Early DraftKings MLB Picks August 30: Is Carlos Martinez Worth the Price?
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings Early MLB Picks For August 30
We have five games in the early DraftKings tournament, which leaves it a little more populated than normal. There is only one pitcher that carries a five digit price tag. Is he worth it? Who can produce well above their price point? Let’s check some stats! After all, we have to go cheap in at least one spot!
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The money line last was all the way up to 131.6. The winning lineup weighed in at 221.3. He used Luke Weaver with Chris Sale for a great foundation and had C.J. Cron and Scott Schebler with a mini Twins stack for the win.
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:
Carlos Martinez is $3,000 more than the next pitcher on the list. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he isn’t really worth it. First of all, CarMart is very inconsistent, or at least he has been this year. Now for the good news. Martinez has not allowed more than three runs in a game this month, and he has a career 2.47 ERA in 54.2 innings at Miller Park. The Brewers seem to have the whole team slumping right now, so maybe he can outdo the opposition by $3,000 or about nine 12 DraftKings points. It doesn’t seem impossible considering…..
The second highest priced pitcher is Justin Verlander in Colorado. That may seem like a bad thing. It certainly looks like a bad thing. However, Verlander has started one game at Coors Field in his career. He threw a four hitter and gave up just one run in a complete game win. The 2011 version of Verlander and the Rockies is far different than the 2017 version. Verlander has been brilliant lately, posting a 2.38 ERA over his last ten starts. His road ERA still sits at 5.02, so there is still some risk involved.
The Cardinals are hitting .275 off of Chase Anderson with nine runs scored in 80 at bats with a solid 18 strikeouts. None of the numbers really jump off the page, but Anderson has a 2.43 ERA over his last ten starts. He has been average against the Cardinals this year (five runs, four earned over two starts), but his home ERA is a sterling 2.15. He looks a touch safer than Verlander in Coors.
Middle Tier:
Trevor Bauer, R.A. Dickey, and Jaime Garcia will all take the ball today because of yesterday’s rainouts. I still have no interest in Garcia on the short slate, but Bauer becomes a little more plausible. However, Dickey is the better of the three, though he does get a downgrade in the opposing pitcher department. Dickey has been solid most of the year. He is going to give up two or three runs and strike out a half dozen. He wont pitch a shutout, and he wont get blasted. He is stable enough for cash games, but for GPP you likely want more upside. There is some built in facing the Phillies, but still not quite enough.
Jerad Eickhoff will take his normal turn atop the mound in Citizens Bank Park. While I hinted that Mark Leiter Jr. could be a bargain yesterday, I’m quite certain Eickhoff will today. Eickhoff has a 3.25 ERA in his last ten starts and a 3.65 ERA at home. He also draws a Braves squad that has struggled to hit righties all year, especially on the road. Eickhoff looks like the best bet of the middle tier, though I don’t know if I would fade an ace for him.
Bargain Pitchers:
The only one I would even consider in this tier is Chad Bettis. He has a sparkling 1.93 ERA in two home starts this year, and gets a Tiger team that may lose Miggy to the start of his suspension. The Tigers are basically a watered down offense right now anyway. Not many Tigers enjoy a platoon advantage against Bettis. This matchup looks great for the price, even though he likely wont beat Verlander.
Top Tier:
Freddie Freeman is 7-21 with four walks, a double, two solo homers, and six runs scored in his career against Jerad Eickhoff. If that isn’t enough, he has also swiped two bases. I don’t feel good about any other Braves today with the way Eickhoff is pitching, but Freeman could earn his keep.
Rhys Hoskins gets his first look at a big league knuckleballer here with R.A. Dickey in Philly. The way he has been hitting home runs, and just driving in runs in general, he may still be worth a look.
Middle Tier:
Todd Frazier is also 6-19 against Trevor Bauer with a walk, a double, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI. Chase Headley has six RBI off of Bauer and a 5-17 mark. Despite not hitting a homer against Bauer yet, Headley is a solid play for his price.
