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DraftKings MLB Picks July 5: Masahiro of the Day

By Mike Marteny

FanDuel MLB: BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 24: A detail view of the jersey of Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees as he stands in the dugout before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 24, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
FanDuel MLB: BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 24: A detail view of the jersey of Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees as he stands in the dugout before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 24, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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FanDuel MLB: ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – MARCH 28: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros throws his first pitch of the season to Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays During Opening Day at Tropicana Field on March 28, 2019 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Justin Verlander ($12,000): The Angels offense does make me nervous right now, and they have slugged eight homers in 202 at bats against Verlander. The bad news is they only have 14 runs with 60 strikeouts and a .178 average. The Angels actually got Verlander for four runs in the first game against him, and he still put up 20.7 DraftKings points. Imagine what will happen if Verlander’s on. That’s why people still play him.

Jacob deGrom ($11,300): I’m not going to lie. It’s hard for me to pay this much for deGrom since his numbers aren’t quite as dominant as we are used to. However, the Phillies are hitting just .237 with two homers and five runs in 139 at bats with 38 strikeouts. The caveat is that they have not faced deGrom this year. Maybe the Phillies have more of a chance this year. Maybe not. I’m just telling you what I know. The intuition has to be up to you.

Masahiro Tanaka ($9,500): Conventional wisdom says leave Tanaka alone on the road, right? He has a 5.35 ERA in seven road starts this year and a 4.14 ERA in eight career starts at the Trop. So what gives? Well, Tanaka threw a two hit shutout against the Rays in the Bronx the last time he faced them. In fact, Tanaka has allowed just one run and 10 hits in 22 innings to the Rays this year, including one start at the Trop. The Rays can’t touch him, so I’m riding the Tanaka bullet train to St. Pete again!

Middle Tier:

Eduardo Rodriguez ($8,700): Talk about a dream matchup for E-Rod. The Tigers are hitting just .171 in 35 at bats with one homer, two runs, and 12 strikeouts. Rodriguez picked up 26.5 DraftKings points on the Tigers earlier this season. His overall numbers aren’t great and the Tigers looked good against the White Sox, but these Sox are a much different animal. Rodriguez should be well worth the money tonight.

Austin Voth ($7,700): Voth did well against the Braves in his debut and not so well against the Tigers in Detroit his next turn through. Was it simply that he didn’t get to face a pitcher? That’s not all of it. Voth is priced reasonably enough that he’s worth using against the Royals. The peripheral numbers are still good and he’s striking out a batter per inning. I’d say he’s a threat for 20 DraftKings points tonight.

Drew Pomeranz ($6,800): The Cardinals offense is so bad right now, and Pomeranz’s home splits are so good, that it’s hard to ignore him here. The issue here is that the Cardinals hit lefties a lot better than righties. However, we just saw the Cardinals make a very average Mariners staff look like Cy Young winners.

Bargain Pitchers:

Julio Teheran ($6,600): If you look at the BvP, the only thing that will impress you is that Teheran has held the Marlins under the Mendoza line. They have actually hit him hard until you dig deeper and notice that it’s mostly a well past his prime Curtis Granderson doing nearly all of the heavy lifting. The fact is that Teheran has allowed just four hits and three walks in 12 shutout innings against the Marlins this year. Oh, and he has a 3.08 home ERA.

Zach Davies ($5,300):  I feel the same way about Davies as I do in most of his starts. He is 7-2 with a 3.24 ERA and is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts against the Pirates this year. The chances of him getting beaten up here are pretty slim. Davies gave up two runs in his first start in Pittsburgh this year, notching 18.6 DraftKings points. I don’t expect that good of an outing, but if Davies hits a dozen for this price, which is below his average against the Pirates this year, I’ll be happy.

Steven Brault ($5,100): It’s kind of annoying having the best value pitchers in the same game, but we’re probably only using one, right? The Brewers are only hitting .218 against Brault in 78 at bats with three homers, six runs, and 15 strikeouts. Those are much better numbers than you would expect from this price. Brault has racked up 29.2 DraftKings points in his two starts against Milwaukee this year. I really see no reason not to use him tonight, especially at this price.

My picks: Tanaka, Rodriguez; Tanaka, Brault; Rodriguez, Brault; Tanaka, Voth