DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 8: Kershaw could dominate A's

"CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 22: Cleveland Indians fans wait out a rain delay before the start of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on June 22, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)"

DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 8: Kershaw could dominate A’s

We still have nine games in our main DraftKings slate today. We have a few aces out there, but a shallow middle tier, which will make it harder to drop down. However, with Coors and Texas on the early slate, the stacking options aren’t what they usually are in a nine game slate. That could leave us open to pay up for pitching. Should we? Let’s check it out!

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The only rain chance is in Cleveland, where a slight chance delayed the game yesterday. It could happen again, but the game will still play.

The only wind is blowing out to left in Oakland, but again, the ballpark design means that it doesn’t really matter.

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!

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 28: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on July 28, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Clayton Kershaw ($12,800): Kershaw has just dominated the A’s, holding them to a .113 average with just three runs in 53 at bats to go with 14 strikeouts. The Dodgers are still lifting Kershaw right around 100 pitches, but that still gives him 6+ innings of owning this team. You can take a shot with one of the right handed power bats if you want, but considering Rich Hill shut them down last night, Kershaw should have no problems doing the same.

Luis Severino ($11,900): Severino has struggled lately, but he has dominated the White Sox in his career. If he is ever going to get back on track, it’s here. The Sox are hitting just .217 in 46 at bats against Severino with one homer, three runs, and a staggering 19 strikeouts. His recent performance is going to suppress ownership, so I love the idea of using Severino in GPP formats. It’s a tougher sell in cash games just in case he continues to struggle.

Middle Tier:

Trevor Richards ($7,800): The Cardinals have been shut down my Marlins starters in this series. That should continue tonight. Richards has a 3.05 ERA in seven home starts this year. On top of that, Richards has allowed just two runs in his last four starts spanning 23.2 innings. He wont go deep into the game, but he is going to give you solid numbers just like Lopez did last night. You can do much worse for the price.

Bargain Pitchers:

Brett Kennedy ($5,100): Kennedy will make his major league debut here against the Brewers. As always, there is risk involved here, but Kennedy was 10-0 with a 2.72 ERA for the El Paso Chihuahuas. Milwaukee does have quite a bit of left handed power, so there is risk here, but he also has the added advantage of not having much of a book on him yet. This is a complete GPP dart throw.

Andrew Cashner ($5,000): This one is not for the faint of heart. Cashner was obliterated by the Rangers last week, allowing ten runs in 1.2 innings. Just when we thought he was back on track! However, in the start prior to that, Cashner picked up 12.1 DraftKings points against the Rays. That’s not amazing, but it’s a decent return for this price.

BOSTON, MA – JULY 30: (L to R) Red Sox players Blake Swihart, Jackie Bradley Jr., Mitch Moreland, Brock Holt, and Joe Kelly lip sync for the kids at Boston Children’s Hospital on July 30, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images for Boston Children’s Hospital) /

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Brian Johnson:

Johnson was rocked by the Blue Jays earlier this year for six runs in 4.2 innings. The Jays are now hitting .366 with four homers and ten runs in just 41 at bats against Johnson. Toronto has had their issues this year, but they still blast lefties. Luke Maile, Teoscar Hernandez, Smoak, and Russell Martin have all homered against Johnson. Randall Grichuk and Devon Travis are good options as well to complete this stack. Travis hammers lefties, as we saw last night.

Boston Red Sox vs. Mike Hauschild:

Hauschild looked great in his debut against Seattle, but the fact remains that he had a 4.88 ERA and 1.55 WHIP for AAA Fresno before heading to Toronto. The Red Sox are an expensive, and chalky, stack, but we may just have to deal with it tonight. The Sox scored five runs in the tenth after scoring five in the first nine to win last night. Expect another high scoring game here. Betts, Benintendi, and J. D. are the top options, but I also like Xander Bogaerts and Mitch Moreland here as well.

Cleveland Indians vs. Jake Odorizzi:

The Indians have hit Odorizzi to the tune of a .260 average with seven homers and 26 runs in just 150 at bats. Both Lindor and Ramirez have homered twice against Odorizzi. So has Edwin, but he is hitting just .162 in 37 at bats. Brantley has the final homer, but Kipnis, Rajai Davis, Yan Gomes, and Leonys Martin are all hitting .300 or better against Odorizzi. We have a bunch of options here.