Mark Reynolds is 6-21(.286) with a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI in his career against Justin Verlander. Considering that he has done a vast majority of his damage this year against right handed pitching, he could be worth a flier here. Jonathan Lucroy is 1-3 with a solo homer off of Verlander as well.
Travis Shaw and Eric Thames have both homered off of Carlos Martinez in their careers. Thames is 3-7 with two walks, a double, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI. Shaw is 3-8 with a walk, a homer, and three RBI. If you aren’t using Martinez, it may be a good idea to see if either one of them can break their slump at this cheap of a price.
Bargain Shoppers:
Yadier Molina isn’t exactly cheap when it comes to catchers, but he is 5-13(.385) with four walks, two doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Chase Anderson. Matt Carpenter could be a solid play as well in the middle of this lineup.
If Mike Zunino starts, he is perfect in four plate appearances against Ubaldo Jimenez. Zunino has a walk, two doubles, and a solo homer against Ubaldo. Yonder Alonso is a great bet as well. He is 4-7 with a double, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Jimenez.
Cameron Rupp and Jorge Alfaro are great ways to save money today. I wouldn’t have a problem throwing either one of them at Dickey.
Top Tier:
If you want to use Jose Ramirez or Francisco Lindor against Jaime Garcia, I’m not going to tell you it’s a bad idea. The sample size is too small to tell if the 0-5 combined is a fluke or not. I’m guessing that it is.
Tim Beckham against a left hander that struggles to keep the ball in the yard in a hitter’s park. Yeah, pay up. He’s worth it.
Middle Tier:
Robinson Cano is 10-20 with a walk, four doubles, two homers, seven runs scored, and five RBI in his career against Ubaldo Jimenez. Jean Segura is only 1-3 so far, but he is leading off for a team that could put up a lot of crooked numbers today.
Didi Gregorius is 4-13(.308) with a walk, a solo homer, and three runs scored against Trevor Bauer. I also like Starlin Castro in this one even though the price is higher and his stats aren’t as good. Unfortunately, we missed out on a $3,400 Gregorius last night due to the rainout. This is more where I thought his price would be.
Brandon Phillips has been hitting all August long. He is also 5-11(.455) with two doubles, a steal, two runs scored, and a RBI in his career against Jerad Eickhoff.
Freddy Galvis is 6-20 with a walk, a triple, a homer, and two RBI in his career against R.A. Dickey. Leadoff hitter Cesar Hernandez could be a decent play as well. He is 4-11 with a walk and a RBI.
Neil Walker is 4-16 with a triple, two homers, and four RBI in his career against Carlos Martinez. Jonathan Villar could be in play as well. He is 6-20 with a double, two steals, a walk, and six runs scored.
Bargain Shoppers:
It is quite possible that the Yankees elect to rest Starlin Castro in the day game. If they do, Ronald Torreyes is a good way to save some cash at a top heavy position. He is hitting .302 with three homers and 36 RBI in 285 at bats this year.
Next: Top Outfield Plays
Top Tier:
Did the days off do Aaron Judge any good? For $5,000, it may be worth finding out. He has two walks and a single in three plate appearances against Trevor Bauer, and we all know he destroys righties. However, manager Joe Girardi only committed to using Judge in one of the games today. Make sure you know which one before rolling with him early.
For those of you thinking about using Nelson Cruz, realize that he is just 2-19(.105) in his career against Ubaldo Jimenez. Your chances of a quality return on that price are about the same as winning the lottery. I would rather use Adam Jones for $300 less against Ariel Miranda, who has a 5.77 ERA on the road and has allowed 31 homers in 26 starts this year.
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Middle Tier:
Austin Jackson and Brandon Guyer have both been starting against left handed pitching. They could wind up being bargains in Yankee Stadium with Jaime Garcia on the hill.
Bargain Shoppers:
Once again, Nick Williams is on my radar against R.A. Dickey. He is a solid punt play at $3,200.
Nick Markakis will come cheap, and the numbers are kind of hollow, but he is 8-23(.348) in his career against Jerad Eickhoff. He has five doubles, three walks, and four run scored, but no homers or steals.
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!