DraftKings Early MLB Picks August 23: Which ace do we use?

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 08: A general exterior view of Citi Field as the New York Mets get set to host the Washington Nationals during the Mets’ Home Opener at Citi Field on April 8, 2011 in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks August 23: Which ace do we use?

We have nine total games today, but I don’t think DraftKings made any friends today. They lopped off the Rockies game from the early tournament and didn’t include it in the late either, so goodbye Rockies stack! That game is available in the all day tournament though. Maybe they are hoping to drive more action there. Honestly, not having Coors in either slate evens the playing field. And how could you possibly fit deGrom or Scherzer and the Coors bats? You can’t. This way we can at least consider one of the aces! Actually, the pitching looks really good on the early slate. Let’s get to it!

More from DFS

There is no rain to worry about this afternoon, but we do have winds at 12-14 mph blowing in from right in both Washington and New York. This could affect offense in those places, especially right handed power.

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 a free shot at a million dollars, use this link for the referral bonus with your first deposit of $5 or more! You then gain entry to Fantasy Football Millionaire tournament the opening week of the NFL season!

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 17: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the fifth inning during a baseball game the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on August 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jacob deGrom ($11,900): deGrom’s numbers against the Giants aren’t great, but his 2018 numbers are. deGrom has a 1.71 ERA and 204 strikeouts already. 300 strikeouts was thought to be a number that no one would see again, but deGrom has an outside shot unless the Mets limit him or shut him down (they might). This is Kershaw-like dominance from deGrom this year, and the Giants are one of the worst offenses in baseball over the last month. This price actually looks low for what he is capable of. deGrom has been under 25 DraftKings points just once since July 1st.

Max Scherzer ($11,500): The Phillies are hitting just .193 in 259 at bats against Scherzer with three homers and just 15 runs to go with an impressive 72 strikeouts. Now we know why Nola is so cheap because despite his good numbers against Washington this year, Scherzer has been great against the Phillies. In his start against the Phils, Max piled up 37.5 DraftKings points in just 6.1 innings. He struck out 15 in that game. 15! Max may not be that dominant again today, but you can bet he will turn in a very strong outing.

Middle Tier:

Aaron Nola ($9,100): Wow, Nola is cheap. Especially when you consider that Washington just traded away a couple of hitters. The Nationals are only hitting .239 against Nola with four homers and 13 runs in 137 at bats with 43 strikeouts. Those aren’t elite numbers, but this is not an elite price either. I understand that Nola is overshadowed on this slate, and honestly, that’s great for those of us that don’t mind stepping “down.” I don’t view it like this at all. Nola is in the conversation for the N.L. Cy Young award. I didn’t think he would be under five figures again this year. Oh, and Nola has 50.4 DraftKings points in two starts against the Nationals this year. Seeing him at this price makes Nola my favorite pitcher of the day.

Madison Bumgarner ($7,500): MadBum hasn’t just been mortal on the road, he has bordered on awful. That said, the Mets are awful. There really is no question about it. Some guys named Chris Stratton and Casey Kelly both turned in quality starts on the Mets in this series. MadBum is still a lot better than them. He could actually dominate here, and all for just $7,500!

Bargain Pitchers:

Matt Boyd ($6,000): The White Sox have actually hit Boyd well, but they have not faced him this year. Boyd also has a 2.80 ERA in 11 home starts, so if the Sox are going to get to him, it likely wouldn’t be here anyway. This is a big of a risk with all of the right handed power in the White Sox lineup, but their astronomical strikeout rate makes it worth it in GPP formats.

James Shields ($5,000): Shields has struggled on the road, and has a 4.50 ERA in three starts against Detroit this year. However, the veteran has turned in three straight quality starts and has really only been lit up once since the All Star Break. This Detroit lineup doesn’t scare anyone. They couldn’t even get to Jon Lester last night. Shields wont do a whole lot for you besides save you money, but he has been over 15 DraftKings points in five of his last six starts. I would say that he is as safe as he will ever be against the Tigers.

Adam Plutko ($4,100): Adam Plutko could be decent today since his road splits are actually better. For a moment I actually thought about using him because $4,100 is usually reserved for those who are guaranteed to get smoked or for Rays openers. What is an acceptable output for Plutko at this price though? Double figures? That may not happen due to the bats in this Boston lineup. There is quite a bit of risk here, but honestly, Plutko isn’t going to get mauled like most pitchers priced like this do. This is an acceptable form of salary relief if you don’t mind punting a pitching slot on a day like this. I still see Plutko getting around 8-10 points, which isn’t horrible for the price.

ST. LOUIS, MO – AUGUST 16: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals hits two-RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth inning at Busch Stadium on August 16, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

For all the success Nola has had against the Nationals, Bryce Harper has crushed him. Harper is 9-23(.391) with two homers and five RBI off of Nola. Rendon and Michael Taylor have the other homers, but I’m not going out of my way to play a righty here. If I go with anyone besides Harper it will be Juan Soto or Wilmer Difo because I need salary relief.

Plutko could be decent, but Mookie and J.D. still warrant a look if you are okay punting the rest of your bats. For that reason, I think I prefer to go with Xander Bogaerts and Moreland since they wont break the bank and you can still comfortably fit them in the lineup with an ace. Brock Holt is worth a look to save money as well.

More from FanSided

Middle Tier:

If you’re going to take a shot at Scherzer (not recommended), it should be with Nick Williams, who is 2-3 with a homer off of him. Odubel Herrera is a strong 12-36 with two steals and two RBI against Scherzer.

Todd Frazier is 5-12 with a homer and a pair of RBI against Madison Bumgarner in his career. I don’t know that I would go after him with anyone else. Even lefty killer Wilmer Flores is just 1-11 against MadBum.

I know Edwin is fresh off the DL, but he has smacked four homers against David Price in his career and driven in nine. He is definitely worth a look here.

We rode Castellanos last night, and it looks like a pretty good idea again tonight. Castellanos has two homers and four RBI against James Shields.

Bargain Shoppers:

Brandon Guyer is 4-14 with a homer and three RBI in his career against David Price, and he will only set you back $3,000. Melky, who has been hot of late anyway, is 10-32(.312) with two homers and six RBI against David Price.

Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Hunter Pence have all homered off of Jacob deGrom in the past. I would say that the chance of one doing so here is practically zero, but I know some of you out there are riverboat gamblers.

Avi Garcia is just $3,700, and he has two homers and seven RBI against Matt Boyd already. Matt Davidson has homered off of Boyd as well. Tim Anderson really is a crap shoot here. He is 9-27 against Boyd, but he has struck out 11 times!

Victor Martinez is just $3,300, and he is 17-62(.274) with a homer and eight RBI in his career against James Shields. That’s a pretty good way to save some money for pitching!

Next. MLB Game by Game breakdown August 23. dark

We promised some big news in June for Fantasy CPR, right? Well here it is! We are now looking for PAID writers to join our team to write about fantasy sports. Seasonal or DFS, any sport you want – get your voice heard and get paid for talking fantasy sports. Apply today HERE!