushed lefties this year. Ray isn’t pitching a shutout. I want some exposure here.

Wil Myers is the only current Padre to homer against Nola, but it is his only hit in six at bats. You could take your shots with Hosmer (0-5) or Greg Garcia (1-3), but I’m not sure I want a lot of Padre bats right now. Hunter Renfroe is on an absolute tear right now, so I wouldn’t shy away from him. He’s my favorite San Diego bat.

Bryce Harper homered against Lauer last year. Andrew McCutchen is 5-8 against Lauer, but only has one RBI to show for it. Those are the two Phillies that I want to chase with. Maikel Franco on the cheap is oh so tempting as well.

A struggling Corbin Martin could be just what the Mariners ordered. This is easily the game of the three to stack. How much of each side though? For Seattle, Mitch Haniger and Dan Vogelbach are the two you really want. Anyone else is negotiable.

The Astros are beaten up beyond belief, but they are still managing to score some runs. Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, Josh Reddick has hammered Wade LeBlanc. You want Reddick tonight. Marisnick and Robinson Chirinos have homered against LeBlanc as well. I really like Yuli Gurriel on the cheap here as well. Same with Tyler White. There is no wrong answer against a soft tossing lefty with a 7 ERA.

Next. MLB DFS Game by Game Breakdowns Monday June 3. dark

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