Main DraftKings MLB Picks August 16: Is Darvish Worth The Huge Price?

SAN DIEGO, CA – AUGUST 15: Dinelson Lamet #64 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at PETCO Park on August 15, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks For August 16

We are down to nine games in the main DraftKings tournaments, but we still have one ace and a few other intriguing options. Who are the best ones? Can we afford a Coors stack? Should we? Let’s check some stats!

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The money line last night was down a touch to 115.2. My lineup with Castillo and Dinelson Lamet made it in easily. The other was undone by Marco Estrada (I knew better) and a disappointing outing from MadBum.

The winning lineup was just over 200 at 200.7. That was just 0.6 points ahead of second place! He used Danny Salazar with Lamet and got big returns from his Texas and Oakland stack.

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

ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 11: Cole Hamels #35 of the Texas Rangers throws against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 11, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

P: Cole Hamels ($9,200): The Tigers are hitting a solid .274 against Hamels, but the only have two homers and ten runs in 124 at bats with 31 strikeouts. On top of that, Hamels is on a nice roll lately. He has only given up one unearned run over 16 innings in his last two starts. Yeah, one was against the Twins, but the other was against Houston. Hamels has a stellar 2.66 ERA in seven home starts this season. He looks worth the price in this one.

P: Carlos Rodon ($6,700): Shockingly enough, Yu Darvish never faced the White Sox in his time in the American League. Well, at least not anyone from this team. Perhaps that isn’t so shocking considering the Sox sold everything that wasn’t bolted down. At any rate, the Sox stink against righties, but I can’t justify paying $4,500 more for Darvish than Hamels. Instead, I will take a shot with Rodon, who has racked up 35 strikeouts to just five walks in his last four starts. This has the potential to go south in a hurry against the Dodgers, but Rodon holds the platoon advantage against Seager and Bellinger here, and Yasiel Puig hit righties better than lefties. You don’t find this much strikeout potential in this price range very often, so to me it’s worth the risk.

C: Jonathan Lucroy ($3,800): I want some Coors exposure without breaking the bank. Lucroy looks like a good spot to get it. He is hitting .364 with his new team, but has yet to hit a home run for them. With a guy that throws as hard as Mike Foltynewicz in his park, Lucroy has a really good chance at one tonight. All Rockies are in play here, but how much do you want to spend?

1B: Anthony Rizzo ($4,500): So, uh, some guy named Homer is pitching at Wrigley Field. There is no punchline aside from Homer Bailey‘s 8.31 ERA on the season. Wrigley is much more of a hitter’s park during the day as we saw last night’s game feature very little scoring. However, both of those pitchers are far better than what we have there tonight. Rizzo is 6-18 with six walks, a double, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI against Bailey. Looks good to me!

2B: Scooter Gennett ($4,100): Gennett is 9-24(.375) with a walk, a double, a homer, three runs scored, and five RBI in his career against John Lackey. Lackey has had a disappointing season, and though the Reds are struggling of late, there is potential here against Lackey.

3B: Adrian Beltre ($5,000): Beltre’s price is going to be tough to swallow for some, but he is worth it. First off, Beltre is hitting .333 with three homers and 12 RBI in his last ten games. Second, Anibal Sanchez has nightmares about this guy. He has to. Beltre is 9-13(.692) with two doubles, four runs scored, and five RBI against him in his career. A homer may not be far behind the way Beltre is hitting right now.

SS: Javier Baez ($3,800): Baez has hit six homers and driven in 15 since Addison Russell went down. Him playing every day has resulted in better production, so riding him while Russell is out is a solid play. Bailey’s bugaboo hasn’t been homers…..yet. However, he has allowed eight or more hits in six of his last eight starts with at least two walks piled on top of those. There will be a lot of Cubbies on base tonight.

OF: George Springer ($4,900): Taijuan Walker is in a bit of a funk lately. He has allowed 20 runs, including eight homers, in his last six starts. That bodes well for a slugger like Springer and the rest of his teammates to wreak some havoc at home.

