DraftKings MLB Picks September 14: Don’t waste money on pitching

We have a full 15 game slate for our main DraftKings tournament tonight. It’s been a while since we’ve had a full house! It is as advertised. We have nine of the 30 pitchers costing $9,000 or more. The middle tier is solid, and there are a couple of really good bargain out there if you know where to look? You don’t? Maybe I can help!

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The only rain chance is in Baltimore, and it’s mostly at the beginning of the game. There may be a delay getting started, but it’s smooth sailing after that.

The wind is also blowing in from right at 12 mph in Baltimore. That could knock a few fly balls down. We also have the customary breeze by the Bay, but that doesn’t affect anything.

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!

Top Tier:

Masahiro Tanaka ($11,600): The Jays are only hitting .214 against Tanaka is 103 at bats with just three homers and five runs, but only 23 strikeouts. That said, Tanaka has a 2.35 ERA over his last ten starts with 66 strikeouts in 65 innings. He also racked up 29.7 DraftKings points in his only start against Toronto this year. Tanaka looks to be worth the price here.

Jack Flaherty ($9,700): Flaherty dominated the Dodgers earlier this season, allowing just a solo homer in six innings en route to 29.7 DraftKings points. Flaherty has been good both at home and on the road. He also has that big strikeout upside that Buehler just doesn’t have. If you are moving off of any of the five figure pitchers, Flaherty is the way to go.

Cole Hamels ($9,200): The Reds have had their shots at Hamels since he has been in the NL again, but they are only hitting .214 in 84 at bats with just two runs and 18 strikeouts. Hamels has a brilliant 0.86 ERA in three starts at his new home so far. He also pitched a complete game against the Reds earlier this year, giving up just one run en route to 32.8 DraftKings points. Hamels could fire off another dominant performance here.

Middle Tier:

Dallas Keuchel ($7,900): The Diamondbacks are hitting just .190 against Keuchel in 79 at bats with one homer, three runs, and 25 strikeouts. Those numbers would put Keuchel far above where his price sits. The Diamondbacks are a much more dangerous team on the road, and Keuchel has not faced them this year. Still, Arizona has a lot of lefties, so there is decent potential here.

Edwin Jackson ($7,100): Not many Rays have faced Edwin Jackson. He had his heyday while most of this team was still in high school. The ones that have have not hit him well. They are just 5-28(.179) with two runs and five strikeouts. What will chase many off of Jackson is the lack of strikeouts. Otherwise, the price is kind of steep for a guy who just records outs and doesn’t go real deep into the game.

Bargain Pitchers:

Zach Eflin ($6,900): The Marlins are hitting just .143 in 42 at bats against Eflin with one homer and two runs to go with nine strikeouts. Eflin has been better at home than on the road and better against the Marlins that anyone else. He has racked up 43.4 DraftKings points in two starts against Miami this year. I’ll take that for the price!

Jorge Lopez ($6,600): Lopez took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Twins over the weekend in Minneapolis, so he is definitely on my radar here. Lopez has given up just two runs over 15 innings in his last two starts. Considering tonight’s opponent was one of them, there is a great chance that Lopez blows past 20 DraftKings points for the third straight game making him arguably the best bargain, and most chalky, play of the night.

Tyler Anderson ($6,400): The Giants are hitting just .217 in 83 at bats against Anderson with three homers and five runs to go with 20 strikeouts, and that includes the Coors stats. Anderson seems way too cheap against this excuse for an offense with the significant park upgrade. HIs strikeout totals are high enough that Anderson could have a huge game for his price tonight. The late night hammer could be a pitcher!

Eric Lauer ($6,000): The Rangers have had issues with lefties this year, so Lauer could be a sneaky play. The Issue, besides his 4.80 ERA, is he is not far removed from a month on the DL. That said, Lauer has 35.5 DraftKings points in two starts since then. Those are solid numbers for this price range. I see a lot of value here tonight.

Chicago White Sox vs Luis Ortiz:

Ortiz’s first major league appearance against the Rays was a disaster. He gave up more runs than outs he recorded. It may not go much better against the White Sox. Ortiz only had a 15% K rate at AAA this year, so even that upside seems to be missing. I really like Abreu, Delmonico, and Yoan Moncada here. Matt Davidson and the power of Avi Garcia are very tempting. I could make a case for anyone in a White Sox uniform. They make for a solid cheap stack.

New York Yankees vs. Marco Estrada:

The Yankees are only hitting .224 against Estrada, but they have 18 homers and 34 runs in just 29 at bats. Stanton has four of those homers. So does the red hot Gary Sanchez. Didi Gregorius has three. Walker and Andrew McCutchen have two. Andujar, Hicks, and Brett Gardner have the others. You can make a very compelling power stack here at a decent price.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Wei-Yin Chen:

Why the Marlins haven’t just stopped using Chen on the road is beyond me. He is brilliant at Marlins Park, but Chen has a disgusting 9.13 ERA in 11 road starts. Get those tees ready, Rhys Hoskins, Jose Bautista, and Maikel Franco! Cesar Hernandez, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Scott Kingery is a good stack against the lefty. You could even consider Nick Williams because he is decent against lefties. I don’t think there is such thing as a bad Phillie tonight.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chris Archer:

Archer’s run in the National League has not gone as planned. The Brewers are part of that. They are hitting .305 in 118 at bats with 12 homers and 23 runs so far against Archer. Jonathan Schoop pounded him with the Orioles, launching six homers in just 36 at bats, so start here. Arcia, Manny Pina, Saladino, Travis Shaw, and Moose have all taken Archer deep as well. I certainly can’t fault using Yelich or Lorenzo Cain either.

