Main DraftKings MLB Picks August 24: There’s A Lot Of Fools Gold Out There!
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings Main MLB Picks For August 24
We have six games in the main DraftKings tournament, which is slightly bigger than the morning one. The Pirates-Dodgers tilt in Pittsburgh starts at 4:05 eastern, so it was lost in limbo between the two tournaments. You have to play the all day to get a piece of that action.
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The money line last night was up over 130 for just the second time since the break at 130.5. My Yankees/Phillies stack made it in even though Andrew Cashner and Marcus Stroman failed.
The winning lineup was up a ways to 232.9. He got a complete game from Rich Hill and an absolute gem from Luke Weaver to go with his Yankees stack.
We will provide you with several options to build your lineup here. Want to spend all your money on pitchers and play bargain bats? We will highlight who is worth the money. Want to punt arms and pay up for the big boppers? We can help you with that as well, and everything in between!
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 Pitcher Plays
Top Tier:
There is a smorgasbord of great pitching on a short slate, which is virtually unheard of. However, upon further inspection, there are a lot of potential pitfalls here. Take Chris Sale for example. Cleveland is hitting .272 with six homers and 24 runs in only 180 at bats with a pedestrian 40 strikeouts. Sale has been other-worldly so far this year, so I can’t fault you if you use him. However, these past stats scare me, and he is $1,600 more than the next pitcher behind him.
For me Carlos Martinez is the safest option. He has a solid 3.36 ERA at home, and the Padres haven’t done much against him in a short sample size. I guess what I am trying to say is that he has a much better chance to dominate than Sale does in Cleveland. Sale has a 3.71 career ERA at Progressive Field, which is not bad, but it’s not what you want when ponying up that much change for a pitcher.
There is no way I’m trusting Dallas Keuchel against the Nationals. They are hitting .386 off of him in 44 at bats with two homers and eight RBI with just five strikeouts. I’m not a huge fan of throwing Stephen Strasburg out there against that Houston offense either. However, if I were to use one, it would be Strasburg in no small part because he is cheaper. When it comes down to it, I would go to the last rung of the elite with Jake Arrieta in Cincinnati. The Reds are only hitting .215 off of him in 135 at bats with three homers, but they have scored 15 runs.
Middle Tier:
Jose Berrios dominated a pretty good Arizona team his last time out. We all know that he has it in him. He has hit a few bumps since the All Star Break, but he did hold the White Sox to two runs in eight innings in his first start against them this year. However, that was in Minnesota, and Berrios has a 5.13 ERA on the road. I like the potential here, but this is still a sizeable risk, and not usually one you want to take on a pitcher that still costs $8,600. But hey, we are talking GPP’s here. No guts, no glory!
The middle tier is a barren wasteland after Berrios. The DraftKings pricing practically forces us to pay for pitching tonight because there is no way that I’m rolling Trevor Bauer out against the Red Sox. The lower tier options aren’t a lot better.
Bargain Pitchers:
Honestly, this whole tier is awful. Troy Scribner has a nice chance at a win with his team teeing off against Martin Perez. How much can we really trust him against a Texas team that is fully capable of chasing him to the shower in the first third of the game? Derek Holland against the Twins isn’t all that appealing either. The Twins have scored 20 runs off of him in only 98 at bats.
If I were forced to pick one pitcher from here, it would be Luis Perdomo. His ERA is marginally better on the road, and he is the only one in this tier that hasn’t been slapped with more than five earned runs in the last ten games. Everyone else in this tier besides Scribner, a fresh call up from AAA, has been saddled with at least two since the All Star Break. Perdomo has a low ceiling, but a MUCH higher floor.
Top Tier:
Jake Arrieta is 5-1 in his career at Great American Ballpark, but he still boasts a 4.14 ERA in those six starts. Joey Votto is 6-19(.316) with two walks, a double, a steal, two homers, three runs scored, and seven RBI in his career against Arrieta. Votto remains one of the best options going. Eugenio Suarez has had a big series, and has a homer off of Arrieta in 11 at bats in his career as well.
I like the Cubs in this one as well. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are both hitting well, and Sal Romano has a 6.63 ERA at home. I would rather stack Cubs than Reds, but the Cubs will come with higher ownership.
Middle Tier:
Rafael Devers slugged two homers in his first game against Trevor Bauer. He looks like a great bargain for $4,000.
This may be a day to enjoy the depressed prices on Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana. Edwin is 6-16(.375) with three walks, a steal, two homers, and four RBI in his career against Chris Sale. Santana is 13-43(.302) with five walks, two doubles, a homer, six runs scored, and 11 RBI off of Sale. Sale is easily having his best season, but Cleveland has roughed him up a bit over the years.
