DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 26: Snellzilla dominates at home

KANSAS CITY, MO – AUGUST 25: A general view of the fountains in the outfield during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on August 25, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Main MLB Picks August 26: Snellzilla dominates at home

For DFS purposes, the ten game early slate on DraftKings is where all of the action will be. My Fiers and Chen with Dodgers and A’s hybrid stack cashed. My Kershaw/Chen with limited offense just missed. Today, we only have one ace that is a lock, a middle tier that looks dangerous, and a value tier that could be dreadful. I used Chen in both lineups last night. There is one pitcher I will use in both today.

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All chances of rain are less than 25% besides Minneapolis, where it climbs to around 40% in the late innings. We shouldn’t have much to worry about here.

The wind is blowing out to center at 12 mph at Citi Field. It is blowing out to left again in Kansas City, this time at 15 mph. Can it help the right handed KC power again? The wind is blowing in from right at 12 mph in Minneapolis, so that could cut into the offense there, and we already have a dominant pitcher on the mound.

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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CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 09: Jose Berrios #17 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning at Progressive Field on August 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Blake Snell ($10,700): Yes, I’m starting Snell against the Red Sox. He has held them to a .208 average with only two homers and 11 runs in 101 at bats with 28 strikeouts. Those are good, but not great, numbers. Certainly not what we want for the price. However, I’m going by another set of numbers: Snell’s home splits. Tampa has started to show up for his starts (it’s about time people!!) for a reason. Snell has been untouchable at home. He has a 1.02 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 65 strikeouts in 61.2 home innings this year. Snellzilla dominates in Tampa. Start him and enjoy the show!

Michael Kopech ($9,800): Is it just me, or does this seem a bit nuts? I mean, the guy has two major league innings under his belt. TWO! Granted, he was pretty good in those two innings, striking out four in a rain shortened debut, but he also gave up three hits. Detroit aren’t world beaters by any means, and they do strike out quite a bit, but Kopech would need well into the 20’s in DraftKings points to make him worth this price. I doubt he stays in that long. Chicago has no reason to push him. They may let him go six, and he could put up big numbers in that time, but you are betting on a total unknown. There are far more sure things on this slate.

Middle Tier:

Jose Berrios ($8,400): This is way too cheap for Berrios. He is 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA at home and 100 strikeouts in 89 innings. I expected Berrios around where Kopech is. When Berrios is at home, he pitches like an ace. There isn’t a ton of strikeout upside against a team like Oakland, but I still expect Berrios to be a strong SP1 if you stack Coors. Surprisingly, Berrios has never faced the A’s, so we don’t have a lot to go on.

Kyle Hendricks ($8,000): I try to make it a point not to use Hendricks very often because there is virtually no upside. Hendricks has been better at home than on the road, and generates far more strikeouts there. That is about the only thing that puts him as an option. It is also worth noting that Hendricks has not allowed a homer to any active current Reds player in 119 at bats. In fact, Hendricks has only given up eight runs and struck out 26. I see the enough upside here in what should be relatively low ownership.

Nathan Eovaldi ($7,800): Eovaldi pitched very well in Tampa when he was with the Rays earlier this year. Eovaldi has a 2.97 ERA in six career starts at the Trop. I expect a solid game from Eovaldi here, but don’t expect him to go in and dominate. Tampa is going to get a couple of runs here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Tyler Anderson ($6,900): Anderson continues to get drilled on the road and to pitch respectably at home. His 3.65 ERA at Coors is solid enough to roll out there, especially since he averages almost a strikeout per inning at home. The caveat here is the wealth of right handed power that the Cardinals have. I see Anderson as a pretty good way to separate in GPP formats since I think many will chase the Cardinals power here. If Anderson pitches well again, it could jump you up the leaderboard pretty quickly.

Austin Gomber ($5,500): It’s hard to trust a rookie in his first exposure to Coors. Hell, it’s hard to trust a veteran there! However, I think the price on Gomber is a bit too low, which could give him decent value. Gomber is 3-0 with a 2.98 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. He picked up two of those in a relief inning against Colorado earlier this year. Gomber racks up more strikeouts than any other starter they threw out in the thin air of Denver. That alone gives him more upside than his predecessors. Gomber is going to give up some runs, but he should still score in the low teens with the strikeouts. That is a solid return on the price and I can guarantee low ownership.

Chris Bassitt ($5,300): Bassitt pitched well in the majors earlier this year, so his demotion was just having too many good arms in the rotation. He hadn’t done quite enough at Nashville to get back until now. This is actually a good spot for Bassitt. The Twins offense has done very little in this series. That likely wont change here with Bassitt’s 3.38 ERA on the season. There is no upside here since Bassitt doesn’t offer much for strikeouts, but if you are stacking Coors, you need a cheap pitcher that wont get blown up. Bassitt should be that.

PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 07: Jordan Zimmermann #27 of the Detroit Tigers reacts after giving up a two run home run in the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during interleague play at PNC Park on August 7, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Chicago White Sox vs. Jordan Zimmerman:

The offense should give Kopech a sure four points because they have destroyed Zimmerman in his career. The Sox are hitting .364 with three homers and 22 runs in just 88 at bats. That’s right…..one in four has scored a run. Matt Davidson is 6-12 with two homers, six runs, and four RBI, so build around him. Avi Garcia is 7-17 with a homer and two RBI. Yolmer Sanchez, Nicky Delmonico, and Narvaez are all hitting .333 or better against Zimmerman. The only one I would avoid here is Yoan Moncada since he is 0-8 against Zimmerman.

