DraftKings MLB Picks June 7: Grin and Gerrit

We have a massive 14 game slate for our DraftKings MLB tournaments tonight. The Cardinals and Cubs have a matinee battle at Wrigley, so that’s the only game left off.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Gerrit Cole ($12,200): Wow, that’s a lot of money for a pitcher. Especially when you want to stack the offense behind him. Cole may just be worth it though. The Orioles are hitting just .174 with a solo homer and 10 strikeouts in 23 at bats. It’s a small sample size, but it’s no secret that the Orioles are struggling against good right handers. Cole has a ridiculous 116 strikeouts in just 77.2 innings pitched. He could strikeout out 15 or more tonight. The Orioles are that bad at making contact.

Clayton Kershaw ($11,200): The Giants are hitting just .177 against Kershaw in 232 at bats with only one homer and ten runs to go with 70 strikeouts. Kershaw hasn’t been quite as dominant this year, but Kershaw has four straight quality start and has topped 20 DraftKings points in three of the last four. Of course, we want more if we are paying elite money for Kershaw. We should get it against the Giants.

Matt Boyd ($10,400): It’s tough to use anyone against the Twins right now, but at least Boyd has a chance since he’s a lefty. The Twins are only hitting .193 against Boyd with three homers and 15 runs in 161 at bats. The 47 strikeouts is lacking though, so I’m still not sure I want to pay the premium. Lots of pitchers looked overpriced tonight. At least Boyd looks like he could put up numbers worthy of that price tag.

Middle Tier:

Jacob deGrom ($9,400): This is a cheap price on deGrom, and I do get why. His starts have been really hit and miss lately. This one looks like a hit though. The Rockies are hitting just .184 against deGrom in 87 at bats with a homer and five runs to show for it with 23 strikeouts. I don’t see a downside here. deGrom’s numbers haven’t been that great at home, but considering that Arenado is just 2-17 off of deGrom – yes, that includes the Coors numbers – I’ll take my chances. There is way too much upside for the price point.

Merrill Kelly ($8,400): Many will be scared off by Kelly’s unsightly road ERA (7.14 in six road starts). However, Toronto is easily the easiest road game he has had. Kelly struck out ten Mets in his last start. Tonight he draws a team that strikes out a lot and doesn’t score a lot of runs. I don’t like the jacked up price on Kelly, but there is reason to believe that he can perform well enough to make him worth your while.

Marcus Stroman ($8,200): Stroman has a 2.37 ERA in eight home starts this year, so this is the place that you want to use him. Arizona doesn’t have a whole lot of lefty bats to go after him with either. Stroman hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in a start in a month now. The strikeout totals will never wow you, but he could rack up a lot of outs here with little or no damage done.

Bargain Pitchers:

Brandon Woodruff ($7,800): Woodruff had his worst start of the season against this same Pirates team in Pittsburgh last week, so there’s risk involved. However, Woodruff has been better at home this year, and judging by the rest of his body of work, that was mostly a fluke. The Pirates are going to get some runs tonight, but Woodruff should have enough strikeouts to mitigate the damage. I would be shocked if he gave up more than three or four runs here, which makes Woodruff a solid play for this price point.

Zach Plesac ($7,000): Plesac has looked really good in his first two major league starts. Considering he held the Red Sox to one run in 5.1 innings in Boston in his major league debut, the Yankees don’t really scare me in their current state. Plesac still looks underpriced to me. He has only allowed two runs in 12.1 innings with just eight hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts. I’ll take that for this price!

Ivan Nova ($5,000): If we are stacking Astros and/or using Cole, we need value somewhere. Nova is actually a great place to get it. His numbers are awful, but Nova’s road ERA is less than half of his ERA at home. On top of that, Nova picked up 9.7 DraftKings points against the Royals in KC earlier this year. If we can get in the low double digits out of him tonight, that’s a win, and it allows us to pay for bats or Cole. The Royals are hitting just .239 against Nova in 46 at bats with a homer, three runs, and 10 strikeouts. Those are outstanding numbers for his price point.

Homer Bailey ($4,500): Buy some stock in Pepto, and throw some homer in your lineup. Yeah, he’s been a dog lately, but Homer picked up 15.4 DraftKings points on the White Sox in just 4.1 innings earlier this year. On top of that, the White Sox has just three runs on him in 41 at bats with 11 strikeouts. Homer’s ERA is more than a run lower at home, so if you’re taking a shot with him, you wont find a better place.

