Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks For August 18

By Mike Marteny | Aug 18, 2015

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 28 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 $250 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 too!

Here are my DraftKings picks for August 18:

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

August 1, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) pitches the first inning against Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

As stated before, you are looking for pitchers who will get above average strikeouts without allowing a lot of base runners. Let’s take a look at who can fit that bill tonight.

Clayton Kershaw, James Shields, Jacob deGrom, Francisco Liriano, Lance Lynn, and Raisel Iglesias all are averaging a strikeout or more per inning. Trevor Bauer and Jason Hammel are very close. Jake Odorizzi has a good 3.10 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, so we can add him to our short list as well Hisashi Iwakuma threw a no hitter against a good Orioles team, and lowered his WHIP to 1.01 with a decent 3.86 ERA. We can add him as well.

That leaves ten ideal pitchers for our lineups tonight. Let’s start to weed some of them out since we can only use two.

First out is Trevor Bauer and his 4.35 ERA. I certainly don’t trust him at hitter-friendly Fenway Park. We can also dump Raisel Iglesias and his 4.70 ERA. On top of that, the Royals don’t strike out a lot either, further limiting his upside.

Next we can eliminate James Shields because of his unsightly 1.30 WHIP. His 3.89 ERA is also a little on the high side. Although if we run short on cash, he might be worth the $8,600 against Atlanta tonight.

Jake Odorizzi gave up six runs to the Braves his last time out. Tonight he faces off against a Houston team that has been nearly unbeatable at home. On the surface, a free swinging team and so-so opposing pitcher in Scott Feldman looks good, but I still don’t trust him against all these power hitters.

Iwakuma dominated the Orioles his last time out, but I’m not going to pay the premium to pitch him at Texas.

I am also going to take out Lance Lynn. His numbers on the season are still very good, but he has struggled in two of his last three starts. The Giants are a solid offensive team, so I feel like I can do better. Especially for the $9,500 it would take to get him.

That leaves us four good options in Kershaw, deGrom, Liriano, and Hammel. Taking Kershaw and deGrom would cost $26,600, which is more than half of the salary for the entire team. This seems unfeasible, so we need to pick between the two.

Both have great chances at a win, but I simply can’t pass on Kershaw at Oakland. It’s hard to recommend paying $15,000 for anyone, but he should be worth it tonight.

Liriano has won three of his last four starts, and racked up 24 strikeouts in just 20.2 innings in that span. The only team that he really struggled against was the Dodgers. When you add in his dominance of the current Diamondbacks roster (they are hitting just .186 off of him in 70 at bats), he is a safer pick that Hammel against Detroit.

My Picks: Kershaw and Liriano

Next: Who Are The Best Infielders?

Aug 15, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (29) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Abreu‘s ($4,300) only hit in three at bats off of Garrett Richards is a three run homer. He also has four homers and ten runs scored in the last two weeks. He is a solid cheaper option tonight.

Buster Posey ($3,800) is 4 for 6 with a homer and four RBI against Lance Lynn. Posey is also eligible at both first base and catcher. He will be a good asset at either position tonight.

Chris Davis ($5,000) has six homers and ten RBI in his last eight games. He is facing one of the game’s best in Jacob deGrom today, but can deGrom cool him off?

Adrian Gonzalez ($4,200) has only faced Felix Doubront twice. He has two homers and five RBI in those two at bats.

Victor Martinez ($3,600) has five RBI in his last four games.

Eric Hosmer ($4,800) is riding an eight game hitting streak and has two homers and 13 RBI in that span. In fact, he has a ten game streak in which he has driven in a run. He could have a monster night against Raisel Iglesias.

Neil Walker ($3,600) has 12 RBI in 49 at bats against Mike Leake. He has also walked eight times. The .265 average is not great, but he is still finding ways to produce.

Brian Dozier ($4,400) has a .860 OPS against left handed pitching this year, and is 3 for 7 with four walks lifetime against CC Sabathia. He also has six home runs against southpaws. If you have the money, Dozier could pay off big.

Jedd Gyorko ($2,700) has 13 RBI in the last two weeks. 10 of those are in the last six games. If you want to go cheap, Gyorko could pay off for you.

DJ LeMahieu ($4,400) is 5 for 11 with a pair of RBI against Jordan Zimmerman.

Ian Desmond ($4,500) has eight home runs since the All Star break, and is heading to start a series at Coors Field.

Adrian Beltre ($3,600) is hitting .294 with three homers, eight RBI, and 11 runs scored in the last two weeks. He also is 11 for 33 with three homers and five RBI against Hisashi Iwakuma.

Next: Who Is The Best In The Outfield?

Aug 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran (36) hits a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. The Yankees won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Brian McCann ($4,700) is 19 for 40 (.475) with eight doubles, two homers, and 11 RBI off of Mike Pelfrey. He also has three homers and nine RBI in his last five games. He is hot, and facing a pitcher that he has clobbered. Find a way to get him in your lineup!

Kurt Suzuki ($2,500) has four homers and nine RBI in just 33 at bats against CC Sabathia.

Kyle Schwarber ($4,400) is hitting .273 with four homers, 14 runs scored, 14 RBI and even a steal since he was recalled from the minors on August 3rd.

Carlos Beltran ($3,800) has three homers in his last four games. There is no way that the Yankees can take him out of the lineup right now with the way he is hitting, and he is still affordable enough to play him against a struggling Pelfrey.

Torii Hunter ($3,600) is 22 for 79 (.278) against Sabathia with four homers, 20 RBI, and eight walks. Look for some points tonight.

Aaron Hicks ($3,500) has two homers in the last week, and is 3 for 7 with two homers and five RBI against CC Sabathia.

Andrew McCutchen ($5,300) is 16 for 64 with two homers, six RBI, and four steals against Mike Leake.

Forget the lefty-lefty thing for a minute. David DeJesus ($2,500) has five RBI in 25 at bats against John Danks in nine hits. That’s a .360 average. If the Angels have him in there, He could be a great cheap option.

Jay Bruce ($3,900) is 7 for 14 with three walks, a homer, and two RBI against Edinson Volquez.

Nick Markakis ($3,200) is 23 for 74 (.311) with 11 walks, two homers, and nine RBI against James Shields.

Good luck tonight!

Next: Is Garbage Time A Garbage Theory?

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