DraftKings Early MLB Picks September 2: Nola should dominate

KANSAS CITY, MO – AUGUST 16: Kansas City Royals mascot Sluggerrr checks for rain during a delay prior to the start of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium on August 16, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

DraftKings Early MLB Picks September 2: Nola should dominate

We have more of a split than we usually have on Sunday with only eight early games. This does limit our options some, as we only have one pitcher priced in five figures and the middle tier looks pretty weak. Should we pay the money or scour the bargain tier? Let’s take a look!

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In game delays are likely in Philadelphia and Kansas City, but the games should be able to resume within an hour or so.

The only wind is a 12 mph crosswind in Chicago.

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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MESA, AZ – FEBRUARY 20: Jon Lester #34 of the Chicago Cubs poses during Chicago Cubs Photo Day on February 20, 2018 in Mesa, Arizona. This one’s for you Tulloch! (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Aaron Nola ($12,800): The Cubs have actually hit Nola well. They are hitting .288 with three homers and 11 runs in just 52 at bats. I can get on board with overlooking this since Nola has been dominant lately. Over his last ten starts, Nola has a 1.48 ERA. Go against that at your own risk.

Jon Lester ($9,500): The Phillies do have six homers and 14 runs against Lester in 155 at bats, but they are only hitting .219. When you add in the fact that one player has done most of that damage, and he just happens to be in a slump, this could actually be a place to use Lester. Philly struggles against lefties anyway. The caveat here is that Lester has a 6.40 ERA in his last ten starts, and his ERA is nearly 1.5 runs higher at home anyway. This is a high risk/solid reward situation.

Middle Tier:

Lance Lynn ($8,800): Lynn’s numbers in Yankee Stadium are not good, but his numbers against Detroit are. The Tigers are only hitting .243 with one homer and three runs in 37 at bats with 10 strikeouts. Those are pretty strong numbers on a slate that is pretty weak for pitching. Lynn picked up 45.6 DraftKings points in two starts against the Tigers while he was with Minnesota earlier this year. Don’t expect that level of dominance, but he should be in the high teens for DraftKings points. Personally, I think that’s a bit low for the price, but like I said, this is a weak pitching slate.

Pablo Lopez ($7,200): The 4.14 ERA on Lopez doesn’t look all that bad. Especially when you consider that the poor rookie has only made one appearance in that pitcher’s haven that is home to his team. That’s right. Lopez has made nine of his ten starts and ten of his 11 appearances on the road. His one home start went pretty well as Lopez allowed just one run in 5.2 innings. Toronto has a few good hitters, but not many with the power to get it out of here. There is decent potential for Lopez.

Bargain Pitchers:

David Hess ($6,600): It took Hess a while, but he is finally finding his rhythm in the majors. Hess has three straight quality starts and two straight games of more than 24 DraftKings points. There is loads of potential here against the Royals. Just keep an eye on the weather in this one. Starting pitchers may not be safe if an in game delay is imminent.

Sean Reid-Foley ($5,300): His success at AAA has not translated to the majors thus far. Reid-Foley had a 3.26 ERA at AAA this year, but is is 8.68 over his two major league starts. He has decent strikeout upside, and the Marlins are not a great offense. If you are going to use Reid-Foley, in a cavernous park against a weaker offense would be the place to do it. Check and check!

CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 30: Mookie Betts #50, Jackie Bradley Jr. #19, and Andrew Benintendi #16 of the Boston Red Sox celebrate after beating the Chicago White Sox 9-4 at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 30, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Boston Red Sox vs. James Shields:

The Red Sox are hitting .301 with 13 homers and 29 runs in just 183 at bats. That’s a lot of power! We have to pay for it, but it may be worth it. Eduardo Nunez isn’t the usual suspect, but he has three of those homers. Ian Kinsler has four homer. Mitch Moreland has two. Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez have the others. All of them look to be good picks. Mookie is 3-6 off of Shields even though he hasn’t homered off of him. One could be coming today!