Ryan Zimmerman‘s price is also low facing off against Dallas Keuchel, but he has four hits in six tries with four RBI. That looks good to me for $3,800!
Bargain Shoppers:
Kennys Vargas is back! He has nine homers in 54 games for the Twins this year. He will see plenty of meaningful time with Miguel Sano out. Every Twin righty is in play against Derek Holland tonight. Vargas already has a homer and three RBI against Holland in only two at bats. Jason Castro is 5-14(.357) with a walk, a homer, and two RBI in his career against Holland. If the Twins sit him due to the lefty-lefty matchup, fret not. Backup Chris Gimenez has homered off of Holland as well!
Martin Maldonado is perfect at the plate in his career against Martin Perez. He has two walks, two singles, two doubles, and three runs scored. If you are looking for a catcher on the cheap, Maldonado is an excellent punt option. If you are looking to go cheap at first, Jefry Marte continues to start against lefties. He has a homer and five RBI in only eight at bats against Perez.
Top Tier:
Brian Dozier is heating up in the second half once again. He is only 3-12 against Derek Holland, but he does have a homer and three RBI against him. He also has the added benefit of leading off for a Twins team that could score a whole bunch of runs.
Elvis Andrus is a great option batting leadoff against Troy Scribner. A Rangers stack isn’t quite as much of a focus of mine due to the ballpark, but it could pay off.
Ian Happ against Sal Romano is not a bad idea, but for the price, I would almost prefer Jose Altuve against Strasburg. Altuve is such a great hitter that he can hit anyone. I still would be surprised if he scored in double digits though. The best in his price range has to be Paul DeJong because he has the best matchup against Luis Perdomo.
Middle Tier:
Howie Kendrick is 8-18(.444) with a double, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Dallas Keuchel. On top of that, the trade to Washington has resulted in him playing every day and putting up some pretty good numbers.
Don’t look now, but Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez have also hit Chris Sale well and they will cost you a combined $7,600. Lindor is 9-19(.474) with a walk, a double, a homer, a steal, four runs scored, and two RBI off of Sale in his career. Ramirez is 7-17(.412) with a four walks, a double, a steal, four runs scored, and a RBI.
Eduardo Escobar is way too cheap for what he is capable of. He has five hits in nine tries against Derek Holland with a walk, two doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI. Escobar is an excellent play in this price range.
Bargain Shoppers:
Yangervis Solarte has a solo homer off of Carlos Martinez in his career, and he is batting cleanup. He is about the cheapest cleanup hitter you will find, but considering Martinez has held the Padres to four hits in 18 at bats, he may not have many teammates to drive in.
Next: Top Outfield Plays
Top Tier:
Mike Trout‘s numbers are somehow pedestrian against Martin Perez. He is just 5-21(.238) with seven walks, a triple, two steals, three runs scored, and two RBI. Those are not numbers becoming of his price, but how long can Perez really keep him from launching one into orbit? Even Kole Calhoun has managed to launch one off of Perez despite the lefty on lefty matchup. In fact, Calhoun may be a nice play because you know the Rangers will have to go to their bullpen early in this one.
Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts are a combined 4-11 with two doubles, two homers, four runs scored, and five RBI in their careers against Trevor Bauer. You can’t really go wrong with either or both of them if you are looking to spend some money on outfielders.
Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara are about the same price, and both are good picks if you can afford them. Both will bat in the top half of the order, and could see plenty of RBI opportunities.
It would be foolish not to mention Byron Buxton with the run his is on lately. However, for that price, Kyle Schwarber has much more power potential in Cincinnati. With homers worth so much on DraftKings, Schwarber has a higher ceiling, but is a risk due to his low average.
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Middle Tier:
Billy Hamilton only has five steals against Arrieta. Hey, that’s a low number for a Cub starter! Hamilton is the world’s greatest burglar against the Cubs, so he is always in play until they sign a catcher that can thrown him out or a pitcher that can pick him off.
I have a hard time trusting anyone against Jose Berrios, but I also have trouble trusting Berrios himself. In order to feed this split personality, Nicky Delmonico is worth throwing out there at $3,700. Berrios has pitched like an ace at times, but they have been far between in the second half.
Bargain Shoppers:
Brandon Guyer is super cheap and starts against lefties. He is also 3-10 with two walks, a homer, a steal, and four RBI in his career against Chris Sale.
Leury Garcia should be more expensive than he is. He had a great opening game of the series last night, and will likely show the Twins and that beleaguered bullpen no mercy once again.
Jose Pirela at $2,500 is absurd. He is hitting .256 with a homer and five RBI in the last ten games. While those numbers are not great, Pirela is priced lower than a few dozen guys who wont even play. He will bat in the top half of the lineup!
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!