Main DraftKings MLB Picks August 12: Fade Pitching And Buy Trout!

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – AUGUST 11: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the seventh inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 11, 2017 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks For August 12

12 of the 15 games are in the main DraftKings tournament tonight. There are a lot of good pitching options out there tonight, but there may be better ones in the middle of the pack. Let’s check out some stats to see where we should spend our $60,000 cap!

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The money line last night was at 117.45. That’s a solid total considering a large majority had a piece of the Nationals/Giants game. That destroyed my lineup with Harper in it. The other was done in by Nick Pivetta. Ugh.

The winning lineup was pretty steady at 217.4. He won big with the outstanding start from Ubaldo Jimenez and Carlos Carrasco. His Brewers stack with Votto put him over the top.

These picks are based mostly on statistical analysis . If you have a gut feeling, then by all means, follow that. This is not an exact science. The best lineups usually have a mix of proven stats and hot players. Check out this post from Matt McGarvey for great tips about whether to use a hot player in DFS or not.

For you first time players, if you would like $10 worth of free entry tickets, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn that $10 into more!

Next: DraftKings Lineup

ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 28: Pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the second inning during the MLB game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 28, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

P: Hyun-Jin Ryu ($9,700): I think that Scherzer is a bit overpriced. I will get into that later. Carlos Martinez carries a price tag $1,500 higher than Ryu and he has an ERA near 6 in his last six starts. Ryu is an easy decision considering how everyone else is priced. The Padres are hitting better lately, but they still strike out a lot. Ryu has two straight scoreless starts, and has not allowed more than two runs in a start since June 11th. That trend is not likely to end tonight.

P: Jeff Hoffman ($6,600): Hoffman has a solid 3.65 ERA on the road this year. He also pitched a gem in his last Coors Field outing, a place where he has struggled all year. Hoffman is pitching much better than his 5.03 ERA suggests, and he gets to visit spacious Marlins Park. If he can avoid Giancarlo Stanton, a quality start is likely.

C: Drew Butera ($2,300): Butera is assured all the at bats he can handle with Salvador Perez on the shelf. He is also 3-5 with a run scored and a RBI off of James Shields. Butera is in a hitters park against a fly ball pitcher that has had issues keeping balls in the confines of yards lately. He isn’t much for power, but he is a solid sleeper pick for a homer here.

1B: Freddie Freeman ($4,600): Freeman is 3-5 with two walks, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Carlos Martinez. Given that Martinez has an ugly 5.82 ERA since July 1st, this looks like a bargain for Freeman tonight.

2B: Daniel Murphy ($5,000): Unfortunately, Murphy doesn’t see much of a price drop, even with Shark on the mound. Maybe that’s because Murphy is 9-17(.529) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, two runs scored, and six RBI in his career against Jeff Samardzija. Suddenly his price looks like a bargain!

3B: Mike Moustakas ($4,400): Moose likes Guaranteed Rate Field. His ten homers there (including two last night) are the most by him at any ballpark he doesn’t call home. He is also 3-7 with two walks and a solo homer against James Shields. Shields has allowed five homers over his last two starts and eight in six home starts. The Royals don’t have a lot of power, but Moose is definitely a huge threat to pad his totals again tonight.

SS: Alcides Escobar ($2,300): Escobar likely wont hit a homer against Shields, but he is 5-11 with a double, a triple, a steal, a runs scored, and a RBI off of him. For this price, I will gamble that Escobar breaks out of his slump tonight.

OF: Mike Trout ($5,600): My reasoning here is: Mike Trout. Nothing else really needs to be said. But I do realize that you guys come here for stats and insight, so here it is. Trout is 8-20 with two doubles, a homer, a steal, four runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Erasmo Ramirez. More? Trout is hitting .314 with 14 homers and 42 RBI in 54 career games at Safeco Field. That is the most home runs he has at any road park. Pitcher’s park my foot…..

OF: Nelson Cruz ($5,000): Cruz is 1-3 with a solo homer and a walk in his career against JC Ramirez. Ramirez will be a popular streaming option because of the Ramirez opposing him (Erasmo), but the Mariners are dangerous. Cruz in particular. He is hitting .389 with six homers and 11 RBI in his last ten games.

