Daily Fantasy Baseball: DraftKings Picks For August 28

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 30 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!

Here are my DraftKings picks for August 28:

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

Aug 11, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (33) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the second inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

There are eight pitchers that cost more than $10,000 tonight, and three more than cost $9,000 or more. With so much money to be spent, just how much should we budget for pitchers? Let’s break this down!

Since DK takes points away for baserunners, and values strikeouts highly, we would like to have a pitcher with a lower WHIP and that averages a strikeout per inning or more to maximize potential. Can we afford two such pitchers?

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Danny Salazar, Cole Hamels, Francisco Liriano, Jason Hammel, and Raisel Iglesias all average more than a strikeout per inning. Matt Harvey, Taijuan Walker, Ian Kennedy, Masahiro Tanaka, Taylor Jungmann, Kevin Gausman, Aaron Nola, Henry Owens, and Jon Gray are all close. We can add Sonny Gray, Michael Wacha, and Scott Kazmir to our list as well because of their great ERA and WHIP numbers (2.10, 0.98 for Gray, 2.80 and 1.12 for Wacha, and 2.39, 1.12 for Kazmir).

On the surface, 19 of the 30 pitchers have qualities that should be good for the DraftKings format. Let’s start weeding some of them out. The first ones out are anyone with an ERA over 4. There goes Jon Gray, Henry Owens, Kevin Gausman, Ian Kennedy, and Taijuan Walker. That brings us down to 14.

Next out are those that have struggled in their last few starts. Jason Hammel has a 4.80 ERA in his last four starts, and has only lasted six innings or more in one of his last eight starts. Kazmir was off to a great start in Houston, but he has lost three of his last four starts, and has not made it past six innings in any of them. Oh, and he is facing the Twins, who bludgeon left handers. Max Scherzer has been a little worse than human over his last four starts, giving up 16 runs in 21 innings, and not going longer than six innings. However, I am not taking him off of this list because in his July 30th start against the Marlins, he pitched seven shutout innings and gave up only three hits. That was also his last win. Still, I’m taking Scherzer out because of so many other good options.

Here is an interesting stat: Cole Hamels has given up 14 runs in 26.2 innings as a Ranger. I am taking him out as well. Taylor Jungmann has been a pleasant surprise for Milwaukee, but he has given up seven runs in his last 13 innings pitched. That is enough for me not to trust him. Francisco Liriano’s ERA is at 3.93 over his last three starts, and he hasn’t struck out more than five batters in a start since July 23rd. So that leaves us eight.

The Angels have smacked three homers off of Danny Salazar in just 46 at bats. Aaron Nola’s 3.50 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over his last three starts is a little high, and he is facing a red-hot Ian Kennedy. His price is nice at $8,000, but if I am going to go that cheap, I am taking Iglesias. He has posted a quality start in every trip to the mound in August, and he struck out a career-high 13 in his last start.

I like Kershaw against the Cubs, especially since he has been his dominant self lately, but I shudder to think what my offense will look like if I blow 30% of my budget on one player. The Cubs have also homered off of Kershaw five times and driven in 18 in 199 at bats. That said, they strike out A LOT. So much so that Kris Bryant leads the National League in strikeouts despite not being in the majors for the first couple weeks of the season. Bryant has faced Kershaw twice. He struck out and hit a two run homer.

Matt Harvey has given up just two runs in his last four starts. Michael Wacha has dominated the Giants in his career. He started against them on the 17th of August and allowed one run on six hits in seven innings while striking out six. Sonny Gray is a good option as usual, but I am chasing the strikeouts with so many other aces available.

So who are the best options? If you are looking to go cheap, it would have to be Iglesias and Ian Kennedy. If you are willing to spend, it’s Kershaw, Harvey, and Wacha.

My Picks: Harvey and Iglesias

Next: Who Are The Best Infield Options?

