Main DraftKings MLB Picks September 14: Just Play Brian McCann
By Mike Marteny
Main DraftKings MLB Picks September 14
There are eight games in the main DraftKings tournament tonight. None of the high priced pitchers are on par with the two day aces, so where do we turn? If you are looking for the Arizona-Colorado game, you have to take up a piece of the all day or afternoon only tournaments. Too bad because Zack Godley may have been better than any of these “aces!”
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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!
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:
Jose Berrios looks like a very strong play against the Blue Jays. Berrios has been pretty inconsistent lately, but he has a few things going for him tonight. First off, his mound opponent can’t be ignored. Brett Anderson has a 5.90 ERA. Berrios has done his best work at home this season as well. He has a 2.54 ERA in nine home starts with more than a strikeout per inning. Berrios looks pretty safe in the confines of Target Field tonight.
Brad Peacock is expensive, but he just might be worth it. The Angels are only hitting .211 off of Peacock in 95 at bats with just one homer and nine runs. He has also punched out 21 Halos. That is a bit under his season mark, but the stats still favor a strong outing tonight. His 2.95 road ERA certainly doesn’t hurt.
Just say no to Tanner Roark. I’ll explain later.
Despite being manhandled by the Orioles earlier this season, Masahiro Tanaka has still held them to a .225 average in 142 at bats with seven homers. The 21 runs scored is where the problems lie. Tanaka had been dominant lately until getting roughed up by Texas in his last start. He still struck out enough batters for positive points, but you are looking for a lot more than positive points if you are paying this much for a pitcher. Tanaka is a bit of a risk, but his blow up against Texas should point to low ownership tonight.
You know the Indians are hot when even Josh Tomlin is priced in the elite tier. After struggling keeping the ball in the yard earlier in the year, Tomlin has allowed just three home runs since the All Star Break. He has also surrendered just five runs in four starts during this winning streak. If he breaks the second place tie, Tomlin could reach cult status in Cleveland. As for his career numbers against Kansas City, they are average. The Royals are hitting .265 with ten homers and 33 runs in 336 at bats. That is about as average as you can get.
Middle Tier:
Andrew Cashner‘s numbers are mostly average against Seattle as well, but Cashner has been brilliant lately. He owns a 2.76 ERA in his last ten starts. He has also dazzled in front of the home crowd, racking up a 2.23 ERA in 11 starts there. Add in the fact that King Felix is fresh off the DL, and Cashner has solid bargain potential tonight.
Bargain Pitchers:
Jake Junis has been solid lately, posting a 2.48 ERA over his last six starts. I would be crazy about him if he weren’t facing a team that has a winning streak long enough to drink. The Indians are only the fourth team to accomplish such a feat. They are tied for the second longest winning streak in MLB history with the 1880 Chicago White Sox(Stockings) and 1935 Chicago Cubs. Cleveland is still five games shy of tying the 1916 New York Giants led by John McGraw. Junis could have a solid game, but I am going to look elsewhere until the Indians cool off.
Jen-Ho Tseng isn’t even on DraftKings yet. If they add him by noon or so, I am curious as to what his price is. Of course I am interested against the Mets!
Top Tier:
It’s only a matter of time until Freddie Freeman really hits Tanner Roark hard, right? I think so too. Freeman is 4-11 with four runs scored against Roark, but some counting stats should be coming up shortly.
Seth Lugo has a 5.75 road ERA this year. Fire up Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Willson Contreras for another big hitting evening at Wrigley! The Cubs might put up a football score once again!
Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnacion have a combined four homers and 14 RBI in their last ten games, and are hitting well over .300. Santana is the hotter of the two, and also a bit cheaper. I can’t find fault with playing either of them though.
Middle Tier:
Tis the season to stack Yankees, even struggling ones. Are you wondering what season it is? It’s Miley season, as in struggling Baltimore lefty Wade Miley. Todd Frazier is 5-17(.294) with two walks, a double, a solo homer and three runs scored against Miley. Matt Holliday is cheap, and he is 3-11 with eight walks, a double, three runs scored, and a solo homer against Miley. Even lefty Greg Bird is perfect against Miley with a single and two walks. How about Chase Headley? Headley is 10-36(.278) with four walks, two doubles, three runs scored and six RBI against him.
Mike Moustakas is struggling a bit lately, but he is 8-28(.286) with two walks, three doubles, three homers, seven runs scored, and seven RBI in his career against Josh Tomlin. Salvador Perez is about the only Royal I might trust tonight. Perez is 18-38(.474) with eight doubles, a homer, four runs scored, and six RBI off of Tomlin.
Felix Hernandez doesn’t have great numbers against Texas to begin with. With him coming straight off the DL into Arlington, I would rather put a few hitters out there against him. Adrian Beltre is only 13-53(.245), but he has nine walks, a double, a homer, five runs scored, and three RBI against the King. Mike Napoli has homered off of Felix twice, but he is only 8-44(.182) lifetime off of him.
Kyle Seager is 5-16(.312) with two walks, a homer, two runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Andrew Cashner. Danny Valencia is 3-7 off of Cashner, but he has no counting stats.
Bargain Shoppers:
Jose Urena is going to be popular among bargain hunters, but I’m not wild about him. The Phillies are hitting .301 off of him in 83 at bats with four homers and 13 RBI already. Oh, and Rhys Hoskins doesn’t even have one of those homers! Tommy Joseph is a great cheap play though. Joseph is 5-10 with a walk, a double, two homers, three runs scored, and five RBI against Urena. As for Hoskins, he is 0-1 with a walk off of Urena. Jorge Alfaro went 2-4 against Urena if you are looking for a bargain catcher.