Atlanta Braves vs. Pablo Lopez:

Lopez gave up six runs in just 5.1 innings against the Braves in Atlanta. This likely wont be as bad, but Lopez has not enjoyed the home park nearly as much as his teammates have. His home/road splits aren’t drastic like most on this staff. What that means is Atlanta has a lot of upside here. Acuna and Freddie Freeman are the first two places to look. Beyond that, Albies is affordable, and Dansby Swanson is still hitting. The last piece of this stack would either be Markakis or the starting catcher.

Cleveland Indians vs. Jorge Lopez:

Lopez hasn’t been particularly solid as a starter. He has allowed way too many baserunners. That is going to bite him against an offense like this. Jose Ramirez and Lindor are elite options. Michael Brantley isn’t far behind. Melky Cabrera and Greg Allen are still hitting well enough to put in here as well. You aren’t just stacking against Lopez. You are stacking against this bullpen as well.

Chicago Cubs vs. Homer Bailey:

Bailey was blasted by the Cubs earlier this year, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings. His career numbers against the small bears aren’t much better. The Cubs are hitting .346 with five homers and 20 runs in just 78 at bats against Homer. Daniel Murphy and Rizzo have a combined four homers and 15 RBI! Heyward has the other homer off of Homer. Though Schwarber has yet to homer off of Homer, he does have three RBI in five at bats. Ben Zobrist is worth a look as well. I may pass on Javier Baez. He is 0-7 against Bailey so far.

TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 22: Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a solo home run in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on August 22, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

I have no idea what has gotten into this Toronto offense, especially Kendrys Morales, but it has chased me off of Velasquez. Oh, Morales has a homer off of Vazquez in the past. Can he homer in his seventh straight? I wouldn’t put it past him right now. I also like Lourdes Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez as reasonable prices.

Another lefty for Arenado? Talk about feeding a lion….. Arenado is a must play here, but I don’t know that any other Rockies player is. I could see this stack falling short tonight. Of course, Gomber could also give up eight runs. You just don’t know for sure.

Chase Anderson has been really strong lately, posting a 3.23 ERA over his last ten starts. However, his ERA is nearly 5 at home. That’s enough to chase me off of Chase. So is his 5.91 ERA against the Pirates. Gregory Polanco is a big reason for that. Polanco has four homers and five RBI against Anderson. Starling Marte is 12-25(.480) with two homers and three RBI. Josh Harrison and Adam Frazier are worth a look if they start as well.

The Cardinals bats are still super expensive, and I still trust Anderson quite a bit at home. However, chasing a homer with Jedd Gyorko or Paul DeJong is not the worst idea. Gyorko hit one off of Anderson in St. Louis earlier this year. I wouldn’t stack this, but a Cardinals right or two wouldn’t hurt.

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Middle Tier:

Marco Estrada has not been very good, but he hasn’t been really bad either. I want a couple of shots at him, but not a full stack. Carlos Santana is 4-7 with a homer against Estrada. Asdrubal Cabrera has homered twice, his only two hits nine at bats. Wilson Ramos is worth a look if he starts.

I supposed you could play Goodrum or Castellanos hoping that Kopech blows up, but chances are he wont. It’s a desperation heave in a cheap GPP tournament at best.

The Nationals have gone cold lately, but they have hit Steven Matz well. Anthony Rendon has three homers and six RBI off of Matz in just 19 at bats. Mark Reynolds and Michael Taylor are worth a look if they start. However, I’m not all that crazy about this offense right now either.

I’m not really comfortable stacking Mets because this offense is so unreliable, but I want some shots at Jefry Rodriguez. Conforto is the logical place to start. I like Todd Frazier, but at that price you need a homer and I don’t know that he gets one. I do like Amed Rosario and Austin Jackson so long as they stay at or near the top of the order.

Eugenio Suarez has not homered off of Hendricks, but he has driven in six runs. He is about the only Red I would consider here unless you want to chase steals with Hamilton. He has two off of Hendricks in 16 at bats. He also has just two hits in that span.

Bargain Shoppers:

Jonathan Schoop just crushed Chris Archer in the A.L. East. Schoop is 13-34(.382) with six homers and eight RBI off of him! For that reason, I’m not starting Archer. Travis Shaw and Lorenzo Cain have both homered off of Archer as well, but you have to be willing to commit more money. On a slate with Coors, we may not have it.

For whatever reason, the Marlins are always pesky at home. Kevin Gausman has pitched very well as a Brave, but he did give up a pair of runs to the Marlins two starts ago. Starlin Castro has a homer and four RBI in his career against Gausman. Brian Anderson is worth a look as well.

I’m not big on any Red Sox hitters, but with Sandy Leon this cheap, I do take notice. Leon is 6-10 with four runs scored in his career against Snell. I’ll take that for $2,600!

There aren’t any Oakland bats that really excite me today, but they do have a couple of cheap lefties at the top of the order if you want to throw a dart at Berrios.

Shane Bieber has not been great on the road, nor has he been great against lefties. I don’t see a good enough game from him to justify the price here. Lucas Duda is a very intriguing option here, especially considering he has homered against Bieber already this year. Alex Gordon has been hitting lately as well, and is worth a look on the cheap.

MLB Game by Game breakdown August 26. dark. Next

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