Aug 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (10) watches his team take on the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Blue Jays defeat the Rangers 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Any Blue Jay hitter, especially the right handers, are a good option against Tigers lefty Matt Boyd. Boyd has struggled so far in the majors, and with all of the right-handed power in the Jays’ lineup, this could get ugly. Edwin Encarnacion is hitting .385 with five homers and 15 RBI in his last 11 games. Not coincidentally, he also has an 11 game hit streak.

Josh Donaldson has driven in 14 runs in his last eight games. There is likely more to come tonight!

Pedro Alvarez is heating up, but he is still a reasonable price ($3,200). He has five homers in his last 15 games, and is hitting .333 over that span. He could have a good night against rookie right-hander Jon Gray, and you can use him at third base!

If you are chasing homers, Mark Trumbo has three homers in his last six games. He is a solid bet facing a left hander in Chicago’s John Danks.

Miguel Cabrera is hitting a robust .489 with two homers, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored in the last two weeks. If you elect not to spend much on pitching, Miggy will get you points. The only question is how many. Against R.A. Dickey, it could be quite a few.

Mark Canha has seven RBI in the last five days, and can also be used in the outfield.

Ian Kinsler is 6 for 16 with two homers and five RBI against Dickey in his career.

You are taking a big risk if you go with Brian Dozier or Kurt Suzuki. Both of them hit lefties well, but not Scott Kazmir. Dozier is just 4 for 26 against him with a solo homer. Suzuki is a miserable 3 for 31.

Defying the lefty-lefty theory yet again is Robinson Cano. He is 7 for 17 against John Danks with two homers and four RBI.

Dee Gordon is 6 for 17 lifetime off of Max Scherzer with a homer and two RBI. He is the only Marlin I would even consider playing tonight.

Brandon Moss only has two career hits in five at bats against Mike Leake, but they are a double and a home run.

Jose Abreu is 3 for 5 with a two run homer off of Taijuan Walker.

Ben Zobrist is eligible at multiple positions, and is 4 for 9 with two homers and three RBI against Erasmo Ramirez in his career.

The Mets offense is firing on all cylinders, and Wilmer Flores is right in the middle of it. He is hitting .329 with four homers, 14 RBI, and 16 runs scored since he was nearly traded to the Brewers. He is a strong play against rookie Henry Owens.

Miguel Sano is hitting .302 with seven homers and 18 RBI in the last two weeks. He is also facing a lefty, albeit a tough one.

Francisco Lindor is hitting .436 with two homers, four steals, eight RBI, and seven runs scored in the last two weeks.

My Picks: Encarnacion, Flores, Jose Iglesias, Miggy

Next: Who Are The Best Outfielders?

Aug 20, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun (56) at bat in the first inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Kole Calhoun is 3 for 6 with two home runs off of Danny Salazar. Instead of spending on Mike Trout (1 for 6, 4 strikeouts), save some money and likely get more production out of Calhoun.

Andre Ethier is 9 for 27 with five walks, two homers, and an impressive nine RBI against Jason Hammel.

Are you looking for someone who might be able to hit Kershaw? Try Dexter Fowler, who is 17 for 40 (.425) off of him. He only has one RBI, but he has four walks, a double, and a triple. Honorable mention is Chris Denorfia, who has three home runs in his career off of Kershaw.

Austin Jackson is still a Mariner despite clearing waivers, so all systems should be go for him. He is 23 for 52 (.442) with three homers and 12 RBI against John Danks. Talk about cheap production!

Yoenis Cespedes has six homers in his last seven games, and gets the gift of a rookie left handed pitcher at home. Oh, and he has three steals in that span. Whatever the premium is, pay it!

Ryan Braun has four homers and 12 RBI over the last two weeks.

If Matt Kemp is in the lineup, he is worth considering. He has eight RBI in his last five games!

Evan Gattis has three homers in the last two days. As a reward, he gets to feast on Twins pitching now.

After a slow start in his return from the DL, Jonathan Lucroy is starting to hit. He owns a .304 average wtih three homers and seven RBI over the last two weeks.

Yadier Molina has 14 RBI since August 17th.

My Picks: Molina, Cespedes, Kyle Parker, Calhoun