DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 25: Kershaw or Verlander?

BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 12: The Baltimore Orioles play against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first game of a doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 12, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 25: Kershaw or Verlander?

There are nine games left over for our main DraftKings tournament. Wait, things don’t add up, right? Well, not exactly. The Rays-Red Sox and Tigers-White Sox games both start at 6:05 eastern, so they get their own mini slate. I’ll make it easy for you: Use Porcello and Yarbrough, stack Tigers and White Sox. Along with the four game early slate and the Yankees-Orioles early bird, that equals……16. That’s right. The second game of the Yankees-Orioles double dip is in the main tournament, so watch out for resting players.

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There isn’t much for rain on this slate either, but the roof should be closed in Miami. The only wind to speak of is a 12 mph breeze out to left in Kansas City.

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 will receive a free entry into the Fantasy Football Millionaire contest on opening weekend!

LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 03: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($12,900): The late night hammers are pitchers once again. Verlander has held the Angels to a .163 average with four homers, but only seven runs in 129 at bats with 39 strikeouts. Trout’s return helped the Angels some, but Upton is still out. Trout has homered twice off of Verlander, but both are solo shots, and they are his only two hits in 29 at bats. This is a smash spot for Verlander. It may be worth fading Coors for this.

Clayton Kershaw ($11,800): Kershaw has just abused the Padres in his career. This incarnation of them is hitting just .186 with one homer and four runs in 97 at bats with 27 strikeouts. Overall, Kershaw is 18-6 with a 1.89 ERA in 33 career starts against the Padres. His ERA in Petco Park drops to 1.61 in 14 starts there. Not good enough? Kershaw just dominated the Padres right before the break, racking up 25.7 DraftKings points in just six innings. He is pitching more like himself lately, which means he is going 7+ innings now. Kershaw is your late night hammer of choice. If he isn’t, he should be.

Corey Kluber ($11,000): Kluber hasn’t been all that strong lately, but he has sure dominated the Royals. The Royals are hitting just .196 with four homers and 16 runs in 204 at bats with 68 strikeouts. Kluber has allowed only three earned runs in 13 innings against Kansas City this year, racking up 40.2 DraftKings points in the process. That makes him at least in the discussion for our lineup.

Middle Tier:

Mike Fiers ($8,800): Fiers has held the Twins to a .222 average with three homers and seven runs in 81 at bats so far. On top of that, Fiers has bordered on dominant since Oakland traded for him. He has given up just four runs in 25.1 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts. I’m inclined to say he’s worth the price against an offense that is still struggling for the most part.

Jhoulys Chacin ($8,100): The Brewers keep digging up former major league starters and turning them into something good. Wade Miley was not good last night, and still only gave up two runs. Chacin has been strong this year, and brilliant against the Pirates. In three starts against Pittsburgh, Chacin has only allowed three earned runs. The bad news? Only eight strikeouts. That really limits the upside for Chacin, and even makes him a risk at this price. We definitely want more upside.

Sonny Gray ($7,500): This is a big price for someone exiled to the bullpen, but there is a method to my madness. Gray has started four games against Baltimore this year, and he has averaged 16 DraftKings points in those games. On top of that, Gray has a 3.43 ERA on the road. He is safe so long as you don’t get cute and try to use him in Yankee Stadium. The Orioles have a ton of righties that don’t really hit righties well. I like Gray quite a bit here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Wei-Yin Chen ($6,300): Forget all the other stats the me or anyone else try to throw at you. The only one you really need to know is Chen has a 2.05 ERA in ten home starts. It doesn’t matter who he plays at home, Chen pitches well against them. He faced the Braves here on July 24th and picked up 14.7 DraftKings points. I’ll take that for this price.

Heath Fillmyer ($4,400): Fillmyer is the Chen of the American League. He has been blasted on the road, but has a strong 2.77 ERA in four home starts. Cleveland is a really good offense, so there is pretty big risk here with little strikeout upside. That said, we have 56 hitters who are priced this price or higher. On a short slate! We can fill our lineup with them if we take a chance on Fillmyer.

OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 20: Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics salutes his teammates while trotting around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the third inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 20, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

New York Yankees vs. Andrew Cashner:

The mini hot streak is over as Toronto took it to Cashner on Monday. The Yankees are a watered down version right now, but they can still put up runs as they showed in extra innings last night. Stanton and Miguel Andujar look very good here. Neil Walker is hitting well and guaranteed a spot in the lineup. Finish this off with Greg Bird and Gleyber Torres. Just make sure to check the lineups to see if anyone sits. That could open up some huge value here.