Baltimore Orioles vs. Jorge Lopez:

Today would be a bad day to mix up your Lopezes. To review, play Pablo, stack against Jorge. Jorge has struggled in both of his starts at home this year. Baltimore’s offense isn’t a particularly dangerous one, but it is good enough to hit bad pitching. Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini are good places to start. I don’t even mind using Chris Davis and Tim Beckham here. Adam Jones is still an Oriole, and has started to hit lately. Jonathan Villar is worth a look as well. Lopez wont last that long, but the Royals bullpen isn’t very good either.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Anthony DeSclafani:

DeSclafani is the third highest pitcher on this slate, but he has been pounded by the Cardinals both this year and last. After a couple of really strong starts, DeSclafani has had a little bit of trouble lately, giving up nine runs (eight earned) over his last two starts. The Cardinals are hitting .338 with four homers and eight runs in 71 at bats. Matt Carpenter is a must play no matter which format you choose. Carpenter is 9-19(.474) with three homers and four RBI against DeScalfani. Yadier Molina has the other homer, but Greg Garcia, Marcell Ozuna, Jose Martinez, and Harrison Bader are all hitting .364 or better against DeSclafani.

Minnesota Twins vs. Bartolo Colon:

This offense is in a funk, but Big Sexy is giving up homers at an alarming rate, especially to righties. Tyler Austin and Logan Forsythe are worth a look here. So is Eddie Rosario, Joe Mauer, and Max Kepler. This is mostly a contrarian stack option because most will avoid the struggling Twins. If they are going to get back on track at all before 2018 is up, it will be here. Johnny Field is a really sneaky option if he cracks the lineup

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 29: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a tripple in the 7th inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 29, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jefry Rodriguez has struggled at home, including surrendering four homers in 20 innings. I like a lot of Brewers lefties today, but it has to start with Christian Yelich. Travis Shaw is worth a look too, but maybe not any deeper than that.

Kyle Gibson has been better on the road this year, but he hasn’t pitched all that well anywhere lately. The Rangers are hitting .296 with four homers and 11 runs against Gibson in 98 at bats. Shin-Soo Chooo, Robinson Chirinos, Elvis, and Nomar has homered off of him. Joey Gallo is worth a look as well for the immense power potential.

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Middle Tier:

Matt Boyd has pitched pretty well lately, but I still don’t trust him at Yankee Stadium. I would rather go after him with the two guys that have homered off of him: McCutchen and Gary Sanchez.

I kind of want to go after Sean Reid-Foley here. It would seem that lefties are the way to do it, so that leaves Derek Dietrich and J.T. Riddle. They are decently cheap options.

Brian Johnson has been decent lately, but he is still struggling at home and he is still not going deep into games. This may be the time to take a shot at the lefty with a guy like Matt Davidson or Avi Garcia if he plays. Tim Anderson is worth a look as well.

The Nationals have not hit Junior Guerra well (.194 average), but they have hit him hard (three homers in 31 at bats). Zimmerman, Mark Reynolds, and Adam Eaton have the homers off of Guerra. If choosing one, I would go Eaton. Soto looks pretty good too.

I suppose you could throw Luke Weaver and his home ERA on the wrong side of 5 at the Reds and their struggling offense. I would rather take advantage of the Reds side because they aren’t going to struggle forever. Scooter Gennett and Scott Schebler are my places to go here. Suarez is never a bad play, but I like the other two better today.

Bargain Shoppers:

If you want to go after Lance Lynn, I’m not opposed to that. Niko Goodrum and Jeimer Candelario look appetizing for the price. Victor Martinez continues to kill the Yankees as well, so a mini Tigers stack can happen on the cheap.

I don’t like the price on Rizzo even though he has homered off of Nola in the past. The safest way to go after Nola would be with Daniel Murphy. He is 9-26(.346) with a homer and five RBI against Nola, and he has batting leadoff.

Every time I try to stack on Jon Lester, he wiggles out of it. His numbers against the Phillies aren’t great, but breaking it down, there is one reason why they aren’t: Jose Bautista. Joey Bats is only 14-65(.215) against Lester, but he has five homers and 10 RBI. The rest of the team only has one homer and five runs in 90 at bats. This actually looks like a decent spot for Lester, believe it or not.

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