My picks: Cole, Nova; Cole, Plesac; Cole, Kershaw; Nova, Bailey

DraftKings MLB stack options

Atlanta Braves vs. Jose Urena:

Urena has a 5.08 ERA at home, and the Braves put up five runs in six innings – with two homers – on him in the first meeting this year. Overall, the Braves are hitting .280 with six homers and 25 runs in just 118 at bats against Urena. Freddie Freeman is 9-23 with three homers and six RBI, so start there. McCann, Tyler Flowers, and Dansby Swanson have the other homers. Nick Markakis is hitting .304 in 23 at bats with six RBI, though he doesn’t have a homer to show for it.

Texas Rangers vs. Brett Anderson:

If you just look at the BvP numbers, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but dig a little deeper. Beneath the .168 average of the current Rangers and the quality start that Anderson had against Texas earlier this year is his 5.80 ERA in eight career starts in Arlington. It’s hot. It’s humid. Anderson if coming off an IL trip. Give me all of Danny Santana and Hunter Pence here. Odor and Choo hit lefties well enough to consider as well. Don’t forget about switch hitting Asdrubal Cabrera either. Oh, and Elvis Andrus has the homer and half of the Rangers current RBI against Anderson.

Houston Astros vs. Gabriel Ynoa:

Every time I stack the Astros, they’re a bust. One of these times they’re going to come through. It should be here. Ynoa has a 6.52 road ERA and 5.06 ERA overall. That and the Baltimore bullpen is one of the worst I’ve seen in my lifetime. Alex Bregman is the elite play here, but I’m a big fan of Gurriel, Myles Straw, Michael Brantley, and Josh Reddick too. Any Astro with a bat in his hand is in play tonight.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Rookie Davis:

Rookie is no longer a rookie, but the Brewers lit him up in relief when he was a rookie. Arcia smacked a three run homer off of him. The Brewers had eight hits and two walks in 16 plate appearances. This isn’t quite as loaded as an Astros stack, but it could be close. I’m even tempted to pay $6,000 for Yelich. I think Moose, Travis Shaw, and Lorenzo Cain will be in my lineup first, then I will go from there. And I will definitely have Arcia at just $3,900.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Marco Gonzales:

Wait….isn’t Marco a lefty? Yes. Yes he is. The narrative used to be to run any lefties against the Angels. Well, the Halos have turned the tide and are hitting lefties well right now. Marco has made three starts against the Angels this year and has been lit up for 14 runs in 20 innings. Trout is a staggering 12-26 with two homers and four RBI. Pujols is the only other Angel to homer off of Gonzales, but Tommy LaStella, David Fletcher, Ohtani, and Lucroy have all hit him well. The only one I would steer clear of is Kole Calhoun. Calhoun is just 1-18 in his career against Gonzales.

Washington Nationals vs. Nick Margevicius:

The luster has worn off of Margevicius after his strong debut. He now has a dreadful 7.09 ERA in six home starts. The Nationals have a lot of right handed power, which is one of the few things favoring the hitters in this park. Trea Turner looks too cheap. Howie Kendrick continues to rake. Rendon is elite against lefties. Victor Robles and Brian Dozier are solid options as well.

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

Domingo German has not been very good lately. He’s still getting strikeouts, but he has allowed ten runs over his last two starts. German’s road ERA is almost two runs higher than it is at home. I’m going to chase him with a still-too-cheap Jose Ramirez for sure. I also like Kipnis and Francisco Lindor here.

Tyler Mahle has not been good on the road or against the Phillies in general. Rhys Hoskins and Sean Rodriguez have homered off of Mahle so far. I also really like the price of Kingery. Bryce Harper is worth a look too. Mahle has allowed nine of his 11 homers on the road.

We have seen Senzatela get blown up at times lately, so I simply can’t trust him. Not against a Mets offense that is better than they seem. I do like Conforto and Pete Alonso here. Robinson Cano is worth a look if he is back in the lineup. Dollar for dollar though, I keep finding myself landing on Amed Rosario.

Yonny Chirinos has been knocked around by Boston, but they still haven’t homered off of him in 52 at bats. Do we really want to pay the premiums attached to them? In the case of Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, and Brock Holt, I say it’s worth it. All three are hitting better than .300 against Yonny. I don’t know that I would pay up for the righties though.