Oakland Athletics vs. Stephen Gonsalves:

Gonzalves got bludgeoned by the White Sox in his debut, but the rain could have thrown him off. Whatever the reason, that doesn’t look good for today. Gonsalves is going to be good at some point, but his control issues in the minors and in his debut are going to be an issue against a patient Oakland team. Khris Davis finally cooled off last night, but I think that will be short lived. He kills lefties anyway. Mark Canha is worth a look on the cheap. Jed Lowrie, Marcus Semien, and Matt Chapman finish the stack off for me, but Gonsalves wont be in there that long so Olson is worth a look too.

Colorado Rockies vs. John Gant:

Gant has been average on the road, and Coors turns average into disasters. Gant induces enough ground balls that he may get out of here without getting completely wrecked, but Mikolas had issues here last night. I think that continues. Blackmon is elite once again. The rest of the Colorado outfield, whomever starts in it, are all worth a look. Arenado mashes everyone in Denver, so if you can afford him, pay up. I’m not opposed to using Story here either, but you can try to save money with Tony Wolters again.

Seattle Mariners vs. Robbie Ray:

Ray’s ERA is more than double at home what it is on the road. Seattle has enough right handed bats to turn this ugly. They touched up Godley pretty good last night. The same is going to happen here. Nelson Cruz and Mitch Haniger start this off. Jean Segura was productive back in Arizona, and I fully expect him to be again. Kyle Seager hits lefties well enough for consideration. To complete the stack, you can add the power potential of Zunino or use a cheap bat like Heredia.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Brett Kennedy:

It took the Dodgers stack a bit to pay off last night, but even though they scored 11 runs, they only hit one homer. That likely wont be an issue tonight. Kennedy has allowed five homers in three starts. It goes nicely with his 8.36 ERA. Bellinger, Muncy, and Machado are my favorites tonight, but I can definitely find room for Puig and his reverse splits. Matt Kemp and Yasmani Grandal are worth a look too.

ST LOUIS, MO – AUGUST 17: Jesus Aguilar #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a two run single during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on August 17, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

For whatever reason, the Brewers continue to smash Jameson Taillon. Jesus Aguilar is 4-11 with two homers and four RBI. Hernan Perez is an impressive 6-18 with three homers and eight RBI already against Taillon. Other than that, I wouldn’t really chase any other Brewers. It’s not like Taillon is a bad pitcher.

Fillmyer has been good enough at home that I’m not wild about stacking on him, but Jose Ramirez, Lindor, and Greg Allen are all worth a look for me here.

German Marquez has been on quite a roll lately, and he has even racked up 50 DraftKings points in his last two home starts. That said, the Cardinals are a pretty dangerous team. Matt Carpenter is worth a look here, but I’m not going to go crazy on Cardinals tonight. I much prefer the Colorado side of the stack. Matt Adams is definitely worth a look for a shade over $4,000 as well.

Erasmo Ramirez spoiled an Arizona stack last night, and I have a feeling that Wade LeBlanc may to the same. Goldy smacks lefties, so he is still in play, but beyond that, I can’t think of anyone besides Pollack that I really want to throw at LeBlanc. He is annoyingly average, meaning he holds offenses just enough to spoil a stack and gives up just enough to not make him worth using.

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Middle Tier:

Corey Dickerson is the only current Pirate to homer against Jhoulys Chacin, but it is his only hit in nine tries. I would be more inclined to chase Chacin with Adam Frazier or Gregory Polanco.

Jaime Barria has had a nice season, but the Astros have scored eight runs or more in three of the last five games. Look what happens when they get healthy! I may not stack on Barria, but I want some exposure to this hot offense. Bregman, Altuve, and Correa are all less than $5,000. If you are looking for even cheaper, Marwin Gonzalez is the way to go.

Cedric Mullins is worth a look, but I’m not too crazy about any other Orioles.

It’s those pesky Marlins again. They have hit Anibal Sanchez well enough to move me off of him even with his price down a touch. J.T. Realmuto is the only Marlin to homer off of him so far, and he has four RBI in just five at bats against Sanchez. Rafael Ortega and J.T. Riddle make great cheap options too if you want more exposure.

Bargain Shoppers:

A couple of cheap Twins may be worth a look tonight. Both Ehire Adrianza and Robbie Grossman have homered against Mike Fiers, and they are both just $3,000. You could take a shot with Sano if you want since he has a homer as well, but that is his only hit in 11 tries.

The Braves did put up three runs on Chen in Miami in their last game against him there. So taking a shot at him with a cheap righty that mauls lefties like Adam Duvall is not a horrible idea. If you have some extra cash, Acuna just keeps on hitting, but I don’t want any exposure beyond that.

I suppose what Alex Gordon has going on now could count as a hot streak and he has two homers against Kluber, but he is hitting just .149 in 47 at bats. Salvador Perez has a homer and eight RBI off of Kluber in 40 at bats.

Albert Pujols is the only one I would even consider against Verlander. He is 10-33(.303) with two homers and three RBI against him.

Next. MLB Game by Game breakdown August 25. dark

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