DraftKings MLB Picks August 18: Lock In Scherzer at Petco Park

KANSAS CITY, MO – AUGUST 08: Tommy Pham #28, Dexter Fowler #25 and Randal Grichuk #15 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after the Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 10-3 to win the game at Kauffman Stadium on August 8, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks For August 18

The Toronto-Chicago afternoon game at Wrigley is the only one missing from our DraftKings slate tonight. We have a lot of aces taking the mound tonight. This can be a daunting task trying to figure out which ones to use. Let’s check some stats for help.

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The money line last night was steady once again at 114.1. My lineup earned 174.9 DraftKings points, which was good for 24th place! The only bad part was that there were 24 other lineups exactly like mine. Oh well, I will take it!

The winning lineup was 21 points ahead of mine at 195.9. He used Brett Nicholas and Tommy Pham to get the separation. Using Josh Harrison over Todd Frazier was a good move too.

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 a bonus of 25% of your first deposit, use this link for the referral bonus! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn those DraftKings dollars into more!

Next: DraftKings Lineup 1

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 17: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees connects on a first inning 3-run home run against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 17, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

P: Max Scherzer ($14,100): There are a lot of great pitching options out there, but Scherzer stands out at Petco. He has a 1.96 career ERA there in four starts, and the Padres team facing him still struggles against right handed pitching. Only Wil Myers has been able to drive in a run on him on this current team. The rest of them are 4-22 with seven strikeouts. I will highlight why I’m off Kluber later. Hill doesn’t go deep into games with regularity, and Martinez, though good, wont touch Scherzer,’s production tonight.

P: Zack Godley ($8,400): Godley has never faced the Twins, but he has pitched well against everyone else, so I don’t know why this would be different. Godley has a 2.95 ERA through 17 starts, and a 2.72 ERA on the road. He doesn’t allow many base runners or homers, and strikes out almost one per inning. And he is still this cheap tonight. Count me in!

C: Gary Sanchez ($4,800): Sanchez is almost as hot as teammate Aaron Judge was earlier this year. He is hitting .333 with five homers and 12 RBI over his last ten games. He is even hotter in the past five. Three of those homers and nine RBI have come in that span! This is a great matchup with Drew Pomeranz, whom he is 6-13(.462) with a double, three homers, and six RBI against in his career.

1B: Ryder Jones ($2,000): When you pay up for a guy like Scherzer, you have to bargain shop elsewhere. Jones looks like a great place to do just that. Lefties are hitting .308 with ten homers in just 133 at bats against Zach Eflin. Don’t expect the homer because AT&T Park depresses power, especially from the left side. However, there is a lot of room in this outfield. Play some lefty Giants and watch the hits roll in!

2B: Gavin Cecchini ($2,700): Oh, if only Wilmer Flores were healthy enough to play. He has slugged two homers against Justin Nicolino in just four at bats. Instead, Cecchini looks like a good bet to start against the lefty with the plethora of injuries to the Mets infield. Cecchini was 4-14 with a homer and two RBI filling in for Neil Walker back in June. If he doesn’t play, I left enough wiggle room to go to Brad Miller against Erasmo Ramirez just in case.

3B: Mike Moustakas ($3,500): Everyone is all over Kluber right now, and with good reason. However, there are too many red flags for me to use him here. The Royals are hitting .293 with six homers and 30 RBI in 273 at bats against Kluber. If that isn’t enough to shy you off, Kluber has a 4.72 ERA in ten career starts at Kauffman Stadium. There is more bang for your buck elsewhere tonight. However, I am taking it a step further. I am taking advantage of the low prices on Royals! Moose is 17-37(.459) with three walks, six doubles, a homer, seven runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Kluber. All for the price of Panda.

SS: Brandon Crawford ($2,400): Much like my take on Kole Calhoun, Crawford is much too good of a hitter to be this bad. He is a great cheap play against the struggling Eflin. The Giants are truly the poor man’s stack of the night.

OF: Charlie Blackmon ($5,800): It’s tough to fit Blackmon in a Scherzer lineup, but with Matt Garza toeing the rubber at Coors, it’s a great idea if you can do it. Blackmon rakes at Coors this year, hitting .400 at home. Garza has a 8.82 ERA in three career starts at Coors Field. Stack Rockies if you can afford it!