The Rays have hit Porcello well enough to keep me off, but it’s mainly a few key players. Brandon Lowe went 3-4 with two RBI in his only game against Porcello. Avi Garcia has smacked two homers in 24 at bats. Both Zunino and Travis d’Arnaud have homered off of Porcello, so whoever starts at catcher is a solid play.

The A’s smoked Lance Lynn for eight runs in 3.1 innings earlier this year. He has been better lately and the A’s really haven’t. I’ll take some Khris Davis and Semien here. Maybe some Matt Olson, but I don’t know that a full stack is worth it. Matt Chapman has the only homer for the A’s against Lynn, but he’s kind of expensive.

In all of that carnage last week, Starling Marte was the only Pirate that homered against Woodruff. Elias Diaz drove in four runs in that game, and I will probably limit my exposure to those two. A red hot Colin Moran could wind up in my lineup on the cheap as well.

Call me crazy, but I think Andrew Heaney is a bit overpriced. Sure, he put up 24.5 DraftKings points on the Mariners in Seattle, but here are the numbers that scare me. You see the 18 strikeouts in just 11 innings over his two starts. I see the four homers allowed. Heaney is a decent GPP target, but I want to leverage those chasing strikeouts by using Edwin and Mitch Haniger. They both have homered twice against Heaney in his career and driven in five of the nine Mariner runs off of him.

There’s no way that I trust Drew Pomeranz here. Alex Verdugo has only faced Pomeranz once. He hit a homer off of him. Chris Taylor, Russell Martin, and David Freese have the others, so go after Pomeranz with the cheap Dodger righties.

DraftKings MLB one-off plays:

I may take a shot or two at Plesac, but it wont a priority for me. Nor will I spend up for Scary Gary or Gleyber, who only homers against Baltimore. Who does that leave? The only Yankee that isn’t overpriced is Kendrys Morales, and there’s a reason that he’s so cheap.

I’ll believe that Zach Eflin’s April was no fluke when he does it in June after coming off the IL. His price is way too high here. I’d rather take a shot or two at him with Derek Dietrich or Jesse Winker.

More from FanSided

I think the only Toronto player that I would really go out of my way to use right now is Vlad Jr. Cavan Biggio is also worth a look on the cheap. I’m not a true believer in Kelly, especially on the road.

Adam Jones is about the only Arizona player that I’m interested in tonight, and he may not even be in the lineup. I do like Eduardo Escobar as well, but I think the money could be better spent than chasing after Stroman. There’s no reason to reach on a full slate.

Ian Desmond has the homer and all five RBI for the Rockies against Jacob deGrom. Just in case you were wondering.

It doesn’t really matter to me if it’s Pineda or Gibson going for the Twins. I wont use any Tigers and I wont use either of them. Gibson isn’t worth five figures no matter how you look at it, especially when you consider Goodrum’s numbers against him. Goodrum is worth a look if Gibson starts.

The Twins don’t really hit lefties well, but Eddie Rosario and Jorge Polanco both have solid numbers against Boyd, and are priced down since they are facing an ace. I particularly like the price on Polanco.

Mike Soroka’s numbers against the Marlins are pretty good, but with the way the Marlins are hitting, pretty good isn’t enough. Especially when DraftKings wants $11,600 for Soroka. I really like Starlin Castro and Brian Anderson for salary relief. Harold Ramirez is worth a one off as well, but I wont play more than one Marlin in any line. I see a good start for Soroka, and I would play him if he was right around $10,000.

Nova isn’t going to pitch a shutout, so I like Alex Gordon and Mondesi here. I likely wont go beyond those two though.

You can chase Homer Bailey if you want. Just keep in mind that he really doesn’t give up homers. It’s kind of an oxymoron. Welington Castillo is a good lay if he starts, but no one else has had any success against Bailey. It’s weird…..

Erick Fedde has pitched well, but he hasn’t exactly pitched long. That has me not wanting to pay his price, but I’m not sure how many Padres I want to chase with either. I’m leaning towards just the massive power of Renfroe and Franmil Reyes. At any rate, I wont have too much exposure in any one lineup.

Taking shots at Kershaw is risky, but Joe Panik is 10-37(.270) with the homer and four RBI. Panda is 15-64(.234) against Kershaw with seven RBI.

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