DraftKings MLB Picks July 22: Is Max worth the money?

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 5: The Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers wait out a pregame rain delay at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks July 22: Is Max worth the money?

We have only nine games on the early/main DraftKings slate today with the Padres and Phillies squaring off early and the Mets and Yankees going later. There are four afternoon games, so most of the action is on the early slate. The middle tier looks solid and the upper tier looks expensive. Do we need to pay for pitching? Let’s check it out.

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Rain has a great chance of washing out the Pirates in Cincinnati. They were able to get the first two games in, so maybe the showers miss, but I wouldn’t bet on it. This looks like one that’s going to be difficult to get in. There is a chance of rain in Washington as well, but the game should still get played.

There is a stiff 14 mph wind blowing in from left in Wrigley, so that could keep the scoring down there. There is a 12 mph wind blowing out to right in Detroit as well.

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

CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 14: Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the New York Yankees in the first inning at Progressive Field on July 14, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Yankees defeated the Indians 5-4. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Max Scherzer ($13,200): Ah, the age old tough pick debacle. Dan or Dave? Coke or Pepsi? Jacob or Edward? Max or Folty? In this case, it appears to be Max. The Braves are hitting a solid .241 off of Scherzer with five homers and 17 runs in 216 at bats, but they have struck out 56 times. Scherzer has a 21.5 DraftKings points average against the Braves this year. Does that make him worth your money? Because I think I can find better uses for mine.

Mike Foltynewicz ($9,800): The overall numbers of Folty against the Nats aren’t great, but he does have a lofty 28.1 DraftKings points average in three starts against the Braves this year. Now the bad news: Foltynewicz has given up ten runs in his last two starts. On top of that, Foltynewicz has allowed five homers to the Nationals in 157 at bats. There is plenty to scare us off here.

Middle Tier:

Mike Clevinger ($9,000): The only thing hotter than the Texas heat today is Clevinger’s numbers against Texas. The Rangers are hitting just .190 with two homers and three runs in 42 at bats with 13 strikeouts. This is a small sample size, but I’ve seen enough of the Rangers offense this year to know that a guy like Clevinger is capable of dominating them, especially since he has done so in the past.

Miles Mikolas ($8,300): Mikolas has only allowed one run to the Cubs in 32 at bats, and the wind is blowing in at Wrigley. Mikolas blanked the Cubs over seven innings earlier this year, but the lack of strikeouts held him to just 11.8 DraftKings points. We would be disappointed with a total that low, but honestly, the pitching in this slate is bland at best. Mikolas provides solid potential in what should be a low scoring game.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jake Odorizzi ($6,000): There is substantial risk with Odorizzi as we saw with his last start. However, he is averaging more than a strikeout per inning, has an ERA nearly a run lower on the road, and is playing the Royals. Odorizzi has enough going for him that he is worth a look as a SP2 in GPP formats. The problem is that the Royals have 11 runs on Odorizzi in only 71 at bats.

Brad Keller ($4,800): Keller’s last two starts have been disasters after he closed out June in style. However, Keller did hold the Twins to only one run in three innings earlier this season. Don’t expect a ton of strikeouts or innings, but Keller could turn in numbers in the mid to high teens for a really good price. Or he could lose points for the third straight start.

MILWAUKEE, WI – JULY 20: Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands on third base in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on July 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Brent Suter:

Suter has been much better on the road than at home. He may hold the platoon edge on Muncy amd Bellinger, but both his lefties well enough to consider. Yasmani Grandal, Chris Taylor, and Manny Machado are all worth a look here.

Boston Red Sox vs. Blaine Hardy:

Benintendi is the only current Red Sox player to homer off of Hardy, but Bogaerts is 3-4 with three RBI. Mookie, J.D., and Steve Pearce are worth looking at as well with a lefty on the hill. The Red Sox sometimes struggle with lefties on the road, but they have hit Hardy hard in their prior two games against him.

St Louis Cardinals vs. Jose Quintana:

Quintana’s numbers on the North Side are not very good at all. Quintana has a 5.50 ERA at home this year, and a 4.70 ERA in 17 career Wrigley Field starts. Unfortunately for Quintana, the Cardinals have also hit him pretty well. I’m not convinced that Carpenter is worth the price, but Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, and Dexter Fowler have all homered off of Quintana and all come reasonably priced. Jedd Gyorko is worth a look as well.

Cleveland Indians vs. Yovani Gallardo:

There is a reason that Gallardo is the cheapest pitcher on the slate. DFS players tend to frown on a 8.60 ERA. Cleveland has hit him hard in the past, and will again here today. Edwin has three homers and seven RBI off of Gallardo already. Yonder Alonso has a homer and five RBI. Ramirez, Lindor, and Michael Brantley are all worth a look. The major issue here is the price on Cleveland hitters.

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 06: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with Trea Turner #7 after scoring in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park on June 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

If you are inclined to take a chances on the bats in Cincy, Ivan Nova is a good tomato can to target against. I still don’t think this gets played, but keep an eye on the weather and you may get lucky. Winker and Suarez have both homered twice off of Nova. Votto and Adan Duvall have taken him deep as well. If this game were guaranteed to play, I would stack against Nova. On the other side of this, I like Polanco and Marte against Matt Harvey.

Bryce Harper and Trea Turner have hit Folynewicz hard enough to be worth the money here. Brian Goodwin is dirt cheap, and is 6-13(.462) with two homers and four RBI off of Folty.

Yeah, Alex Wood still hasn’t done enough to make me trust him here. He holds the platoon advantage over Shaw, but not against Jesus Aguilar. Hernan Perez is worth a look against a lefty as well.

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Middle Tier:

I don’t trust the Blue Jays enough to stack, even against Andrew Cashner, but I definitely want some exposure. Randal Grichuk has homered off of Cashner twice already in eight at bats. Morales, Russell Martin, and Granderson have also taken Cashner deep. So has Justin Smoak, I just don’t trust his 1-10 career mark off of Cashner.

Whit Merrifield is 3-5 with two homers and four RBI against Odorizzi. Alex Gordon has homered off of him as well.

It could be a long time before we see Freddie Freeman at this price again. He is also 7-27(.259) with two solo homers and five runs against Scherzer. Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers have both homered off of Max. One will be my catcher today at a great discount.

I do like Chris Archer, but I’m not sure I like him here. Starlin Castro is 8-20 with a homer and five RBI off of Archer so far. Archer also has a 4.91 ERA in six home starts. On top of that, he hasn’t gone five innings in either of his starts off of the DL.

Bargain Shoppers:

The Orioles have smacked eight homers off of J.A. Happ, which is not surprising with all of the right handed bats in that lineup. That said, this offense is cold. On the bright side, they are priced accordingly. That means that Caleb Joseph, Joey Rickard, Tim Beckham, and Adam Jones are all $3,200 or less. All of them have homered off of Happ. Jones even has two! Chris Davis has also smacked two, but his slump is awful and he is hitting only .174 against Happ.

The Tigers are very familiar with Chris Sale form his time in the A.L. Central. Victor Martinez is 22-52(.423) with four homers and nine RBI against Sale. Jose Iglesias has homered off of Sale as well, and they are both dirt cheap.

The Rays were pretty good against Trevor Richards last week, but it wasn’t the usual suspects that did the damage. Hechavarria drove in a run, and so did Mallex Smith. Cron and Bauers were a combined 0-5.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

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