Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 5: A Minor in Sales

Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 5: A Minor in Sales

We still have 12 games left for our main DraftKings MLB tournaments tonight. We have a nice selection of aces, pretend aces, former aces, and potentially cheap aces. Let’s try to avoid those pitfalls that threw us all off last night.

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I would say that the chances of getting all 12 games in is slim. Rain is likely all night in New York once it moves in, so I’m not even bothering with the Mets/Giants game. That’s unfortunate since it takes the cheap Giants bats against Jason Vargas out of the picture.

Rain is going to be hit and miss in Pittsburgh, but I think that one ends up playing Most of the rain will be before the game. It will rain in Detroit, the only question is when. This game doesn’t feel safe for pitchers, which takes Charlie Morton and Turnbull out of play for me unless the forecast changes. If the rain hits later, I’m all over Morton.

Rain is likely in Cleveland and Kansas City as well, but it will be later in the game. There is a chance that the rain hits late enough that both of these finish. If not, a suspended/truncated game is likely in KC and definitely a risk in Cleveland. The same could be true for St. Louis, but there is a chance the rain stays out of the picture until after the game there as well.

With all of this rain, you know there’s some wind around too.  There is a 12 mph breeze in from left in Wrigley, so that’s going to affect right handed power. There is a nice 12 mph wind out to right in Cleveland which could help all of that left handed power of the Twins.

Many an ace got wrecked last night, so most of my lineups did too. I was able to survive and cash with a Cubs stack with Fried and a Cubs/Orioles hybrid with Kyle Hendricks.

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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DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Mike Minor ($10,800): Am I off thinking that Minor is the best pitcher of the night? Morton is threatened by weather. Paxton hasn’t been good on the road. Next up is Minor, who has only given up more than three runs once all season. In fact, Minor has given up less than three runs in eight of 12 starts. This looks to be another one of those. The Orioles are loaded with righties, but they haven’t hit lefties as well as you may expect.

Chris Sale ($10,600): Sale is very familiar with Kaufmann Stadium from his time with the White Sox. His career 3.05 ERA there isn’t great, but when you factor in that the current Royals lineup is only hitting .217 against him with ZERO home runs in 129 at bats (and only four runs) to go with 46 strikeouts, it’s looking better and better. The Royals may not strike out a whole lot, but those pitching points still pile up quickly when no one is getting on base or crossing the plate.

German Marquez ($10,300): Marquez is money away from home, posting a 2.08 ERA in seven road starts. A trip to Wrigley isn’t exactly a dream matchup, but the wind is blowing in tonight, which can only help. Marquez will need to rely on strikeouts because I do think the Cubs get a few runs against him. That makes me hesitant to pay five figures, but Marquez is an acceptable alternative to Minor in GPP formats.

Middle Tier:

Brad Peacock ($9,600): The Mariners still can’t get much going on offense, and Peacock already took it to these guys for 22.3 DraftKings points earlier this year……in just 3.1 innings! Since the Twins torched Peacock back on May 2nd, he has allowed just three earned runs in 29 innings since. Peacock is rolling, so pay up!

Yu Darvish ($7,100): Darvish has been dreadful at Wrigley this year, but the Rockies are still a weak road team. Missing Blackmon from the top of the order really hurts as well. Darvish is worth a look in GPP formats because the Rockies are weaker and the wind is blowing in. If Darvish can limit the walks, his potential is enormous for this price range. He’s still getting strikeouts.

Bargain Pitchers:

Kevin Gausman ($6,700): We are always looking for cheap pitchers. Tonight seems to be safer for that tier than most nights. The Pirates are only hitting .203 in 59 at bats against Gausman with one homer, five runs, and 13 strikeouts. Nothing about those numbers stands out, but none of them are bad either. Gausman should be a solid play tonight. Just don’t expect any big numbers.

Dakota Hudson ($6,200): Hudson had a horrendous start to the season, but he has righted the ship lately. Hudson only gave up 11 earned runs in six May starts. He doesn’t really strike anyone out which is why the price remains low, but he’s sure racking up the outs. Hudson has three straight games of double digit DraftKings points, topping 19 three times in the month. I like him on the cheap here. Another reason: Hudson has allowed just one home run since April 27th, and the Reds almost strictly rely on the long ball.

John Means ($5,800): Yeah, I know, Means has a much worse ERA on the road. Here’s the thing though. His road starts have come in Boston, Tampa, Cleveland, Colorado, and the south side of Chicago. Many pitchers would have as bad or worse than his 4.26 road ERA. Means isn’t going to set the world afire, but I wouldn’t be a bit shocked to see him hit his home DraftKings point average of 15 in Arlington tonight.

My picks: Peacock, Minor; Peacock, Gausman; Minor, Means

DraftKings MLB stack options

Atlanta Braves vs. Joe Musgrove:

Something is wrong with Musgrove. After a great start to the season, he had a horrendous May in which he didn’t give up less than five runs in any start. He has been particularly bad at home. Atlanta’s lineup is going to be like a merry go round against Musgrove. He hasn’t given up a lot of homers, but as Ronald Acuna showed last night, it doesn’t take homers to have a good night. I really like Freeman, Ozzie Albies, and Markakis here. Acuna and Swanson will be the rest of my stack.

