DraftKings MLB Picks August 14: Verlander looks like a lock

BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 24: Fans watch action as rain falls in the fourth inning during a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 24, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks August 14: Verlander looks like a lock

There is a matinee game at Wrigley, so the main DraftKings tournament has 14 games tonight. There is pitching at every tier that is worth a look tonight, but who can net us the most points? Let’s check out some past stats and trends.

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Both Philly and Baltimore are threatened with late starts, but it should clear off enough for both games to get in without issues after the initial delay. The same is true in Kansas City, where a late start is all but imminent. However, they should be completely clear by 9pm central, so the game should complete without issues once started.

We have a 12 mph breeze blowing in from right in Arlington, but it’s going to be hot and humid, so it wont affect the power output. The wind is the usual one blowing out to right in Oakland.

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!

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PHOENIX, AZ – AUGUST 03: Patrick Corbin #46 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a pitch in the first inning of the MLB game against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field on August 3, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($12,600): Verlander has held the Rockies to a .197 average in 66 at bats with just two solo homers and 19 strikeouts. His domination against an offense that is markedly worse on the road points to Verlander as an ace worth paying for tonight. I have a feeling that many are going to be off of Verlander because of his hiccup in Seattle last week. We could get this domination at lower ownership because of that!

Patrick Corbin ($11,900): There is a lot to like about Corbin here, even in hitter friendly Arlington. Corbin records a lot of strikeouts and induces a good number of ground ball outs. If Texas can’t get the ball in the air, it isn’t going anywhere, even in this humidity. Texas is mostly lefty heavy, which gives Corbin another decided advantage. Corbin has a 3.00 ERA in 11 road starts, and has recorded at least eight strikeouts in each of his last four starts. Expect more of the same tonight.

Middle Tier:

J.A. Happ ($9,500): Happ turned in a quality start in his Yankees debut, and should do the same here. The Rays are only hitting .221 against Happ in 77 at bats, but they have managed to push across ten runs to go with the 18 strikeouts. Happ likely wont have a great game, so I’m not sure he is worth the markup here, but his move to the Yankees seems to be going well. There is a strong chance of something better.

Jameson Taillon ($9,000): Taillon racked up 27.6 DraftKings points on the Twins earlier this year thanks to nine strikeouts. This team has lost a lot of power since then, but still strikes out at a high rate. Taillon has a 3.39 ERA in 12 road starts, so there is reason to believe that he can have at least as good of an outing this time around if not better.

Anibal Sanchez ($8,600): The resurgence of Sanchez is quite the anomaly this year. If regression hits, it likely isn’t going to come at home (he has a 2.61 ERA in six home tilts) or against the Marlins. Assuming his calf is okay, Sanchez could be in for a pretty strong start here. Even his strikeouts are up this year. I guess we have to roll with him while he’s hot.

German Marquez ($8,400): Marquez likely wont get the win against Verlander, but we can’t ignore what he’s been doing lately. Marquez has 27 strikeouts over his last three starts while allowing only seven runs. I say only because two of those games were at home. Correa’s return does help Houston, but Springer and Altuve are still out, and Correa is hitting .199 at home this year. Marquez has a 3.09 ERA in 11 road starts. There is really good potential here, even against Houston.

Bargain Pitchers:

Jaime Barria ($7,300): The Padres were shut down by the struggling Heaney last night, so it stands to reason that Barria could do the same, especially when you consider that Barria holds the platoon advantage over most of the Padres hitters. Barria does lack upside since his strikeout numbers are very low, but he has a great chance at a win. That should count for something.

Blaine Hardy ($6,800): Hardy’s numbers against Chicago aren’t great, but that is because he had a subpar outing against them last year. This year, Hardy has 43.8 DraftKings points in two starts against the Sox. The right handed power potential scares me a little, but Hardy has the decided advantage of calling a huge park home. There is really good potential here for the price.

Ryan Borucki ($6,700): We saw Reid-Foley give up only three runs through five despite being wild in his major league debut. Borucki is slightly more established. His 2.81 ERA goes nicely against a team scoring the least amount of runs in the majors. There is good upside for Borucki here, just don’t expect miracles since he doesn’t rack up the strikeouts.