New York Yankees vs. Lucas Giolito:

Giolito has an awful 7.76 ERA at home, and he hasn’t faced the Yankees there. This is going to get ugly. Gregorius and Stanton are elite picks, but there is value to be found here as well. I like Greg Bird and Brett Gardner here to save a little cash. Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks look like very good plays as well. Anyone in pinstripes is a good pick since Giolito has been a human pitching machine at Failed Loans Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Mike Fiers:

Even though the Dodgers chased Manaea early last night, they didn’t really hit him hard. That could change here. Fiers will make his A’s debut in a precarious situation against a very potent offense that gets to add another bat from what they usually have. Kemp and Machado are the elite options. Max Muncy has gone cold, but still has a lot of power, as does Bellinger. Yasiel Puig always hits righties better than lefties, and Brian Dozier may be worth a look from his days against Fiers in the A.L. Central. You can go a lot of ways with a Dodgers stack.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 31: Christian Yelich #22, Lorenzo Cain #6 and Eric Thames #7 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate in the outfield after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 at Dodger Stadium on July 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I’m not going to stack Nationals against Mike Foltynewicz, but I’m not going to use him either. He is an expensive option to chase strikeouts against a really good offense that he has given up 20 runs to in 168 at bats. Trea Turner is 7-23(.304) with a homer, a steal, and two RBI. Rendon has a homer and five RBI already. Harper has homered off of Folty as well, but has the worst average of the three against him.

Christian Yelich, Eric Thames, and Travis Shaw are all worth a look against a rookie right hander making his major league debut. Brett Kennedy’s numbers at AAA are really good, so I’m not going with an outright stack, but I do think that I want some exposure to this game.

Heath Fillmyer has been decent so far in his career, and better at home. That is enough to keep me from stacking. The Cubs offense has been surprisingly quiet with an extra hitter against a questionable pitching staff. I still like the power potential of Rizzo and Schwarber here. Baez is still worth a look, but beyond that, there isn’t much to get excited about here. However, the Cubs are talented and could wake up at any minute.

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Middle Tier:

I’m a big fan of Adam Duvall against Tom Milone tonight. He, Dansby Swanson, and Tyler Flowers have all homered off of him in the past. I’m not stacking, but any Braves righty is in play here against the Nationals’ latest reclamation project.

Just like the rest of his teammates, the Twins have had success against Mike Clevinger. Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Max Kepler have all homered off of him. Joe Mauer is 5-11 against him so far. So once again, I am foregoing a Cleveland pitcher against the Twins, but I’m not going to go crazy on the other side of this either. One or two Twins is plenty.

I don’t know whether to make heads or tails of the Rays. They were shut down by Alex Cobb last night, and I would tend to think that Cashner is a better pitcher. Use Cron or Bauers or nothing at all.

The Padres have actually pounded Jhoulys Chacin in his career, but I don’t trust this offense enough to stack. Austin Hedges, Spangenberg, and A.J. Ellis all have homers off of Chacin. Hunter Renfroe and Wil Myers have never faced Chacin, but they have to power to get quickly acclimated.

John Gant has zero upside, or I may actually consider using him in cavernous Marlins Park. I think I’m more comfortable using Justin Bour against him and being done with it. Bour has homered off of him before.

Bargain Shoppers:

Jose Martinez is the only Cardinal to homer against Trevor Richards, but I wouldn’t bet on him doing it again. You can use Carpenter here, but my only exposure will likely be Marcell Ozuna. Or not. This looks like a spot to ignore entirely from a hitter’s standpoint.

Jose Quintana has been thumped by the Royals from his time in the A.L. Central. Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon have both homered off of Quintana twice. Alcides Escobar has six RBI and is just $2,700. I wont be paying the price for Merrifield. Mondesi has about the same upside, and is much cheaper.

There is a good chance that Jalen Beeks will take over for the opener tonight. The Orioles torched him in his Tampa debut at the end of July, and could do the same with all of their right handed batters. I half expect the Rays to hold off on Beeks and use Faria instead since he didn’t pitch last night, which would probably drop my Orioles usage to zero.

Mark Canha is 2-3 in his career against Kershaw, so he provides a cheap outlet for the one guy who may be able to hit Kershaw a little. Still, $3,600 seems high facing Kershaw.

Next. MLB Game by Game breakdown August 8. dark

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