OF: Jarrett Parker ($3,600): Parker came off the DL hot with hits in his first five games back. He slowed down over the weekend, but is back at it with five hits in the last three games. He is a strong play for solid points at this price.

OF: Brandon Moss ($2,700): Moss is another dirt cheap option that has done pretty well against Kluber. Moss is 2-4 with a walk against him already, and is hitting 118 points higher at home with ten of his 15 homers at the K. Moss is a solid punt play tonight.

Next: DraftKings Lineup 2

HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 02: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on August 2, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

P: Dallas Keuchel ($10,400): I am taking plenty of risks in this lineup, so why no go with Keuchel? His recent struggles could point to low ownership, but he was strong in Arlington his last time out. It may be too early to say he is back on track, but Oakland isn’t really going to hurt him. They are young and strike out a lot. The current roster is only hitting .217 against Keuchel with a .238 wOBA in 92 at bats. They have only one homer and four runs to go with 22 strikeouts. There are far more good omens than bad here. Keuchel could pitch like an ace, yet he is priced a notch below.

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P: Austin Pruitt ($6,400): The Mariners are 3-6 against Pruitt in his career. Time to panic! Well, not really. Pruitt has been solid lately, turning in three straight quality starts and allowing only four runs. He isn’t going to wow anyone with strikeouts, but Tropicana Field is a sneaky pitcher’s park, and Pruitt is doing well. Another quality start at a very reasonable price looks certain.

C: Travis d’Arnaud ($2,400): d’Arnaud wont be gaining eligibility at second or third anytime soon, but that’s okay. His bat works better in our lineups at catcher anyway. d’Arnaud is way too cheap tonight. He is 2-3 with a homer and two RBI in his career against Justin Nicolino.

1B: Adam Lind ($3,700): Lind should be out there in some capacity since the Nats outfield resembles a M*A*S*H* unit. That is a good thing since he is 2-5 with a homer and three RBI in his career against Luis Perdomo.

2B: Rougned Odor ($4,000): As long as the White Sox keep rolling James Shields out there, I will keep stacking against him. The Rangers are hitting .324 off of him in 139 at bats, so it is far from a fluke. Shields has had the worst year of his career, so it isn’t getting any better tonight. Odor is still reasonably priced despite the matchup, and is a great way to start the stack.

3B: Joey Gallo ($5,200): Gallo is mashing everything right now. He has a ridiculous ten homers in August! Shields has surrendered 15 long balls in his last ten games, including three in his last six. A few are leaving the yard in Arlington tonight. Gallo is the best bet to hit at least one of them.

SS: Tim Beckham ($4,300): Death, taxes, a Stanton homer, and a multi hit game from Beckham. Those are the only constants in this universe. Especially when you consider who Stanton and Beckham are matched up with tonight. Beckham gets Andrew Heaney, who is fresh off of Tommy John recovery and pitches left handed. This is yet another great spot for Beckham at his still too low of a price.

OF: Giancarlo Stanton ($5,700): As for Stanton, he gets rookie Chris Flexen. Flexen has been serviceable in his last two outings, but serviceable wont stop Stanton’s assault on opposing pitchers and record books. Flexen’s recent bout of solid pitching is the only reason I’m not stacking Marlins.

OF: Shin-soo Choo ($4,300): Choo is 6-18 with a walk, a double, three runs scored, and a RBI against Shields. The main reason he is here is because he hits in front of all those guys that are going to be hitting homers tonight, setting him up to score a couple of times. He still has the juice to get one out as well if Shields is having a particularly bad night.

OF: Leury Garcia ($3,600): Okay, enough picking on Shields for now. Andrew Cashner isn’t much better. He has done a great job of limiting damage, but his bloated WHIP and lack of strikeouts are a harbinger of bad things to come. Garcia is leading off for the rebuilding Sox, and has homered and driven in four over his last five games. Two of those were against the Dodgers. He is a strong bet to get things going for the Sox off Cashner tonight.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

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!