DraftKings MLB Picks September 11: Tell me a Story

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 5: Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies watches his hit fly for a third homer in a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in the sixth inning on September 5, 2018 at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Picks September 11: Tell me a Story

Once upon a time there was a city nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Then one day baseball came to this mountain Mecca and baseball has never been the same. Many a masher has made a home in this ballpark, but not many have punished Greinke the way Story has. The end.

Like last night, there are two games that start just before the rest of the league. Those two are thrown into their own little tournament. The postponement of the Phillies and Nats gives them a doubleheader today, so DraftKings removed that from the main tournament as well. That still gives us 12 games for the main DraftKings tournament. We still have a couple of aces to choose from. Maybe. It depends on if the Mets are willing to let deGrom go out there or not. With rain possible again, I would lean towards not. The middle tier looks pretty strong again. Do we need to pay for pitching? Let’s check it out!

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Baltimore, Philly, New York, and Boston all have rain lurking. Boston could have the most trouble getting the game in, .but the rest are far from good situations. The best seems to be in Philly……assuming the field is good enough to play on.

There is a nasty 18 mph crosswind in Minneapolis that could knock down some fly balls. The customary Bay Area wind is going on in San Fran as well.

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 – SEPTEMBER 03: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jacob deGrom ($13,500): Even if it doesn’t rain, the Mets could hold deGrom out again if the field isn’t in good shape. There is no reason to risk him, even though we want to see him make a run at the Cy Young award. It’s the right decision for the Mets. If deGrom is out there, I definitely want him. The Marlins have only one homer and eight runs to go with 27 strikeouts in 105 at bats. Okay, so those numbers aren’t truly elite, but deGrom’s numbers on the season are. He has a 1.59 ERA in 14 home starts. The problem here is that deGrom has not beaten the Marlins in three tries this year, and only has 57.9 DraftKings points in the three games against them. That would fall far short of what we need from his price, so I understand a fade here. That said, deGrom has not faced the Marlins during his recent run of dominance. I really don’t think they can get to him.

Mike Fiers ($9,400): it seems crazy to pay this much for Fiers. It seems like yesterday that we were stacking against him. Not anymore. Fiers has only allowed 12 runs in seven starts with Oakland. He picked up a respectable 14.5 DraftKings points earlier this season against Baltimore, but that was before he was pitching this well. The Orioles are hitting just .200 against Fiers with a homer, two runs, and 15 strikeouts in 45 at bats. There is clear upside here if the game plays. Keep an eye to the radar if you want to use Fiers.

Joe Musgrove ($9,100): Musgrove has done pretty well against the Cardinals this year. He has 43.4 DraftKings points in two starts against them this season. The current Cardinals are only hitting .238 against Musgrove with one homer and four runs in 42 at bats with 13 strikeouts. Those totals are solid enough to go with Musgrove in case deGrom is shelved again and you are worried about high ownership with Fiers.

Middle Tier:

Tyler Glasnow ($8,700): I was unpleasantly surprised with Glasnow’s price. I figured that his price would plummet since he didn’t even make it out of the first inning last week against Toronto. Now the good news: Glasnow has a 3.75 ERA in three Tampa starts, and allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings in his first start against Cleveland. Glasnow picked up 23.4 DraftKings points in that one, which is a decent return for the price. However, this seems really risky against Cleveland considering his last outing.

Sonny Gray ($7,800): Gray isn’t much from a fantasy standpoint because of his dreadful home numbers, but the 3.09 ERA in 11 road starts mean he can be useful in the right matchup. This looks like the right matchup against Minnesota. The Twins have been held to three runs or less in all but one game over the last week. They may be without Sano and Tyler Austin as well, which takes away a large chunk of power. Gray isn’t much of a strikeout guy, but he has struck out 15 Twins in 60 at bats, which is well above his career mark. There is decent upside here.

Bargain Pitchers:

Andrew Suarez ($6,900): Suarez likes his home park. He has a 3.07 ERA in 12 home starts this season, and has held his own against every team that he has faced there this year. Suarez also racked up 23.2 DraftKings points on the Braves earlier this year. He may not do quite that well again tonight, but he could be close to that mark.

Brad Keller ($5,700): Keller doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts, but he has proven to be an effective pitcher. The White Sox have struck out 17 times in 17 innings against Keller, so the potential is there tonight for a pretty good score. They got to Keller a little bit earlier this year, but I’m not too concerned about that here. I expect a solid start from Keller for the price.

Marco Gonzales ($5,400): I’m not going to lie. Gonzales has let me down a couple of times this year. I’m back on the wagon here after being off for a while. Gonzales was destroyed by the Astros in his last start, but he should be able to handle the Padres. The knock on Gonzales is that he doesn’t strike out many batters. However, Gonzales is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning at home, and the Padres are a free swinging bunch. There is a lot of potential here, but the caveat is that the Padres are loaded with right handed power.

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 9: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run on a double by Miguel Andujar #41 of the New York Yankees off of starting pitcher Erasmo Ramirez #31 of the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a game at Safeco Field on September 9, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

New York Yankees vs. Trevor May/Kohl Stewart:

The Twins are using the Rays’ approach and letting Stewart come into the game after the best part of the order tees off on the starter. It resulted in Stewart’s finest outing as a major leaguer, but I still don’t know that it will work against the Yankees. Stanton Gregorius, and Gleyber Torres is a great start for a stack. You can add a still affordable Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar for maximum power potential.