Houston Astros vs. Robbie Ray:

Robbie Ray has pitched well on the road, but there is no way I trust him against the Astros. Evan Gattis has homered off of him twice. George Springer, Jose Altuve, Tyler White, and Carlos Correa are all $4,400 or less. This looks like a good place to stack at a reasonable price!

Top Tier:

Thor hasn’t pitched all that well against Boston, but I don’t really see any weakness to attack either. I may throw Benintendi or Bradley out there, but only in a risky lineup.

If you play an Met, you are basically taking him against the Boston bullpen since Velasquez rarely goes five innings even in the games he starts. I like Nimmo and maybe Amed Rosario, but not much else.

I really would stack Rockies against Chris Stratton if they could hit a lick on the road. The Rockies are hitting a blistering .450 against Stratton in 80 at bats, so there could still be some value here. It mostly lies with Arenado and Charlie Blackmon (surprise, surprise). Both of them have homered twice against Stratton, and are a combined 11-23 with seven RBI. This is a nice mini stack!

The Indians haven’t exactly pounded Matt Boyd, but a few of them have hit him hard. Francisco Lindor is 8-20 with two homers. Jose Ramirez and Josh Donaldson have homered off of Boyd as well, but my Indians interest doesn’t go any deeper than that.

Walker Buehler has struggled some on the road, just like in his last start. I don’t want to pay his price in St. Louis, but I’m not really confident about using people against him either. Maybe Matt Carpenter, but beyond that it seems like a waste of money.

We don’t know who is starting for Seattle with Paxton not even making the trip to L.A., but Mike Trout is the answer to whatever the question is. He should be in there no matter what. Use other Angels at your discretion once we figure out who they are throwing out there.

Gausman has pitched well with the Braves for the most part, but this is still a pretty good offense. Rendon has the only homer off of Gausman so far, but Bryce Harper has hit him hard too.

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Middle Tier:

The Tigers have hit Josh Tomlin pretty well, mostly notably Nick Castellanos, who is 11-34(.324) with two homers and six RBI. V-Mart has homered off of Tomlin three times. JaCoby Jones looks like a great play tonight as well. There is decent value with Tigers bats.

Joc Pederson has the homer off of Flaherty. I know this is a dangerous offense and all, but they are facing a dangerous pitcher at home. I think I’m steering clear.

Joey Gallo has hit lefties well enough that I’m okay with taking a shot with him here tonight. Mostly because the Padres bullpen is still going to pitch at least three innings of this game.

Both Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano have slugged two homers against Matt Shoemaker. So has Kyle Seager, and he is still just $3,300. There is some great value in this Seattle lineup!

Eduardo Escobar has the only homer off of Keuchel for Arizona so far. Thinking Goldy? I’m not. He is just 2-15 lifetime against Keuchel.

Both Starling Marte and Josh Harrison have homered twice off of Gio Gonzalez, and they are reasonably priced to fit in any lineup.

It looks as though Jake Faria will be the pitcher of record for the Rays tonight, so I’m firing up Matt Olson, Matt Joyce, and Khris Davis here.

You know, I can see the logic with throwing Yohander Mendez out there against the Padres for the strikeout upside, but the fact remains that there are some very powerful right handed bats in this lineup. I really like Wil Myers, Renfroe, and Franmil Reyes here.

I may throw a lefty like Mallex Smith at Edwin Jackson, but nothing really stands out here in the way of attacking him. This is probably best left alone.

Bargain Shoppers:

With other good options on the slate, I think I’m off of Scherzer here. He only has 44 DraftKings points combined in his last two starts against Atlanta, which is nowhere near what we want from his price. Charlie Culberson and Preston Tucker are intriguing one offs since they have hit Scherzer pretty well, but more than likely, I’m leaving this alone.

James Shields has not pitched well lately so even though he pitched well against Baltimore earlier this year, I don’t trust him to do it again. I would rather take a shot with a couple of cheap Orioles against those who do use Shields. Trey Mancini and Tim Beckham are my favorites. I don’t see anything wrong with using Adam Jones or Mullins either.

Matt Harvey has actually pitched well at Wrigley, but not against the Cubs overall. Daniel Murphy has two homers off of Harvey. Happ also has one. Those are good ways to get exposure without breaking the bank. If you want some of the upper tier, Rizzo and Schwarber have homered off of Harvey as well.

Jose Berrios has not put up dominating number against the Royals like you may expect. He may hit 20 DraftKings points, but with his road woes, I wouldn’t count on it. I’m more interested in using Alcides Escobar or Alex Gordon on the cheap. They have a combined two homers and 10 RBI against Berrios in just 35 at bats with 11 hits!

Gorkys Hernandez is embarrassingly cheap, and he has homered twice against Tyler Anderson. He is the only Giants player that I am interested in though.

The only Red I find myself remotely interested in is Billy Hamilton. He has three career steals against Hamels in just 19 at bats, and his thievery against the Cubs is legendary anyway.

Miguel Rojas has the only homer against Zach Eflin. None of the other Marlins have had any success against Eflin at all, so I’m not sure I want a lot of exposure here.

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