Andrew Cashner ($6,000): Cashner is gifted four points for a win against Vargas, but the Mets haven’t really been hitting either, so that isn’t the only appeal here tonight. Cashner turned in a pretty good start against the Rays last week. He really has no strikeout upside anymore, so about all we can ask for here is pretty good. Something like the 14.2 DraftKings points that he got against the Rays plus four points for the win is a pretty good total for this price.

Lucas Giolito ($5,500): This will be like an amusement park ride should you choose to go this route, but Giolito has been decent on the road. The thing that has me considering this is just how unassuming the Detroit offense is. The Tigers are hitting only .235 against Giolito in 34 at bats, but they do have two homers and five runs to go with five strikeouts. Giolito’s lack of elite strikeout numbers make this even more of a risk, but this is a pitcher’s park with an average offense in it. Are you game?

Heath Fillmyer ($5,300): Fillmyer dominated the Cubs at home last week. We saw Keller fool the Blue Jays all night last night, so Fillmyer should have no issue doing the same. I doubt that he cracks 20 DraftKings points like he did against the Cubs, but I’ll take 15 or so for this price. Fillmyer has only allowed four runs in three home starts this year. This is a lot of potential for a very low price.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 29: Giancarlo Stanton #27, Aaron Hicks #31 and Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals 6-3 at Yankee Stadium on July 29, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Baltimore Orioles vs. Jason Vargas:

A righty heavy lineup against arguably the worst pitcher that still has a major league job? Don’t mind if I do! Caleb Joseph and Chris Davis are the only ones with homers in 88 at bats against Vargas so far, but I’m a big fan of Beckham here as well. You can finish this stack off with the power potential of Valencia, Mark Trumbo, and Adam Jones, or the on base appeal of Joey Rickard and Trey Mancini. There is no wrong answer when the question is Jason Vargas.

New York Yankees vs. Jalen Beeks/Hunter Wood:

It really doesn’t matter who opens this game since it appears that former Red Sox prospect Jalen Beeks will relieve the opener. This is good news for the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton moves to the head of the class, and Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, and Gleyber Torres aren’t far behind. I’m not opposed to playing Gardner or Gregorius either since I doubt Beeks gets his four innings in. The Yankees could really crush him in the tiny stadium they call home.

Atlanta Braves vs. Trevor Richards:

Richards has struggled on the road this year, so heading to a lefty friendly park is not good for him. Freeman and Albies lead the charge here with Nick Markakis not far behind. Johan Camargo and the hot Ronald Acuna make the most sense to finish this off, but don’t rule out whoever starts at catcher either.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Yovani Gallardo:

The Diamondbacks are hitting .282 with two homers and 21 runs in only 110 at bats against Gallardo from his time in the National League. Put him in a hitter’s park, and this spells trouble. Gallardo has been good recently, but this is going to be a bump in the road. David Peralta is as chalky as someone at his price can be. Goldy, Ketel Marte, Pollock, and Eduardo Escobar are all worth a look here. So is Daniel Descalso if he is in the lineup.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Andrew Suarez:

Suarez has a 5.61 ERA on the road this year. Now he is travelling to the home of arguably the most dangerous offense out there. This team is loaded, and can adjust the lineup to attack either a righty or a lefty. Kike Hernandez is a lefty killer, so any stack should include him. Brian Dozier, Matt Kemp, and Justin Turner are all pretty affordable and all smack lefties. Cody Bellinger hits lefties well enough to consider here as well, but I think I would rather use Yasmani Grandal to finish this one off.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Brett Kennedy:

Kennedy got knocked around by the Brewers in his first career start. The Angels don’t quite have the firepower that Milwaukee does, but there is talent and power in this lineup still. Justin Upton went deep last night, and is a strong threat to do so again. Ohtani and Kole Calhoun top my want list as lefties against the righty. Andrelton Simmons is worth a look here as well, and if you don’t trust Pujols, it could be time to dust off Kaleb Cowart because of the power potential.

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 13: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates with Michael Brantley #23 after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I like Nick Pivetta, but not against the Red Sox. Stacking this is an option, but they are better places to go for that. I have my eyes on Betts and Mitch Moreland here. J.D. Martinez is always worth a look, but I’m only going to pay up for one Sox player. Pivetta is good enough to get them out. Rafael Devers is a pretty intriguing play as well from the left side. A well-rested Andrew Benintendi is a good pivot off of Betts if you choose to attack this with lefties only.