OF: Billy Hamilton ($4,400): Hamilton is 10-29(.345) with two walks, two doubles, and six runs scored against John Lackey. While that is a nice line, that doesn’t quite live up to the price, does it? Well, Hamilton also has seven steals against Lackey in his career. If Hamilton gets on, a steal is very likely, which is a great way to pick up five points.

OF: Kyle Schwarber ($3,600): This is strictly a power play on a struggling pitcher. Watch the wind though. If it is blowing in, Schwarber isn’t that great of a play since Bailey has not allowed more than one homer in any of his starts.

Next: DraftKings Main Lineup 2

CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 09: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Cleveland Indians bats against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Progressive Field on August 9, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rockies defeated the Indians 3-2 in 12 innings. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images) /

P: Jacob Faria ($8,600): Faria pitched well in his start against the Blue Jays earlier this season. He gave up only one run in 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts en route to the win. He takes a bit of a park hit heading to Rogers Centre, but that 3.19 ERA is not a fluke. Faria has actually been better on the road this year, posting a 3.03 ERA in six road starts. He may not get a win with the way Marcus Stroman is rolling, but he should put up around 20 DraftKings points for this price.

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P: Charlie Morton ($8,300): You have to have a strong stomach to run Morton out there against Arizona, but hear me out: Arizona does most of their damage at home. This game is in Houston, where Morton owns a 3.65 ERA and allows less than a homer per start. He has also struck out 70 in 66 home innings. There is potential here in a slot where most wont use him.

C: Yan Gomes ($3,000): Stacking against Kyle Gibson is never a bad option. I’m a Twins fan. I know just how bad he can be. However, the Indians in particular have torched Gibson to the tune of .344 with ten homers and 30 runs in 160 at bats. Gomes is 9-20 with a walk, two doubles, two homers, four runs scored, and four RBI off Gibson in his career.

1B: Edwin Encarnacion ($5,300): Edwin is heating up, slugging five homers in his last five games. He has also feasted off of Gibson, hitting 6-15 with four walks, a double, three homers, four runs scored, and eight RBI against him in his career. Even if you don’t stack Indians, Edwin is a great standalone play.

2B: Jason Kipnis ($4,000): Remember what I said yesterday about Kipnis being too good for his price? Well, the bargain potential goes down here, but he did hit a homer last night. Kipnis is also 9-20 in his career against Gibson with eight walks, two doubles, a solo homer, five runs scored, and two steals. A return on your investment again tonight is very likely with Kipnis.

3B: Wilmer Flores ($4,200): Flores is a strong play whenever a lefty is on the mound. That is the case today against Jaime Garcia. Flores is 4-12 with a double, two homers, three runs scored, and six RBI against Garcia from his days in Atlanta. I’m guessing he will like to hit him in pinstripes as well.

SS: Enrique Hernandez ($3,400): A lefty on the hill means Kike in my lineup. Even though Carlos Rodon is pitching well lately, Hernandez has hit two solo homers off of him in two at bats. The odds don’t get any better than that!

OF: Yoenis Cespedes ($4,800): Cespedes is finally showing off his power, homering in three straight games before having the streak broken last night. It wasn’t a total loss. He still picked up two hits! He owns just about every advantage you can think of on Jaime Garcia, so don’t be surprised when Cespedes keeps his hot streak going.

OF: Aaron Hicks ($4,700): Hicks has two homers and four RBI in his last five games, so he has come off the DL swinging. He is also hitting a robust .337 in 104 road at bats. He doesn’t have as much power away from Yankee Stadium, but Citi Field is a decent hitters park. It may look even more so with Robert Gsellman on the mound.

OF: Corey Dickerson ($3,500): Dickerson is getting back on the right track with four hits in his last six games. Dickerson is also one of the few that has hit Marcus Stroman well. He is 6-21(.286) with a walk, two doubles, two homers, four runs scored, and three RBI in his career off of him. Dickerson is still priced low enough to take a chance with him, even against Stroman.

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!