DraftKings MLB Picks August 10: Will Tanaka dominate?

ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 22: A general view of SunTrust Park during a rain delay before the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves on April 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks August 10: Will Tanaka dominate?

There is a matinee at Wrigley, but the other 14 games make up our main DraftKings tournament. With this many games, you may expect a plethora of great options. That isn’t the case tonight. Only three pitchers are in five figures, with only one being a pitcher I would consider an ace. The middle tier is equally barren. So, there is some bad pitching out there and some terrible pitching. Let’s see if we can pick out the ones in the best situations.

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The only rain chance is in Atlanta, but it isn’t anything that should threaten the game. Make sure you check the radar leading up to lock to see if anything looks like its going to hit the stadium.

It is a mild night for wind as well with just the customary breeze in San Francisco.

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!

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 30: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the second inning at Safeco Field on July 30, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Gerrit Cole ($12,500): None of Cole’s numbers against Seattle really stand out, especially when you consider the price tag. However, He has only allowed one homer and six runs in 108 at bats despite the .269 average against him. Is that enough to pay top dollar? After seeing what Seattle did to Verlander last night, it’s easy to say no. It’s even easier to move off of this when you consider how well the other five figure guys have pitched lately. I will say that Cole has more upside, which still makes him an intriguing option in GPP’s.

Masahiro Tanaka ($10,400): Tanaka has allowed just six runs since he came off the DL on July 10th. Five of those were in his first two starts back. He has dominated everyone lately, so even though the Rangers stuck it to him earlier this year, it’s hard to see that happening again. Tanaka has 97.1 DraftKings points in his last three starts. One of those was against the Red Sox in Boston! The potential is here for Tanaka to dominate again.

Zack Wheeler ($10,100): Wheeler’s career numbers against the Marlins are very average. Like average enough to forget about him for five figures. However, Wheeler has 55.2 DraftKings points in two starts against the Marlins this year. He has dominated them. On top of that, Wheeler is 2-0 with a 1.34 ERA in five career starts in Marlins Park. Yep, he’s worth it!

Middle Tier:

Freddy Peralta ($9,200): Peralta has been solid or better all season, so there is reason to like him against the Braves. The problem is that SunTrust Park caters to lefties, and the Braves have some really good ones. Peralta put up 23.9 DraftKings points against the Braves in Milwaukee earlier this year. I have a hard time seeing him matching that mark in Atlanta, which likely leaves us wanting more from his salary. That said, he has shown flashes of dominance this year, and if Peralta is on, he could shut the Braves down again.

Shane Bieber ($8,300): Bieber has done pretty well over his last couple of starts after a rough game against Pittsburgh. He is still kind of volatile, but the thing I see here is potential. Bieber has seven strikeouts in each of his last two games. Tonight he gets the face the most strikeout prone team in the league. This is a pretty good price on someone that could flirt with double digit strikeouts. Even if Bieber does give up a few runs, I see a solid point total from him here.

Jon Gray ($7,700): Gray has been dominant since his exile to the minors. Gray has gone at least seven innings in all four of those starts without allowing more than two earned runs in any of those. There is risk against the Dodgers, but they are still only hitting .247 on Gray in 73 at bats. It’s hard to find fault with Gray tonight.

Bargain Pitchers:

Carlos Rodon ($7,300): It’s pretty easy to miss that Rodon has a 2.94 ERA in ten starts this year. However, his two starts against Cleveland have not been that great. Still, Rodon has held the Tribe to a .215 average and just two homers in 172 at bats with 14 runs and 45 strikeouts. The Minnesota starters handled Cleveland until they torched Berrios yesterday. There is pretty good potential here for Rodon, and he wont break the bank. The 1.93 home ERA is a nice touch as well.

Kenta Maeda ($7,000): Maeda actually looks pretty good here after Stripling threw a quality start in Denver last night. On top of that, Maeda is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five career starts at Coors Field. Maeda’s price is very enticing here. He wont go deep into the game, nor will he really rack up the strikeouts. That said, he could get pretty close to 20 DraftKings points…….or he could get negatives. That’s where we’re at with Coors. The thing that really has me considering this is what Maeda did to the Rockies earlier this year. He racked up 32.5 DraftKings points on them!

