It isn’t a full-house day of daily fantasy baseball aces Friday night, but whenever Matt Harvey and Max Scherzer are toeing the slab on a full MLB slate, you have to consider them among the best DraftKings pitcher picks. You might not be able to afford both, unless you’re really clever with your hitters, so we weigh the best alternatives behind them for May 1.
No-Brainer Aces
Matt Harvey, New York Mets ($11,200)
Harvey has been every bit the ace he was before surgery, and the Mets even showed an interest in pushing him in an important early series, going 8.2 innings and 107 pitches against the New York Yankees last time out. He has had an extra day of rest because of a temporary six-man Mets rotation, so he should be a full go against New York’s key NL East rivals Friday night, the Washington Nationals. The only drawback here is his opposing pitcher.
Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals ($12,000)
Scherzer‘s thumb injury is fine to make the start, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. The price should have you more worried. He costs the premium of three solid hitters, with the similar production of Harvey. He has mostly been untouchable, though. The Mets lineup shouldn’t scare you, so if you can find bargain hitters to start these two aces, go for it.
The Good
Scott Kazmir, Oakland Athletics ($7,400)
DraftKings prices are heavily impacted by what park the pitcher is pitching in. There is no other way to explain the fact Kazmir (2-0, 0.99 ERA) is $1,100 cheaper than his past start. Kazmir allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers in his first start of the season, striking out 10.
That Rangers offense is not productive, ranking 30th in hits, average and slugging percentage and 26th in runs, home runs and RBI. Kazmir should be your first choice if you cannot afford those top two aces.
Anthony Desclafani, Cincinnati Reds ($7,700)
He was touched up for five runs last time out, but four of those were unearned and he has a 1.04 ERA on the season. His price has jumped on those numbers, but we still believe he’s the third-best play on the board, especially against a middlin‘ Atlanta Braves lineup to face in a pitcher’s park.
Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox ($7,200)
He has run hot and cold alternately in starts this season. It is his turn to get beat up again, but we just cannot see that happening against the Minnesota Twins. That lineup should not scare anyone. They rank 29th with just 12 homers, which is just a few more than Nelson Cruz and Hanley Ramirez have themselves (10). Quintana looks like a pretty safe play.
Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals ($8,300)
We love Lynn, but we have to move him down the list a bit here because of his sketchy history against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats. His career 4.71 ERA in 15 games against the Pirates is higher than any other opponent he has made more than three starts against, per Baseball-Reference.com. He is pitching at home and coming off a bad outing, so we figure he will overcome and perform well for us here.
Top Bargain Arms
Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles ($6,100)
Take out Tillman’s two starts against the mashing Toronto Blue Jays (0-2, 18.00), he has pitched fairly well (2-0). One of those victories came at the expense of the Tampa Bay Rays, too. He held them to just a solo homer in his first start of the season. Tillman is a strikeout pitcher who just needs to manage his walks to turn his season around. We figure he will be good for a quality start victory here.
Justin Masterson, Boston Red Sox ($6,000)
Masterson has just one bad start and three fairly good ones thus far in his return to the Red Sox. Sure, it is the New York Yankees he is facing, but the start is at home and these are not the Yankees of the Derek Jeter era. Masterson‘s price is intriguing, especially if you slot Harvey or Scherzer and need a cheaper second arm.
DraftKings is hosting one-day MLB contests! Claim your free entry by clicking on the link and making a first-time deposit!
Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com