DraftKings Main MLB Picks July 12: Choose your ace!

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 14: A member of the grounds crew for Target Field gets water off the tarp as rain delays the start of the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Seattle Mariners on May 14, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks July 12: Choose your ace!

There are seven games in the main DraftKings tournament. The Phillies-Orioles tilt is exiled to showdown and the all day slates only. We still have a few aces to choose from, but a rocky middle tier leaves a lot to be desired. Still, we can spend on pitching with the Astros and Coors in the day slate today!

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The only rain chance is in Minneapolis. There rain chances increase as the day goes on, so there is a sizeable risk this gets delayed and/or postponed. At least we don’t have any wind to worry about!

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!

These tips are based mostly on past performance. This is a nice tool for building a lineup, but should not be the only pieces of information you use. We have plenty of writers on here who give you relevant information no matter which site you play on!

For you first time players, if you would like $20 in free DraftKings dollars, use this link for the referral bonus with your first deposit of $5 or more! Then continue reading for tips on how to turn those DraftKings dollars into more!

Next: DraftKings Pitcher Plays

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 07: Blake Snell #4 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the New York Mets during their game at Citi Field on July 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($13,300): Yeah, Max looks a little cheap, especially against the Mets, but his numbers against them are not great. The Mets are hitting .265 with seven homers and 19 runs in 166 at bats with 52 strikeouts against Scherzer. Not exactly what you want in an ace of his price. However, if you saw the Mets’ lineup last night, you understand why we attacked them with Velasquez despite the poor career numbers. The Mets are awful right now. I’m not about to tell you Scherzer isn’t worth it no matter what the past stats say.

James Paxton ($12,500): The Angels are only hitting .190 in 147 at bats against Paxton with three homers and ten runs to go wtih 37 strikeouts. The Angels were shut down by a lefty last night. Now they have to deal with one of the elite lefties in the league right now. I would almost go with Paxton over Scherzer, but we shouldn’t be all that strapped for cash with the Yankees and Indians playing elite pitchers and the Astros and Coors Field in the early tournament.

Blake Snell ($11,700): It’s hard to read the Twins right now. They usually hit lefties well, but were dominated by the struggling Danny Duffy. The Twins are hitting .270 with a homer and four runs in 37 at bats against the Twins, but he allowed just one run in seven innings worth 26.8 DraftKings points against them earlier this year. I’m inclined to trust Snell again, even though he hasn’t been as dominant on the road.

Middle Tier:

Luis Severino ($10,800): Severino’s price is down because Cleveland is mashing right now. Maybe it shouldn’t be. The Indians are only hitting .177 in 62 at bats against Severino with four homers, five runs, and 19 strikeouts. I don’t care if Severino gives up homers so long as no one is on base. That has been his calling card against Cleveland so far. There is risk here, especially since the Indians blasted the Reds last night, but Severino gets enough strikeouts to erase any damage. The price cut is nice because I was on Severino anyway.

Corey Kluber ($10,200): Kluber has absolutely dominated the Yankees, a feat that goes largely unnoticed. The Bombers are hitting just .139 in 72 at bats with only one homer, four runs, and 24 strikeouts. As good as both of these offenses are, I actually expect a pitcher’s duel here, and am not opposed to using both starters in the same lineup since both are well below their average prices on the year.

Bargain Pitchers:

David Price ($7,100): The Blue Jays are only hitting .212 against Price with seven homers and 16 runs to go with 60 strikeouts in 193 at bats. Those aren’t elite numbers, but Price isn’t priced like an elite pitcher either. Price has 33.6 DraftKings points in two starts against the Jays this year, and a 3.63 ERA at home. You need all the good news that you can get because despite a great matchup last week, Price struggled against the lowly Royals, and set a Red Sox franchise record by hitting three batters in the fifth inning before he departed, which means no win for Price. The way Price is going lately, there is plenty of risk, but I still like him against the Jays.

Steven Matz ($5,900): Matz never seems to get respect on DraftKings, and that’s fine with me. I’ve used him at a big discount several times. This could be another place to do so. He won’t get the four points for the win, but the Nats are only hitting .230 against Matz in 87 at bats with four homers, six runs, and 21 strikeouts. That massive strikeout potential and low price has me leaning heavily towards Matz right now. On top of that, Matz has 36.8 DraftKings points in two starts against the Nationals this year. That is a great return on your investment!

Tyson Ross ($5,100): The Dodgers are only hitting .233 against Ross in 43 at bats with one homer and four runs. Now the bad news: Ross has been blasted and lost a total of 21.7 DraftKings points in his last two starts. That is a HUGE negative total. I can’t in good conscious recommend Ross here, but if you are investing multiple lineups in the .50 tournament, Ross is worth using in one of those.

PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 19: Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Gregory Polanco #25 of the Pittsburgh Pirates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on June 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Wade Miley:

Wade Miley’s back! What does that mean? Stack the freaking Pirates! Miley was brilliant in the opener in Cincinnati, but that is all we have to go on for this year. Miley did well in his rehab starts, but he still wasn’t going deep into the game. We are stacking against Miley as much as the Milwaukee bullpen since both with pitch about the same amount of time in this game. Josh Harrison and Starling Marte are my favorites here, and Jordy Mercer can save you a ton of money. David Freese has the only current homer against Miley, but Pittsburgh has driven in 11 runs in 7 at bats against Miley. Cervelli or Diaz look good as well, and Polanco and Austin Meadows hit lefties well enough to consider them.

Boston Red Sox vs. Marco Estrada:

Estrada has a 4.89 ERA in ten career starts at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have also hit four homers and driven in 28 runs in 209 at bats. Martinez, Mitch Moreland, Jackie Bradley, and Bogaerts have the homers. However, Bogaerts is just 5-31(.161) against Estrada. Benintendi is 7-20 but only has three RBI to show for it. In this situation, I wouldn’t pay up for Betts. He is just 4-29(.138) off of Estrada. Go with Bradley or Swihart instead.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kyle Gibson:

Gibson continues to struggle at home, and the Rays are hitting .333 with two homers and nine runs in 54 at bats. This is a cheaper stack, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good one. Cron and Ji-Man Choi have the homers against Gibson. Kiermaier is 5-8 with three runs. Wilson Ramos and former Twin Carlos Gomez are worth a look as well.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Tyson Ross:

Yeah, the past stats don’t really support this stack, but recent performances by Ross and the Dodgers offense as a whole fully support this. I mentioned just how awful Ross has been in July. The Dodgers have been on the other extreme. Max Muncy is hitting, well, everything. I think if you threw a frozen pea up to home plate right now he would hit it 400 feet. Bellinger, Matt Kemp, Justin Turner, and Yasmani Grandal are all worth a look. You will have to draw straws to figure out who to leave out. All Dodgers are worth a look.

OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 30: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians hits a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fourth inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on June 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

It’s tough to pay top dollar against a top pitcher, but Jose Ramirez is hot, and he is 3-10 with two homers against Luis Severino. Brantley and Lindor have both homered against Severino as well if you want a really expensive stack against an ace.

How in the world is Brett Gardner still $4,500? He does have the only homer against Kluber and three of the four RBI, but he is only hitting .211 in 19 at bats.

I can understand a full on stack against Tyler Skaggs, but I think I’m not going to go quite that nuts. Guillermo Heredia is super cheap, and he is 4-6 with a homer against Skaggs. Nelson Cruz is just 2-19 off of Skaggs, but both of those hits are home runs. Ryon Healy also has a homer, but that is his only hit in ten at bats. Are you seeing the pattern here? Mariners will likely be all or nothing unless you are Guillermo Heredia.

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Middle Tier:

Thinking of the right handed power for Toronto, I began to wonder who it was that was taking Price deep. True, Smoak, Devon Travis, and Pillar have homered off of him, but Teoscar Hernandez, Solarte, and Morales haven’t. So who is mashing all those homers? How about Curtis Granderson. He has four homers and eight RBI against Price despite the .196 average in 51 at bats.

Brian Dozier has the only homer for the Twins against Blake Snell. Big surprise. Even bigger surprise? I’m not using anyone against Snell tonight.

Bargain Shoppers:

Hernan Perez has destroyed Jameson Taillon so far. Perez is 6-18 with three homers and eight RBI off of Taillon. The rest of the team is 16-56 with one homer and three RBI. Jesus Aguilar is raking lately, and has also homered off of Taillon if you can afford him.

As with last night, the Dodgers pitcher doens’t have great stats against the Padres, and the Padres are cheap. I got sucked into that last night, and Maeda dominated them. The Padres are hitting .286 with two homers and seven runs in 56 at bats against Stripling. Margot and Jose Pirela have the homers. Wil Myers is 2-7 with three RBI.

Michael Conforto is dirt cheap, and he is 6-18 with three solo homers off of Max Scherzer. Do you trust that when given Conforto’s recent slump? Nimmo, Jose Bautista, and Jose Reyes are all in this teir, and all have hit homers against Scherzer. Asdrubal Cabrera has also hit one.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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