Boston Red Sox vs. Jake Junis:

Junis has been bad at home this year with a 5.79 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. However, it’s not really the homers that are getting him. Only three of his 12 long balls allowed have gone out at the K. That could change tonight with the hard hitting Red Sox in town. Xander Bogaerts is still hitting everything, and Rafael Devers hasn’t really cooled off either. After that you could chase the high priced but always dangerous bats of J.D. and Mookie or try to save some coin with Jackie Bradley Jr. or Sandy Leon. Chavis still looks good, and Benintendi is kind of an afterthought right now. That’s all the more reason to play him!

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Anthony DeScalfani:

DeScalfani had a three start stretch in May where it looked like he had turned the corner. One of those was against these Redbirds, but DeScalafani has been awful lately. Add to that the .300 average in 120 at bats against him for the Cardinals, and we have a good place to stack. Matt Carpenter is 11-24(.458) with three homers and four RBI. Goldy, Marcell Ozuna, and Dexter Fowler have all homered against DeSclafani as well.

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Trent Thornton has not pitched well at home this year, so I do want some Yankees exposure. Clint Frazier and Gary Sanchez are solid plays, but I think I want the lefties like Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner instead.

Martin Perez has been really good for the Twins this year, but not on the road and not against Cleveland. Perez didn’t even last four innings in his start against Cleveland earlier this year. Jason Kipnis is 3-8 with a homer and four RBI against Perez. Carlos Santana is a blistering 7-11 with a homer and five RBI. Jose Ramirez has the other homer and is way too cheap. I will have a lot of exposure to all three of them.

Carlos Carrasco has been much better at home this year, but he always struggles against the Twins. They lit him up for six runs earlier this year. Nelson Cruz is 9-25 with three homers and six RBI, so get him out there. Cron, Buxton, Mitch Garver, Marwin Gonzalez, Eddie Rosario, and Kepler have all taken Carrasco out of the yard as well. If this game weren’t in Cleveland, I would stack it. Now I will have a few Twins scattered through the lineups, but heavy on Cruz.

Alcantara has struggled on the road, and this hitter’s haven wont do him any favors. I really have problems paying $6,000 for Yelich, but Thames, Travis Shaw, and Moustakas are all on my radar. Don’t count out a suddenly hot Orlando Arcia as well.

The Marlins were a sneaky good stack last night, and could be tonight. Jimmy Nelson is a good pitcher, but wont go deep into this game. It’s an already taxed bullpen. Enjoy the cheap Marlins! Curtis Granderson has smoked two homers against Nelson in his career. I’m a huge fan of Harold Ramirez and Jorge Alfaro yet again.

I don’t want a lot of exposure to John Means, but I’m still playing Rangers because Means isn’t going all nine innings. That bullpen is garbage. Rougned Odor is cheap enough to take a shot with. So is Asdrubal Cabrera. I like Danny Santana regardless. He’s the one I would pick to get to Means.

Daniel Mengden lived dangerously against the Angels the last time around. He only gave up one run, but he allowed seven baserunners in just 4.1 innings. I don’t quite want a stack here, but Mike Trout and Albert Pujols have both homered against Mengden. Kole Calhoun has hit him well also.

Oakland blasted Felix Pena earlier this year, but he has pitched better lately when the Angels have elected to go with openers. Matt Chapman, Mark Canha, Khris Davis, and Profar have all homered against Pena in the past. I will have some exposure here. Davis is too cheap right now.

DraftKings MLB one-off plays:

Wow, James Paxton is expensive. I get that he’s playing the Blue Jays, but Paxton’s ERA is still over 7 on the road and his career ERA in Toronto is on the wrong side of 4. I doubt he lives up to that price even though no one else has the strikeout upside that Paxton has. Still, I will be limiting my exposure here. I may throw Vlad Jr. or Grichuk at him, but that’s about it.

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I wont go hard at Minor, and he hasn’t really given up a lot of home runs this year. Renato Nunez has cooled off some, but he’s still the best bet to take Minor deep. I do like Hanser Alberto more for the price point and leading off.

I wont go hard after Marquez either, but Javy Baez is too cheap. I have no issue fading Rizzo or Bryant here, but I will have sprinklings of Baez and Kyle Schwarber throughout my lineups.

I may run Story or Arenado out there at Wrigley, but Darvish is pitching better lately and the wind is blowing in. I have my doubts that Colorado will be able to string enough together to put up any big offensive numbers here. The prices on those two seem a bit much.

Dakota Hudson wasn’t terrible in his first start against the Reds, but considering the amount of baserunners, it seems he was more lucky than anything else. If the Reds start hitting homers, then Hudson is toast. That’s a dangerous thing to chase though. I like Senzel and Jesse Winker here, but not much else.

Mike Leake always seems to wiggle off the hook, even when he doesn’t pitch well. Case in point: the Astros are hitting .287 in 80 at bats, but none of the healthy Astros have homered off of Leake. Alex Bregman is really the only Astro I feel is a much play right now. Reddick has struggled against Leake, but I could get on board with a hot rookie in Myles Straw.

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