Austin Gomber ($6,300): Gomber hasn’t pitched all that well in either start, but he is worth considering against the Royals. The relief appearances have been good for Gomber, but everything here is surprisingly average. You are taking a shot at a middling offense that doesn’t strike out all that much. It seems to me like there are better places to attack.

Mike Leake ($5,900): The healthy Astros are hitting .250 with two homers and six runs in 56 at bats, but the 17 strikeouts makes this look pretty appetizing. Leake is in one of the better spots that you will find him in anymore, and I still expect ownership to be low because he IS playing the Astros. In name only, of course.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 01: Aaron Hicks #31 of the New York Yankees celebrates his fourth inning home run against the Boston Red Sox in the dugout with teammate Didi Gregorius #18 at Yankee Stadium on July 1, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

New York Yankees vs. Mike Minor:

Minor has been serviceable for the Rangers this year, but his road woes are well documented. Now he is going into one of the best hitting parks around lugging that 6.50 ERA in nine road starts. The Yankees are going to feast here. Stanton has already clubbed four homers against Minor in just 21 at bats. The favorites to get in on this party are Gregorius and Aaron Hicks. Brett Gardner, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres are strong plays as well.

Boston Red Sox vs. Dylan Bundy:

Bundy’s career numbers against the Red Sox are horrid, yet he has picked up 63.6 DraftKings points on them in three starts this year. Bundy has a 4.60 ERA at home, so excuse me if I don’t trust him since Boston is hitting .275 with ten homers and 25 runs in 182 at bats against him overall. He still serves up a ton of homers. Bundy has been fortunate that not many Sox have reached base against him. As soon as that changes, he is getting pounded. Mookie has three homers off of Bundy already. Martinez, Pearce, Sandy Leon, Benintendi, Devers, Bradley, and Xander Bogaerts have the others. There really isn’t a bad pick top to bottom, but J.D.’s homer is his only hit in eight at bats off of Bundy.

Minnesota Twins vs. Jordan Zimmerman:

It’s hard to consider stacking Twins, but this offense did well against a Cleveland staff that is far better than anything Detroit has to offer. The Twins are hitting .281 with five homers and 22 runs in just 96 at bats against Zimmerman. LoMo has three homers and six RBI by himself! Rosario and Sano have both homered off of Zimmerman as well. You really can’t go wrong with Joe Mauer, and Jorge Polanco hit his first homer of the season yesterday. Max Kepler is a strong play as well.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Kevin Gausman:

Gausman was okay in his Atlanta debut in that he picked up a quality start and didn’t allow a homer for the five time in eight starts. The bad news is that it was against the Mets. He will make his SunTrust debut tonight against a team loaded with left handed power. His homer-less drought is only going to last one game. Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, and Christian Yelich are all elite plays. Mike Moustakas also homered off of Gausman in the only game that he has played against him. Lorenzo Cain is worth a look as well.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Anthony DeScalfani:

DeSclafani has been better lately, but he is still just average. His ERA is also almost two runs higher at home. When you add the fact that Arizona gets a significant upgrade since there is no humidor that we know of in Cincinnati, this is a horrible spot for DeSclafani. The red hot David Peralta is a good place to start, and Goldy is still raking on the road. You may only need these two, but if you want to complete the stack, go with Eduardo Escobar, Ketel Marte, and Pollock.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Burch Smith:

Matt Carpenter looks like an elite play here. Beyond that, I’m not sure how much I trust the Cardinals offense. DeJong, Ozuna, and Harrison Bader are worth a mention as well. Yadier Molina will bat in a favorable slot in this lineup, so he is firmly in the mix as well.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Brett Anderson:

Anderson really hasn’t pitched well this year, so despite his good numbers against the Angels, I’m not a big fan of him here. Ohtani and Kole Calhoun are worth a look despite being left handed. Andrelton Simmons and Justin Upton look really good here. You can even take a look at ageless wonder Albert Pujols.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 08: Brandon Nimmo #9 of the New York Mets celebrates with teammates in the eighth inning at Citi Field on August 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I want to believe in Clay Buchholz. I really do. But I’m not going to start with that in Cincinnati. I could be wrong with Buchholz. He may have another really good start. It just wont be for me. However, I’m not going to attack him either, just in case. The only Red I would play right now is Suarez anyway, and he’s pretty pricey for a non-Coors bat.