OF: Melky Cabrera ($4,400): Cabrera is a career .300 hitter at Guaranteed Rate Park in nearly 1000 at bats. He doesn’t possess a ton of power, but I have highlighted Shields’ struggles all through this article. Melky owns a run producing spot in a lineup that could put up some good run totals tonight.

Next: DraftKings Main Lineup 2

BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 23: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 23, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

P: Dylan Bundy ($8,400): Bundy had a miserable July. Everyone knows this. It’s all that fantasy columnists have written about over the last three weeks. However, Bundy has been outstanding in August. He has given up only three runs (two earned) over 15 innings with 15 strikeouts in his two starts. Tonight he gets Oakland is a cavernous ballpark. I am guessing that his hot streak continues. Bundy should be well worth this price tonight, especially considering the prices on pitching tonight.

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P: Jeff Samardzija ($7,400): You may notice the conspicuous omission of Max Scherzer. My reasoning is this: the Giants are hitting .216 with four homers and 13 RBI in just 74 at bats off of him. Considering Scherzer’s outrageous pricing, he is $2,800 more than any other pitcher, I’m not sure he is worth the money in GPP’s. However, it is hard to fade him in cash games. So why Shark? Well, the Nats are only hitting .224 off of him in 85 at bats with just one homer and 11 RBI. Six of those are by the same person. There is decent strikeout potential here. He has also been solid with a 4.21 ERA in 25.2 innings in Nationals Park in his career.

C: Brian McCann ($3,500): Tyson Ross was outstanding in his last rehab start, but that was at AA Frisco. The fact remains that Ross carries a 7.52 ERA in seven starts in the majors this year. He has been marginally better at home, but a 6.50 ERA against a team like the Astros may as well be double that. I want as much exposure as I can afford to this one!

1B: Paul Goldschmidt ($5,200): This may seem a little bit of an odd choice against Jon Lester, but Lester has a 4.25 ERA on the road, and has allowed nine homers in ten road starts. Goldschmidt also owns the platoon advantage and is 5-8 with a homer, four RBI and two steals lifetime against Lester.

2B: Cesar Hernandez ($3,700): Steven Matz continues to get lit up, especially at home. At least this game is on the road, but Philadelphia is one of the most hitter friendly parks around. Actually, it hasn’t mattered where Matz has pitched lately, it has been bad. He owns a 8.51 ERA over his last ten starts. Most of the Phillies don’t hold the platoon advantage against Matz, so I am not going with a full stack. I do want the leadoff and cleanup hitters though!

3B: Maikel Franco ($3,400): Franco has hit 10 of his 17 home runs at home in 47 less at bats. He also gets to face a struggling Steven Matz tonight. The Phillies offense could be a sneaky source of points tonight. I want to make sure that I have their two key right handed components.

SS: Elvis Andrus ($4,700): Mike Fiers has surrendered seven homers to the Rangers in just 68 at bats. Want to take a guess at the only player that has more than one? Gallo? Nope. He has one in three at bats. Beltre? Nope. He is 3-9 against Fiers, but only has one homer. The answer is Andrus, who has hit two solo shots off of Fiers in 11 at bats. I like those odds!

OF: George Springer ($5,300): To me, Springer is an easy choice against the struggling Tyson Ross. Springer hit his first home run since July 7th last night. Don’t be surprised if that one leads to several more in the coming days now that he has his feet back under him after a DL stint.

OF: A.J. Pollock ($4,200): Pollock is 5-12 with a double, a triple, a steal, and two runs scored in his career against Jon Lester. The Cubs’ problems throwing out would be base stealers is well documented. Pollock still has the speed to swipe a bag or to, and should at least get one chance at it.

OF: Nomar Mazara ($4,100): Mazara is 3-7 with a walk and two runs scored in his career against Mike Fiers. That isn’t much, but Mazara has hit two homers in his last eight games. This could be the night he gets one off Fiers.

Next: Early Slate DraftKings MLB Picks

Good luck out there, and check out our picks for FanDuel baseball, along with our PGA picks. We also have plenty of NFL stuff to get you ready for football!