Kansas City Royals vs. Dylan Covey:

A return to the bullpen didn’t help Covey. Now the White Sox have to throw him back into the rotation with Kopech out. The Royals have tagged him for more runs (13) than they have struck out (10) this year. That is not a good combination. Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Ryan O’Hearn, Adalberto Mondesi, and Merrifield are a very affordable stack that could vault you up the leaderboard.

Boston Red Sox vs. Ryan Borucki:

Yesterday was pretty short on stack options. Not today! If this game plays, the Red Sox have pounded Borucki with a homer and 11 runs and a .415 average in just 41 at bats. Borucki has struggled away from Toronto, so this is the place to go after him. Mookie is perfect with a single, a double, and three triples in five at bats against Borucki. Martinez has the homer, so you need him too. You can save a little money with Eduardo Nunez and Moreland. However, for the fifth part I think we kind of need to pay up for Xander or Benintendi. Steve Pearce crushes lefties, so he is in play as well.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Antonio Senzatela:

Senzatela has struggled against Arizona, and has struggled at home. That is not a good combination. Goldschmidt and Owings have the two homers, but Nick Ahmed have four RBI as well. Pollock, Peralta, Descalso, and the power of Steven Souza are all in play here. I definitely like this side of the stack better than Colorado tonight.

Texas Rangers vs. Angels bullpen:

This could be a true bullpen day, or we could see Deck McGuire or Odrisamer Despaigne after Johnson departs. At any rate, this is a smorgasbord of bad pitching for the Rangers to feast on. Joey Gallo looks elite. Odor and Profar are not far behind. I also like Elvis and Choo near the top of the order. The best part? All five of these guys hit righties and lefties well enough to play the entire game.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 08: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a single against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 8, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

Top Tier:

Jose Urena has struggled against the Mets this year, so I kind of want to go after him. Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto are the expensive options, but Rosario and Jay Bruce look pretty good to me too.

Adrian Sampson pitched well at AAA Round Rock this year, but he struggled in his first major league appearance. He has the chance for a decent game against a watered down Angels lineup, but there are some pitfalls. One is definitely Mike Trout. Ohtani, Justin Upton, and Andrelton Simmons look promising as well.

Lindor and Jose Ramirez are always worth using. I think I could put their names in here every day and just go with it. Edwin homered off of Glasnow in his only start against them, so he looks solid too.

Grienke has been knocked around a little at Coors, but not enough to stack on. Trevor Story has blasted five homers and driven in 11 against Greinke is just 32 at bats, so I definitely want him. Blackmon and Holiday have each homered twice against Greinke. Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .314 in 51 at bats with five homers off of Greinke as well.

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Middle Tier:

Alex Cobb is pitching fairly well right now, but there is little upside to using most pitchers against the A’s. They don’t strike out a whole lot, and they get on base regularly. Cobb’s career numbers against the A’s are okay, so if you want to take a shot for his cheap price, I don’t blame you. I’m not attacking either, but Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis still look pretty good.

The Cubs haven’t exactly pounded Chacin, but I do want some exposure. Anthony Rizzo and Daniel Murphy have each homered twice against Chacin and driven in six of the nine runs against him for the Cubs.

Bryan Mitchell has held his own on the road, but I still want some Mariners here. Nelson Cruz loves hitting in Seattle. Haniger, Kyle Seager, and Segura are all worth a look as well.

I would say that Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada are worth a look if you are trying to get Keller to give up a homer. However, he has only given up seven homers in 17 2018 starts.

I kind of want to stack Rays, especially after they hit Kluber well last night. I don’t really know where to start with it though. Mallex Smith, Wendle, Tommy Pham, and Ji-Man Choi seem decent against Bieber who has had issues with lefties. All of them are affordable enough to still use deGrom if you want.

I’m not sure that Marco Gonzales is going to have a bad game, but I want to throw Hunter Renfroe and maybe a super cheap Franmil Reyes at him to see if they can get a homer.

Mikolas has always been good enough to not stack against, but he his giving up runs lately. Enough that I usually try to get a little exposure to him nowadays. Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco have a homer and four RBI combined against Mikolas. That’s the exposure I want here.

Bargain Shoppers:

You can’t trust Jose Quintana at Wrigley. Moose has homered three times against Quintana and Braun has taken him deep twice if you want to go after him a little bit at home.

The Giants offense is mostly a disaster right now, but they clobbered Mike Foltynewicz earlier this season. Like bad enough that I don’t really want to use him tonight. Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt each have three career homers against Folty, so this success is not isolated to this year. There is enough value at pitching that we can avoid a potential pitfall here.

Chris Sale is priced at top dollar, so I wouldn’t pay for him even if I thought Boston was going to use him tonight. Just as the Mets are being careful with deGrom, I think the Sox will do the same with Sale if it rains like it is projected to in Boston. Keep an eye on this because the Jays are priced like they are facing Sale. Kendrys Morales, Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, and Smoak are all a huge value if facing someone less than elite.

Chris Davis is the only Oriole to homer off of Mike Fiers so far, but I don’t know that I would trust any Oriole tonight.

Harrison Bader has the only Cardinal homer off of Musgrove. Aside from him and maybe Ozuna, I’m not too crazy about Cardinals tonight.

I’m not going crazy with Braves tonight, especially since Suarez handles lefties well. However, Adam Duvall is just $3,000, and has homered off of Suarez already this year. Ronald Acuna is the only other Brave I would consider.

If Miguel Sano is in the Twins lineup, he will be in mine. Sano has two homers and four RBI in just nine at bats against Sonny Gray.

Next. MLB Picks and Pivots September 11. dark

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