DraftKings MLB Picks August 28: You Don’t Have To Pay For Elite Pitching
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings MLB Picks For August 28
We have ten games tonight. We have a few aces, a small middle tier, and a bunch of cheap pitching. We may need it if we pay up for an ace. That also means plenty of stack options. Let’s check where we can best spend our $60,000 cap.
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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!
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Next: DraftKings Pitcher Plays
Top Tier:
Max Scherzer is back, and he gets a soft landing here. He has allowed just two earned runs over 16 innings to the Marlins this season. I wouldn’t be worried about his neck or his opponent. The only thing that you need to worry about is whether you think Schezer is worth $1,000 more than Kluber. Both are elite picks.
You may see Corey Kluber against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium and automatically think avoid. Don’t. The Yankees are hitting just .167 against Kluber in 120 at bats with only two homers and six runs scored to go with 37 strikeouts. He also has a 2.25 ERA in three career starts in Yankee Stadium. There isn’t anything to worry about here. You should get what you pay for with Kluber today.
Luis Severino is the one doing battle with Kluber. This has all the makings of a pitcher’s duel. The Indians are only hitting .160 against Severino in 50 at bats with only one homer and three runs to go with 17 strikeouts. The caveat here is that Severino has a 4.14 ERA at Yankee Stadium this year. Severino is a decent contrarian play, but Kluber looks to be the better bet.
Aaron Nola having his start moved back to Monday raised his price, as it should. I wasn’t too crazy about his matchup with the Cubs. He is still at home, but the Braves are a much less imposing team. Nola has a 3.03 ERA in his last ten starts, and a 3.38 ERA at home this year. If you don’t feel like paying up for Kluber, Nola could come close to his output, and is my favorite pivot option.
Marcus Stroman got hit hard his last time out, and the Red Sox are hitting .315 off of him in 124 at bats. He comes cheaper than the rest of this tier, but I am not crazy about this matchup, and his last outing made me nervous. There are better options in the lower tiers, albeit without the strikeout upside.
Jeff Samardzija against the Padres may also look like a good idea. It likely is not. The Padres are hitting .286 off of Shark with four homers and 15 runs in only 86 at bats. There are enough players on this team that have hit him hard to make him not worth the risk.
Middle Tier:
In fact, Stroman’s mound opponent is a much better bet that Stroman is. The Blue Jays are hitting just .149 against Pomeranz in 67 at bats with only three runs scored and 20 strikeouts. If you are looking to spend on bats, Pomeranz could be close enough to an ace to keep you in the hunt for a GPP takedown.
Jhoulys Chacin has been dominant at home, even against good teams. Chacin has a 1.86 ERA in 13 home starts with a 1.01 WHIP and .184 batting average against. The Giants are a relatively weak offense anyway. Coupled with what Chacin has done at home, he looks like a borderline elite option here.
Mike Montgomery has a 3.43 ERA as a starter this year, and the Pirates aren’t much of a threat at the plate. However, Montgomery wont give you a lot of strikeouts to help soften the blow if the Pirates are able to get to him.
Bargain Pitchers:
The current Nationals are only 5-37(.135) against Jose Urena lifetime. They have only scored one run in that time as well. Urena is not a strong bet for a win against Scherzer, but the pas tstats suggest that Urena could have an outstanding start for his price.
There is a lot of potential for a horrible start in this tier below Urena. Trevor Williams has pitched well lately, but was blasted by the Cubs not once but twice earlier this year. Ian Kennedy gets a level of strikeout potential that isn’t usually available at this level. However, he has a 5.09 ERA this season. Andrew Heaney has allowed seven homers in just two starts this year, but at least he isn’t walking anyone. Heaney likely has the most upside due to sheer ability and an Okland offense that isn’t all that imposing.
Top Tier:
Gary Sanchez is the only elite catcher once again, but there is no way I’m touching him against Corey Kluber. That money is better spent at other positions.
Mark Reynolds and Nolan Arenado could both be in for big weeks with the Rockies at home all week. They get Jordan Zimmerman tonight, a guy that has given up 28 homers this year. 20 of Reynolds’ 27 homers have come at Coors Field this year. Paying up for Rockies could pay off big tonight.
Rhys Hoskins is priced in the elite tier tonight, but we can’t really argue with that, can we? He has 10 homers in just 17 games in his major league career and is hitting .300. He is a strong bet at home against Lucas Sims.
Eric Hosmer is hitting .417 with two homers and ten RBI over his last ten games. He is definitely in play against rookie Austin Pruitt.
Yonder Alonso for $4,500 against a guy like Chris Tillman seems really cheap. Tillman’s 7.75 ERA is about as bad as you will find for a pitcher that has started a full season. It isn’t getting any better. Stack Mariners, including Kyle Seager.
Marco Gonzales has a 7.40 ERA in his first five starts this year. Guys like Manny Machado and Chris Davis against a struggling lefty are easy picks, but with so many easy picks, the one that you use over others can help separate from the pack.
Middle Tier:
Mike Moustakas has cooled down since a hot summer, but Austin Pruitt is just begging to fall apart if you look at his peripherals. Moose for $3,900 could be a steal.
There is a lefty on the hill that has allowed seven homers in two starts. Ryon Healy‘s splits against lefties make this another easy pick at a much cheaper price than most of the other easy picks.
