Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 12: Pirates choke on Soroka

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 05: Eloy Jimenez #74 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Seattle Mariners during the season home opening game at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 05, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Main DraftKings MLB Picks June 12: Pirates choke on Soroka

We have a 12 game Wednesday, but eight of those make up the main DraftKings MLB tournaments. We have a lot of action on the night slate, even if there are no Coors bats to chase. We have some pitchers to spend on and a weak middle tier, so let’s find the best plan of attack. First though, we have to take a look at the weather.

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($11,300): The current Brewers are only hitting .219 with three homers and 12 runs in 146 at bats with 36 strikeouts. That strikeout total is rather low, but it’s also the best you’re going to get on today’s slate. The Brewers are a more potent offense at home, but this is a good park for lefties, and Milwaukee has a ton of those. However, Verlander is actually tougher on lefties than righties. That makes this a really good matchup.

Mike Soroka ($10,900): Soroka carries a 1.38 ERA in ten starts this year, so I wouldn’t throw anyone at him. His strikeout totals are a notch below elite, but with a 0.87 WHIP and a low ERA, he’s not giving up anything to opposing teams. Soroka has only given up more than one earned run once in those ten starts. The Pirates offense isn’t that explosive to begin with. They certainly have their work cut out for them here.

Middle Tier:

Jose Berrios ($10,300): The Mariners have been decent against Berrios in his career, but I’m not going against him in Minneapolis. Berrios is money at Target Field. The Mariners hit him hard in Seattle earlier this year, but this Seattle offense has been cold for the better part of six weeks now. I’ll trust the 2.72 home ERA of Berrios this year over what happened in Seattle.

Joey Lucchesi ($9,600): Lucchesi was hammered by the Giants by the Bay, giving up seven runs in just 2.1 innings. However, he blanked the Giants for seven innings in San Diego back in April. The chances of that offense going off on Lucchesi again, especially at home, is practically zero. I’ll trust Lucchesi and his home splits here if you need a late night hammer.

Bargain Pitchers:

Brandon Woodruff ($7,600): Woodruff has only really had one bad start, and his price is still down from that one. The strikeout totals keep him from having a bad game most times. The Astros do have some good hitters in that lineup, but they aren’t nearly as dangerous as they normally are. I see plenty of risk with Woodruff, but the upside is far higher for Woodruff than Yamamoto or Mikolas.

Miles Mikolas ($7,200): This is the only time this year that I’ve been on Mikolas. That might seem strange considering he took a liner off the forearm in his last start. The Marlins have been awful offensively in this series. They were shut down by both Hudson and the exiled Michael Wacha. Mikolas pitched well against the Marlins in his only start against them last year. He looks in line for another solid outing against them here.

David Hess ($4,100): Hess has been mostly a disaster this year with one exception: A 33.7 DraftKings point masterpiece against the Toronto Blue Jays in his first start of the season. I don’t expect that strong of an outing again, but the potential is there for this lineup to be horrid again. Hess is definitely worth a punt at this price. I’ll roll the dice to get every bat I want here.

My picks: Soroka, Berrios; Berrios, Mikolas; Soroka, Hess

SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 1: Adam Jones #10 of the Arizona Diamondbacks, right, is congratulated by Eduardo Escobar #5 after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park April 1, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB daily notes:

I don’t trust any pitcher in Philly this series. Balls have been flying out of Citizens Bank Park. Hoskins and Harper are the Phillies I’m interested in. Eduardo Escobar, Ketel Marte, Kevin Cron, and David Peralta are my favorites on the other side. Coors Field East is in play with the real one on the afternoon slate.

Can I really stack Orioles? Edwin Jackson has been a disaster for the Jays so far. The wind may help him some, but Stevie Wilkerson, Hanser Alberto, Jonathan Villar, and Anthony Santander are all worth a look at very reasonable prices. I will have at least one Orioles stack tonight along with a few scattered throughout lineups.

Mitch Keller was thumped by the Reds in his debut. It doesn’t get any easier with the Braves on tap in Atlanta. The power was on display last night, and will be again. Freeman and Acuna are the elite plays, but Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, Donaldson, and Nick Markakis aren’t far behind. The good news is that most of these guys are affordable.

The Royals have enough right handed power to make life rough for Daniel Norris. They have slugged five homers against Norris in only 75 at bats. Whit Merrfield has three of them. Soler and Mondesi have one each. Cheslor Cuthbert is reasonably priced and has a ton of power as well.

There is good upside on Danny Duffy, but no part of me trusts him with this many righties against him. Castellanos homered last night, and is my favorite to do so again tonight. Ronny Rodriguez, Brandon Dixon, and Niko Goodrum are all worth a look here.

Rick Porcello has not fared well against the Rangers in his career, however, he has only allowed two homers in 221 at bats. Rougned Odor has one and Mazara has the other. Choo, Danny Santana, and Asdrubal Cabrera have hit him well enough for consideration today.

The Twins are tougher on righties, but they have hit their former teammate well. Nelson Cruz is 6-20 with two homers and five RBI against Tommy Milone. Cron only has one hit against Milone in nine at bats, but it was a grand slam. Jorge Polanco and Buxton are good picks as well.

There isn’t much to like about Shaun Anderson here. He allows a lot of baserunners, doesn’t pick up strikeouts, and has allowed three homers in his two road starts. The Padres have a ton of power, and most of it is reasonably priced. You’re going to have to pay for Renfroe, but Franmil Reyes, Eric Hosmer, Manny Machado, Josh Naylor, and Wil Myers are all $4,300 or less. I’ll be taking my shots with Padres tonight.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – JUNE 09: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros flies out to left field in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Minute Maid Park on June 09, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB one-off plays:

Vlad Jr. and Cavan Biggio are worth a look against David Hess. No one else hit him the first time around, and they were all in the lineup then.

You can use Harold Ramirez, but honestly, I don’t like any Marlins bats right now. The entire team is ice cold.

More from FanSided

You could probably take a shot with Cardinals against Jordan Yamamoto in his major league debut, but I think he’ll hold his own. I’m not using Yamamoto because there are better options for his price range. I would consider Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna here, but not a lot beyond that. This isn’t a hitter’s park.

If you are going to take a run at Soroka, it should be with a lefty. Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco are expensive and their chances aren’t great. I think I would rather go with the cheap Corey Dickerson seeing if he can get into an offering.

I actually expect Woodruff to have a strong game here. Yordan Alvarez is going to be a chalky play, but not many players have homered in their first three major league games. Recency bias has it more well known since Trevor Story did it in 2016. I’ll pass on Alvarez, but may use Josh Reddick here.

Ben Gamel, Moose, and Lorenzo Cain are the only three Brewers to homer against Verlander. I actually like Cain as a cheap punt, and Gamel is a surprising 4-10 against Verlander. Other than that, I’m off Brewers. Yes, even Yelich.

Kyle Seager is the only Mariner I am remotely interested in. Seager is 3-8 with two homers in his career against Jose Berrios.

Kevin Pillar drove in four of the seven runs against Lucchesi in that game in San Francisco. If you are going to take a shot at Lucchesi, this is the place to do it.

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