Early DraftKings MLB Picks September 3: Is Mike Montgomery Better Than The Aces?

DraftKings Early MLB Picks For September 3

We have 11 games in the early DraftKings tournament in the last Sunday before the NFL takes over. However, there is very little at the top of the pitching ladder, and a few interesting options down there. This is a day to pay for hitting, and there are plenty of stacks worth chasing. Let’s check out who!

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The money line yesterday was way up to 136.2 points.There was plenty of good hitting and pitching to choose from.

The winning lineup was the only lineup over 200 at 203.6. He was able to win even without Lance Lynn by hitting big on a Cubs/Braves hybrid 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:

The top tier consists of only three pitchers today, and I don’t like any of them. The Royals are hitting .261 with 10 homers and 37 runs in 261 at bats against Ervin Santana. And that isn’t just from the past. Santana has allowed eight runs (six earned) in just 12.1 innings against Kansas City this year. If I’m paying $11,000 for a pitcher, the current and past stats better be a lot better than that!

Josh Tomlin and Mike Fiers have both allowed a ton of homers this year. If I were forced to take one, it would be Tomlin against the watered down Tigers in a pitcher’s park, but these two are getting a massive rate hike just for facing below average teams. There is always a fairly significant risk in playing the opponent instead of the talent of the pitcher.

Middle Tier:

Mike Montgomery just misses out on the upper tier pricing today, but I would rather have him than any of the upper tier. Montgomery has a 0.69 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over his last two starts, and a 1.84 ERA in his last ten appearances. The Braves have not hit left handed pitching well at all this year. If the wind is blowing out, I may move off of this, but this looks like a situation where Montgomery is going to dominate for six innings.

Sal Romano wasn’t at his best in his first start against Pittsburgh this season, but a lot has changed in the last month. Romano has given up only six runs in his last three starts, and has struck out 15 batters in 20 innings. None of those numbers jump off the page, but he is heading to a pitcher’s park against a struggling offense, and Romano has been solid lately.

Zack Godley has absolutely dominated the Rockies so far, allowing just five hits in 32 at bats wtih only one homer and eight strikeouts. Chase Field is one of the more hitter friendly venues aside from Coors, so there is reason to believe that Godley can have success in Denver as well. Just maybe not as much has he has had so far.

Lucas Giolito dominated the Tigers in his last outing, showing why he has been such a highly touted prospect. This was the first time that Giolito has had any kind of success in the majors, and he is in a good spot to build on it against a team like the Rays. Giolito was throwing a ton of strikes against the Tigers. If he does that against the Rays, a team notorious for being a free swinging bunch, he could turn in another impressive outing.

Bargain Pitchers:

The price on Matt Andriese is low due to the fact that the Rays have used him in middle relief since activating him from the DL. He dominated in that role, and will take his rightful slot in the rotation back today. While Andriese may not go more than six innings today, the potential is enormous for this price. The White Sox are in the bottom five of most offensive categories against right handed pitching. He does have to go to their house, which is a hitter’s park, but his increased strikeout upside makes Andriese hard to pass up at this price.

German Marquez has been solid in his rookie season, including four starts against Arizona. Marquez has only allowed eight runs in 23.2 innings to the Diamondbacks thsi year. He is a solid play at home due to the really low price.

The Washington Nationals have scored just six runs in the first three games of this series. Brent Suter posted a 3.79 ERA in 17 games (nine starts) earlier this season. There is risk involved here, but if ever there were a time to roll the dice against the Nationals with a pitcher, this appears to be it.

Top Tier:

Josh Donaldson is only 9-35(.257) off of Chris Tillman, but he has a walk, five doubles, a homer, three runs scored, and seven RBI against him. The Blue Jays project for one of the highest run totals of the day, so Donaldson could really be worth the price.

Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana are both in play against a young lefty that posted an ERA above 5 at AAA Toledo this season. Cleveland could be in for a big day offensively. I like all of their right handed bats.