It’s going to be a fun day for the Astros. Ricky Nolasco has allowed 34 homers this year, and the Astros are hitting .323 off of him in 229 at bats. The biggest thorn in Nolasco’s side is Brian McCann. Not just for the Astros, but for his career. McCann is 26-76(.342) with two walks, five doubles, nine homers, a steal, 13 runs scored, and a staggering 28 RBI. Just play McCann. Figure out the rest later.
If A.J. Ellis starts at catcher, he is a strong play. Ellis hit a two run homer in his only start against Jake Thompson.
Top Tier:
If you are paying up at shortstop, Elvis Andrus is the only one you should consider. Elvis is 29-98(.296) with nine walks, four doubles, five steals, ten runs scored, and 16 RBI against King Felix.
I am really considering using the entire middle infield of the Nationals. Trea Turner is 4-8 with a walk, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI against Mike Foltynewicz so far. Daniel Murphy is 7-16(.438) with three doubles and four RBI. If Wilmer Difo finds his way in there, I like him as a way to save money. Difo is 3-8 with two walks, two runs scored, and two RBI against Foltynewicz.
Brett Anderson doesn’t have much of a history against the Twins, but it could be a rough landing with what the Twins have done to lefties lately. Brian Dozier hits lefties hard, and Eduardo Escobar and Jorge Polanco have both been on fire since the first week of August.
What would an Astros stack be without Jose Altuve? Altuve is 7-14 with a homer and two RBI in his career against Ricky Nolasco. Surprisingly, Carlos Correa is 0-6!
Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor are worth playing again. Junis struggled against Cleveland despite his recent run of success. There is reason to believe this continues.
Middle Tier:
Whit Merrifield is 6-22(.273) with two doubles, a homer, two steals, and three RBI in his career against Josh Tomlin. If you don’t trust Tomlin’s recent run of success, Merrifield is good to have as a leadoff hitter.
Jean Segura has been quite a catalyst at the top of the Seattle lineup. He is 6-20 with two doubles, two steals, two runs scored, and four RBI in his career against Cashner. I keep thinking that Cashner will come back to earth, but he hasn’t yet. Do you trust Mariners against him?
Bargain Shoppers:
I kinda like Amed Rosario against prospect Jen-Ho Tseng. Some other cheap Mets to consider are Juan Lagares, Brandon Nimmo, and Dominic Smith.
Next: Top Outfield Plays
Top Tier:
Look at that. Another pitcher that Giancarlo Stanton has homered off of. Stanton is 2-6 with a solo homer and two runs scored against Jake Thompson. Christian Yelich is likely worth a look as well. Yelich is 2-5 with a walk, a double, and a run scored. Marcell Ozuna has the same numbers for roughly the same price.
Byron Buxton could be worth paying for against Brett Anderson. The way the Twins are playing right now, I don’t know if I would count any of them out.
Play some Astros. Whatever you can afford. I like them over Cleveland just because they are facing human pitching machine Ricky Nolasco. George Springer is 4-10 with two walks, a solo homer, and two runs scored against Nolasco. Carlos Beltran is 20-57(.351) with six walks, a double, a homer, 11 runs scored, and three RBI off of Nolasco. Nolasco was a happy guy when Cameron Maybin was his teammate. Maybin is 8-13(.615) with two walks, a double, a homer, three steals, five runs scored, and two RBI. You can bet Maybin will be in the lineup tonight!
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Middle Tier:
I wont be going out of my way to stack Orioles against Masahiro Tanaka since I think it was more of a speed bump than a harbinger of how the season will end. That said, Adam Jones and Seth Smith are about the only Orioles that have hit him well enough to consider here. Jones is 6-18 with a double, a homer, three runs scored, and four RBI against Tanaka. Smith is 5-14(.357) with three walks, four runs scored, and a RBI.
Jake Junis has only faced the Tribe once. They chased him in the third inning, with the big blow being a three run homer by Jay Bruce.
Odubel Herrera is 4-8 with a double, a triple, five runs scored, and a RBI against Jose Urena. Of course, Nick Williams is once again one of my favorite bargains if I don’t use an all Braves outfield.
You have to open the pocketbook a bit for Shin-Soo Choo, but it might be worth it. Choo is just 12-52(.231) against Felix Hernandez, but he has two doubles, a homer, ten walks, seven runs scored, and three RBI. Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t think Felix will be at his best tonight. Use Rangers accordingly.
Bargain Shoppers:
The Braves roughed up Max Scherzer last night, and their entire outfield has enjoyed past success against Tanner Roark. The best part is that none of them are over $3,700! Ender Inciarte is 8-16 with two doubles, a homer, three runs scored, and four RBI. Matt Kemp, who had a huge hit off of Scherzer, is 5-15 with two walks, two homers, three runs scored, and five RBI against Roark. Nick Markakis is 6-19(.316) with seven walks, three homers, six runs scored, and four RBI against Roark. Play all three!
The Royals have a couple of solid cheap options in the outfield. Jorge Bonifacio is 3-6 with a double, a solo homer, and two runs scored against Tomlin. Alex Gordon is 13-54(.241) with three walks, three doubles, two triples, seven runs scored, and three RBI off Tomlin.
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!