Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks For August 12

May 12, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; A detailed view of a baseball glove and bat before the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

With 20 pitchers going in the big tournaments tonight, it is important to find all of the information you can to give you a leg up on the competition. These picks are made to maximize value at DraftKings. It is important to note the major differences between DraftKings and FanDuel. They are very different animals.

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The biggest difference is pitching. DK gives you twice the value for strikeouts and innings pitched, but also docks you for hits allowed and docks you twice as much for earned runs. You want to find a high strikeout pitcher who doesn’t allow a lot of base runners. You also start two pitchers instead of just one. In smaller tournaments, that can be a challenge!

For the hitters, you want to chase homers in DK since they don’t count outs against you. The major difference is that caught stealing will cost you two points. Chasing cheap steals like Billy Hamilton or Dee Gordon are good strategies at FanDuel. Not so much at DraftKings.

You can also play for as little at $.25 at DraftKings and win up to $50 from that entry. They really do have something for everyone!

One other key difference is that you can select more than four players from one team. This can be huge for light days, and for days when you know an opposing pitcher is just going to get hammered. Is there anything like that tonight? Let’s find out!

If you play FanDuel as well, check out Dave Fuqua’s picks here too!

Here are my DraftKings picks for August 12

Next: Who Are The Best Two Pitchers For Your Team?

Jul 30, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) looks on from the dugout against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, and Danny Salazar are the only starting pitchers that average more than a strikeout per inning tonight, but Jason Hammel and Gerrit Cole are close enough to add them to consideration for tonight’s tournaments. Michael Wacha (2.92 ERA, 1.08 WHIP), Andrew Heaney (2.45 ERA, 1.01 WHIP), and Jake Odorizzi (2.77 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) all have good enough peripheral numbers to consider them as well. That gives us eight solid options. Time to start narrowing them down!

Andrew Heaney is the first to go. He has not been as sharp lately, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in his last two starts. He is also facing one of the hotter teams going in the White Sox. I am passing on Heaney tonight.

Gerrit Cole has also struggled some lately, and he is facing off against Michael Wacha and the Cardinals, so his chances of a win are not good. There are better options, especially for his $10,900 price tag. I would rather go with Wacha for $800 less.

Kershaw looked almost human in his last start, giving up four runs in six innings against the Pirates. He faced the Nationals, tonight’s opponent, in his first start out of the All Star break and struck out 14 in eight innings. That said, the Nats were without Werth and Ryan Zimmerman, both of whom have hit Kershaw hard. More on that later. If you are going to spend $3,000 more than anyone else on one player, you have to be positive that he will be that much better than anyone else on the board. Kershaw may outscore everyone again, but not by $3,000 worth. I am passing on him as well.

Salazar is pitching very well lately, but he is facing the Yankees. He may perform well just like Carlos Carrasco did last night, but I’m not sure I want to bet on it. Especially for $10,500.

That leaves us four options that are still really good, but two stand out over the others for me. Wacha has not given up a run in his last two starts, and owns a 1.42 ERA against the Pirates this season in two starts. That gives him an edge over Odorizzi who is also pitching well, but he has only managed to go more than six innings once in his last eight starts.

The other is deGrom. The Rockies have been powerless on the road. deGrom has only faced him once in his career, and that was last September. How did he do? How about allowing only three hits in eight shutout innings while striking out nine? That game was also at Citi Field.

My Picks: Wacha and deGrom

Next: Who Are The Best Infield Options?

July 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Billy Butler (16) at bat in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

At $3,100, Billy Butler could be a bargain tonight. He is 22 for 70 (.314) with three homers and an impressive 17 RBI off of Mark Buehrle in his career. He also has four homers in only 98 at bats against left handed pitchers this year.

Since we don’t care about batting average at DraftKings, I like Adam Lind‘s two homers and five RBI off of Jason Hammel.

Prince Fielder is 10 for 28 with three walks, two doubles, three homers, and an impressive 12 RBI off of Mike Pelfrey. He is also on quite a hot streak coming into this. Most Rangers players are worth considering tonight. They are hitting .378 off of Pelfrey with five homers and 27 RBI in only 82 at bats as a team.

Mitch Moreland has hit a grand slam off of Pelfrey in nine at bats.

You may have heard about Anthony Rizzo‘s current hot streak. He kept it going last night reaching base three times and driving in a run. He is also 4 for 12 with a homer and three RBI in his career off of Matt Garza. Feel free to play him again!

Ian Kinsler has four hits and two RBI in just nine career at bats against Edinson Volquez.

Jimmy Rollins has slugged two homers in his career off of the Nationals’ Jordan Zimmerman.

Asdrubal Cabrera had two more hits last night, moving his average to .478 since July 28th. He is sure points at a reasonable price ($3,400).

Ryan Zimmerman is a career .438 hitter off of Kershaw, but has yet to take him deep. Still, he is a cheaper option that could get you a nice point total.

Evan Longoria is hitting .330 with four homers and 14 RBI in 88 at bats against lefties this year. He is also hitting .404 over the last two weeks.

If you are looking for a cheap option, Jefry Marte is only $2,800. He has started the last four games for the Tigers, and has gone 6 for 14 with a homer.

My Picks: Butler, Brian Dozier, Cabrera and Longoria

Next: Who Are The Best Of The Rest?

Aug 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) singles during the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Miguel Montero is 8 for 19 with a homer and three RBI off of Matt Garza in his career.

Check out these numbers from Kyle Schwarber in the last two weeks: .279 average, three homers, ten RBI, and 13 runs scored.

Coco Crisp could be a great cheap option tonight. He is 17 for 59 with three walks, two doubles, three homers, and seven RBI off of Mark Buehrle is his career.

David Dejesus is a career.360 hitter with five RBI against John Danks.

Carlos Gonzalez leads the majors with 13 home runs since the All Star break. 24 of his 26 home runs have come against right handed pitching, and he owns a .318 batting average against them as well. The bad news? He is taking on one of the tougher ones in Jacob deGrom.

Nick Markakis is 6 for 14, with two walks, two doubles, a home run, and two RBI off of Jake Odorizzi.

David Peralta has ten RBI in his last five games, and owns a .457 average over the last two weeks.

Khris Davis has four home runs and 12 RBI in the last week. He is also 4 for 12 in his career against Jason Hammel with a walk, a homer, and three RBI.

Jayson Werth is 9 for 26 with four walks and two solo homers against Clayton Kershaw. Hey, batting average means nothing, but he could end up giving you double digit points.

My Picks: Montero, Davis, Yasiel Puig, and Markakis

Next: Draft Strategy In A Two QB League

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