Given the struggles of Marcus Stroman last week, Rafael Devers looks pretty good at $3,600.
Luis Valbuena is hitting .367 with five homers and 12 RBI over his last ten games. He also holds the platoon advantage over a very average Daniel Gossett.
Antonio Senzatela has struggled enough to be shuttled back and forth from the bullpen. He is back in the rotation, and though the Tigers have struggled, Coors Field could wake up those dormant bats. Miguel Cabrera is one of the ones I’m looking at for his price.
Lucas Duda has smashed three homers as a Ray so far, but he has not had the average to go with it. That doesn’t matter against Ian Kennedy. If you are playing him here, it’s strictly a power play.
Bargain Shoppers:
Matt Chapman has power. Maybe Andrew Heaney has figured out the homer issues and maybe not, but for Chapman’s price of $2,700, it’s worth finding out.
I usually prefer to save money at catcher. Mike Zunino against Chris Tillman looks appetizing, as does Wellington Castillo agianst lefty Marco Gonzales. I’m also eyeballing whichever Phillies catcher gets the nod against rookie Lucas Sims.
Top Tier:
You may want to avoid Indians hitters against Luis Severino. Francisco Lindor is a tough sell at the price, but he is 3-8 with a walk and a solo homer off of Severino in his career.
It should go without saying that Tim Beckham is in play against Marco Gonzales, but I will say it anyway. Yes, he does have a homer against him previously in his career.
Robinson Cano is back, and he is 15-36(.417) with four walks, a double, two homers, nine runs scored, and eight RBI in his career against Chris Tillman. Jean Segura is a solid play as well with a double, a triple, and two RBI in just three at bats against Tillman.
Any Rocky is a good idea against Zimmerman. That includes DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Story.
Middle Tier:
Whit Merrifield is leading off against the Royals and Austin Pruitt. He is a reasonably priced leadoff hitter for a lineup that may score quite a few runs.
Xander Bogaerts is 10-23(.435) with two doubles, a solo homer, a steal, and six runs scored against Marcus Stroman.
Yangervis Solarte is still batting cleanup and is still under $4,000. Jeff Samardzija’s ERA is no longer a fluke at this point of the season.
Adeiny Hechavarria has finally started to hit as a Ray. He is hitting .314 with two homers, five RBI, and a steal in his last ten games. He looks pretty good against an Kennedy tonight.
Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder are nice cheaper pivots against a lefty struggling with surrendering long balls. Pinder homered twice off of Cole Hamels over the weekend.
Bargain Shoppers:
The sheer power of Brad Miller makes him worth a look against Ian Kennedy, but it is hard to ignore his struggles so far since his return from the DL.
Kaleb Cowart has finally cooled off considerably. We all figured it was coming. Now we get to see if he can rebound. It is possible against a guy like Daniel Gossett.
Alcides Escobar still isn’t running much, but he has been getting on base lately. the steals can’t be far away, right? Facing Austin Pruitt, we may find out.
Next: Top Outfield Plays
Top Tier:
Mike Trout against Daniel Gossett? I can see why he is the highest priced outfielder.
Nelson Cruz is 5-16(.312) with four walks, two doubles, two solo homers, and five runs scored in his career against Chris Tillman. I would have used Cruz anyway. This just affirms it.
Surprisingly, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich have both hit Max Scherzer well. Stanton is 4-15(.267) with two homers and five RBI. Yelich is 8-23(.348) with two walks, a double, a triple, two homers, three runs scored, and four RBI. And you can play them at a bargain rate.
All of the Rockies outfielders are expensive, but they may be wroth it. The cheapest, Carlos Gonzalez, has the best history against Jordan Zimmerman. CarGo is 4-19(.211) with two walks, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI.
Khris Davis is a strong play against Andrew Heaney since he is giving out homers like Halloween candy.
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Middle Tier:
Kole Calhoun‘s price is up, but so is his production. He has hit .306 with three homers and eight RBI in his last ten games.
How is Adam Jones so cheap against Marco Gonzales? Jones is hitting .325 with two homers and four RBI in the last ten games, and Gonzalez has an ERA on the wrong side of 7.
Andrew Benintendi is 3-5 with a walk, a double, and two RBI in his career against Marcus Stroman. Mookie Betts is in play as well Mookie is 7-23(.304) with a double, a steal, three runs scored, and four RBI off Stroman.
Nick Markakis is 4-14(.286) with two walks, a double, three runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Aaron Nola. He is about the only Brave that I would consider against Nola.
Andre McCutchen in struggling lately, but $3,700 against Mike Montgomery seems like a bargain. Starling Marte‘s priced is also depressed to the bargain tier for some odd reason.
Bargain Shoppers:
Jose Pirela is only $3,500, but he is 3-6 so far against Shark. Cory Spangenberg is 5-7 with a walk, a double, a triple, a homer, three runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Samardzija.
Jhoulys Chacin has been great at home, but Denard Span is 7-18(.389) with a walk, three doubles, a runs scored, and three RBI.
Mitch Haniger and Ben Gamel seem very cheap against Chris Tillman. They are great places to go if you need to save some money for the Coors stack.
Nick Williams is still one of my favorite plays at his price, especially against struggling rookie Lucas Sims.
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!