Eric Hosmer is 9-29(.310) with six walks, two doubles, a steal, four homers, seven runs scored, and an impressive 14 RBI against Ervin Santana in his career. Mike Moustakas has no respect for his elders either. Moose is 5-19(.263) with a walk, a double, two solo homers, and three runs scored. Salvador Perez is in play if the Royals decide to DH him. Perez is 4-15(.267) with a homer, three runs scored, and two RBI.

Rookie Max Fried struggled out of the Braves bullpen earlier this year. He will make his first major league start today. It comes at Wrigley Field. You know, the place that these two teams combined for 26 runs yesterday. Anthony Rizzo has always hit lefties well, and Kris Bryant is always a strong start against a lefty at home. Victor Caratini could be worth using here since Alex Avila will likely sit against the lefty.

Paul Goldschmidt is really expensive, but he could be worth it. Goldy is 4-8 with four walks, two homers, four runs scored, and four RBI in his career against German Marquez. Jake Lamb may be a solid pick too. He is 4-13 in his career against Marquez, but has no counting stats.

Middle Tier:

Nick Castellanos is 9-26(.346) with three doubles, a homer, and five RBI in his career against Josh Tomlin. Jeimer Candelario could be a nice punt play since he has power and is starting in place of the suspended Miguel Cabrera.

Bargain Shoppers:

If A.J. Ellis starts, he could be worth a look. Ellis hit a two run homer against Jake Thompson the first time he faced them.

Robinson Chirinos is perfect in his career against Andrew Heaney with two singles, a walk, and a solo homer off of him. If he starts, play him! Mike Napoli is also a strong play any time a lefty is on the mound.

I really hope that the Angels go with Martin Maldonado behind the plate anyway. He is perfect against Martin Perez with two walks, two singles, two doubles, and three runs scored.

Travis Shaw is way too cheap against Edwin Jackson. Shaw is perfect against Jackson with two walks and a three run homer in three plate appearances.

Tommy Joseph is 5-7 with a walk, a double, two homers, three runs scored, and five RBI against Jose Urena. I would even use him over Rhys Hoskins.

Top Tier:

Jose Ramirez is 1-2 with a walk, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI against Chad Bell in his relief appearances this year. What will he do with more than one at bat against him?

The Twins have scored 23 runs in the first two games of the series against the Royals. You can bet I’m stacking them against Ian Kennedy. Don’t worry, most of the stats back it up. Brian Dozier is 5-21(.238) with four walks, a double, two homers, five runs scored, two steals, and five RBI in his career against Kennedy. Eduardo Escobar had a huge night last night. He is also 7-17(.412) with a walk, a homer, four runs scored, and three RBI off of Kennedy.

Chris Flexen was punished by the Reds his last time out. It wont get any easier in Houston, especially with Carlos Correa making his return. This is likely our last chance to get Correa at a bit of a discount, and of course, Altuve is worth every penny.

Middle Tier:

Scooter Gennett is 2-5 with a homer and three RBI so far in his career against Trevor Williams. Jose Peraza could be a nice play if he is in the line. He is 2-6, and costs just $3,100.

I’m a big fan of Javier Baez for $3,700 with the platoon advantage at Wrigley against rookie Max Fried. Switch hitter Ian Happ could be a strong play as well, though you have to pay a lot more for him.

Bargain Shoppers:

It is indeed a rare occasion to find Ian Kinsler down here, especially against a guy like Josh Tomlin. Tomlin is fresh off the DL, and has allowed 19 homers in 20 starts. Most of the Tigers power is gone now, but not Kinsler. He is leading off at this price, and is 11-30(.367) with a walk, two doubles, a homer, eight runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Tomlin. He has even stolen a base.

Alcides Escobar is really cheap, and he is 11-39(.282) with a double, a triple, two steals, three runs scored, and six RBI in his career against Ervin Santana.