Sal Romano has decent numbers at home and against Cleveland, but this offense is cooking right now. Don’t get cute. If you are going after Romano, go with Jose Ramirez, Yonder Alonso, and Lindor. Paying up makes the most sense here.

Jake Odorizzi has not pitched well lately anyway, so the fact that he struggled against Pittsburgh on the road is really not a good thing. Odorizzi’s ERA is more than a run and a half worse at home. Polanco, Josh Bell, and Corey Dickerson are my favorite targets here, but I certainly wouldn’t be against using Starling Marte either.

John Gant could have a good game, but probably not. Bryce Harper and Juan Soto appear to be the way to attack this with Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams being decent secondary options. Gant has pitched well at home this year so I wouldn’t go nuts, but I would be surprised if he gave up less than three runs here.

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Middle Tier:

I still have a hard time attacking with Mets, but Todd Frazier would be the way to go against Cashner. He has four runs and three RBI against him. That’s not great, but it’s something to go on if you want to try and pick a needle out of the Mets haystack.

Nick Castellanos has both homers and all five of the RBI against Lucas Giolito. If you are using any Tigers, it should be Castellanos.

James Paxton has not pitched well against Oakland, especially in the coliseum. It makes sense to take some shots at him here since the A’s hit lefties well. Khris Davis, Marcus Semien, and Lucroy have all homered off of Paxton before. A cheap Mark Canha looks good as well.

Charlie Blackmon is the only Rockies player I would even consider tonight because he is only $4,400 and he has homered off of Verlander in the past.

Matt Davidson has slugged two homers against Blaine Hardy in just five at bats. Jose Abreu has also taken him deep, but it is his only hit in seven tries.

I think Corey Kluber has a great game, but not for his price tag. Kluber has an average 3.48 ERA on the road, and is going into a hitter friendly park with Joey Votto, who is 5-7 against him lifetime. I wouldn’t go any deeper than Votto and Hamilton or Suarez, but I’m not sure Kluber scores enough to make us happy for $11,500.

Carlos Correa is too good of a hitter to continue struggling at home. He is the focal point of the offense right now. He will get going soon. Taking a shot while his price is still low enough is not a terrible idea.

I suppose you could take a shot at Taillon with Eddie Rosario or Max Kepler, but he has only given up four homers in 12 road starts. I’m thinking this one just needs to be left alone.

I don’t really like any Blue Jays or Royals, but Granderson is worth a look against a young righty, and Aledmys Diaz is hitting well lately. On the other side, I suppose you could take a chance on a cheap Salvador Perez or Jorge Bonifacio if you are strapped for cash, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to use anyone from this game.

Bargain Shoppers:

Matt Duffy and C.J. Cron have both homered against J.A. Happ and both are cheap in Yankee Stadium. You could do worse when homer chasing.

Jedd Gyorko and Marcell Ozuna are both relatively cheap, and have both homered off of Gio Gonzalez. Gio is in the middle of a very rough stretch despite a couple of good outings sprinkled in. The Cardinals have a lot of right handed power here. I also like Harrison Bader, who is wreaking havoc lately.

There are some cheap Mariners that have hit Mike Fiers well. Kyle Seager and Cameron Maybin are a combined 9-26 with a homer and seven RBI off of him. Segura is 3-5 with a homer. This could be a sneaky place for cheap offense despite the huge ballpark.

In practice, this looks like a great spot for Alex Wood, but he is just returning from the DL, and the Giants have hit him well. Brandon Crawford is 6-18 with two homers against Wood already. Nick Hundley and Buster Posey have smacked Wood around as well. Don’t get too crazy because this offense just isn’t very good, but I would rather use cheap Giants to attack Wood than pay his too high price of $8,200.

I don’t trust Porcello in a hitter’s park like Philadelphia. He could turn in a good game or even a great one, but his inconsistency makes it tough to play either side of this. Justin Bour or Nick Williams are worth a look as reasonably priced options, but I wouldn’t go any further than that.

Next. MLB Game by Game breakdown August 14. dark

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