Jose Urena has been decent. Decent probably wont cut it against Brandon Nimmo, who is starting to heat up again. Wilmer Flores has homered off of Urena as well, but using more than one Met is a harrowing proposition.

Manny Machado homered in his only game against Jon Gray so far. Joc Pederson has taken him deep as well. I’m not sure how far I want to go with this considering Gray’s recent dominance. The prices on the Dodger hitters are particularly off=putting.

If you are one of the ones going after Carlos Rodon, you have to use Lindor. Lindor is 7-24(.292) with both homers off of Rodon and five RBI. Jose Ramirez is the only other Cleveland bat that has hit Rodon well enough to consider paying for.

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Middle Tier:

If you think that the Rangers can get to Tanaka again, there are a couple of good options there. Rougned Odor has two homers against Tanaka, and Gallo has one. I wouldn’t go anything beyond those two though with the way Tanaka is pitching.

The Royals have enough righties that they are somewhat tempting against Austin Gomber. Merrifield is pretty pricey, but Mondesi and Jorge Bonifacio are definitely worth a look, especially when you consider that Gomber has surrendered at least one homer in both of his starts.

The Rays have hit Marco Estrada hard, so I want some exposure here. Cron and Jake Bauers would seem to be the place to get it, but I can’t rule out Mallex Smith and Kiermaier as good plays as well.

I do not trust Ervin Santana right now, and I may trust the Tigers even less. However, Castellanos is 7-16 against Santana, and Victor Martinez has slugged four homers off of him. Both are worth a look at reasonable prices here.

It’s to the point with the Astros that I would almost trust Mike Leake against them. Almost. Gattis is the only healthy Astro with much success against Leake, and he is still hitting .154 in 13 at bats. Both of the hits are homers. Marwin Gonzalez would be my favorite money-saving Astro.

Jose Abreu is the only White Sox player I would consider tonight, but I still think we can do better for the price.

Bargain Shoppers:

This may be a day to go after Orioles value again. They are hitting a robust .392 against Nate Eovaldi in 51 at bats, but don’t have a lot to show for it. All of those hits sap the quality numbers away from Eovaldi. Caleb Joseph and Chris Davis have the homers, but I’m more interested in Trumbo’s 5-8 mark. If Jace Peterson bats leadoff again, he may also be worth a look for as cheap as he is.

Denard Span has the only homer for the Mariners against Gerrit Cole so far. Jean Segura has hit him well enough to consider, as has Dee Gordon. That really holds true when you realize that all three of them are under $4,000. I wouldn’t go nuts against Cole, but any of these are good place holders in your lineup for a reasonable price.

Chris Iannetta is only $3,000, and he has two homers and four RBI in his career against Kenta Maeda. Ian Desmond, David Dahl, and Charlie Blackmon have also taken Maeda deep through the years.

I see no reason to go after Blake Snell tonight, but I have a plethora of reasons to not use him at $9,900. First off, he threw just 55 pitches last weekend in his return from shoulder fatigue. There is reason to believe that Snell wont go much for than 70-80 pitches here. That makes it hard for him to hit value. If Snell were at home I may roll the dice with him, but on the road I’ll pass. If you absolutely have to have a Blue Jay, Kendrys Morales has a homer and four RBI against Snell. You could stash a couple of Jays for later in the game when they get to the bullpen, but that’s a very risky strategy, and one you don’t need to resort to on a full slate.

Next. MLB Game by Game breakdown Augus 10. dark

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