Ryan Goins is dirt cheap, and he has been starting against righties. He is also 9-29(.310) with two walks, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Chris Tillman.

Next: Top Outfield Plays

Top Tier:

Jake Thompson struggled in a start against the Marlins earlier in the season. It’s a huge surprise that Giancarlo Stanton was at the heart of the issues. Stanton was 2-3 with a solo homer and two runs scored in that game. Marcell Ozuna was 2-3 with a double and a RBI. Christian Yelich was 1-2 with a walk, a double, and a run. So the entire Marlins outfield is not a bad idea.

The Twins are expensive, but could be worth it. Byron Buxton doesn’t have good numbers against Ian Kennedy, but up until a month ago, Buxton didn’t have good numbers against anyone. I like him as part of my Twins stack. Also in play are Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario. Kepler is 3-9 with a wlak, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI. Rosario is 5-13(.385) with two doubles, a run scored, and a RBI.

A.J. Pollock is 2-3 with a double, a triple, and two runs scored in his career against German Marquez. He is a strong play at Coors today.

George Springer and Josh Reddick are near the top of my want list again against Chris Flexen. If you are looking for salary relief, Marwin Gonzalez could be worth a look.

You may be as surprised as I was to see that Mike Trout is only 5-24(.208) in his career against Martin Perez. Fret not though, Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun have both taken him deep. In fact, they are the only current Angels to have done so.

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Middle Tier:

I like every Blue Jay outfielder against Chris Tillman. The obvious one is Jose Bautista, who is still cheap and is 13-47(.277) with eight walks, four doubles, three homers, eight runs scored, and seven RBI in his career against Tillman. Kevin Pillar is 8-23(.348) with a double, three homers, four runs scored, and six RBI. If Michael Saunders is back in action, he could be a great bargain. Saunders is 6-21(.286) with two walks, a double, two homers, three runs scored, and three RBI agianst Tillman.

Kevin Kiermaier and Corey Dickerson have both been hot lately. If you don’t believe in the success of Lucas Giolito in his last start, this could be a nice stack in a hitter’s park.

Edwin Jackson has had a nice year, but the past stats say this matchup could be an issue. Ryan Braun is 12-36(.333) with four walks, five doubles, a homer, eight runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Jackson. Eric Thames has also homered off of Jackson, but it’s his only hit in six at bats.

Scott Schebler‘s only hit against Trevor Williams is a two run homer. His chances of hitting it out of PNC Park aren’t as great, but they do have some big gaps there.

Delino DeShields has six steals in the last ten games. He could be a sneaky play against Andrew Heaney and a backup catcher.

Bargain Shoppers:

I’m not really sure I like Austin Jackson at his price, but I’m a big fan of Brandon Guyer and Yandy Diaz this low against Chad Bell. They may be pinch hit for later in the game, but the chances of them getting something off of Bell are pretty good.

Nick Williams hit a solo homer against Jose Urena the first time he faced him, and he is super cheap. He is worth a look, even in Marlins Park.

Nori Aoki could be a nice under the radar play if the Mets use him. Aoki is 6-14(.429) with a walk, two doubles, a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI in his career against Mike Fiers. Fiers has allowed 32 homers in 26 starts. If you can find any power in the Mets lineup, it will be cheap and could break through for you.

Mark Trumbo is glad to be back in a league with Brett Anderson again. He is 5-16(.312) with two walks, a homer, and four RBI in his career against Anderson. Anderson struggled in his first start with the Jays. There is a great chance that he does again in Baltimore. Any Oriole righty with a bat in their hands could be dangerous today.

Melky Cabrera is 14-41(.341) with three walks, three doubles, a homer, a steal, five runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Ervin Santana. If you can stomach it, Alex Gordon has slugged two homers and walked seven times against Santana, but he is just 9-45 off of him. He is a great way to save money though.

Albert Almora will likely bat leadoff against Max Fried at Wrigley on a day when the Cubs could score a ton of runs again. He is a great play if you are bargain hunting.

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!