DraftKings MLB picks July 31: Castillo is a steal yo!

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 25: Yu Darvish #11 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during the first inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on July 25, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Yu Darvish ($10,500): Darvish gets a break from yesterday’s rainout. The Reds hit him hard, especially at Great American Small Park. The Pirates can’t touch Darvish. They are hitting a horrid .115 against him in 52 at bats with 16 strikeouts. Only one guys have been able to touch him. More on that later. Darvish has more upside than Clevinger, but he’s also going to carry at least twice the ownership.

Mike Clevinger ($10,000): The Twins were locked up by Bieber last night. The same might happen here. They are only hitting .210 against Clevinger in 167 at bats with seven homers, 12 runs, and 52 strikeouts. That’s a very high strikeout rate, which makes Clevinger the only five-figure guy that I’m considering. Using any pitcher against the Twins is risky, but this is one that should reward you with fairly low ownership.

Middle Tier:

Mike Minor ($9,200): The Giants aren’t getting much hard contact, and when they do, it’s the lefties that do. That’s the bad news. Minor is tough on lefties. The Giants haven’t homered off of Minor in 79 at bats and have 17 strikeouts. Add to that an extreme pitcher’s park and Minor has a path for a strong night.

Spencer Turnbull ($8,100): Turnbull racked up 21.1 DraftKings points on this same Reds team in Cincinnati in his first start of the year. If Castillo weren’t such a lock, Turnbull would look a lot better for this price. That said, this is a good way to move off of chalk Castillo and get around the same production. That’s the only reason to use Turnbull over Castillo. It may pay to run them both together if you really want to separate yourself.

Luis Castillo ($8,000): The rain Gods gifted us Castillo against the Tigers, who have struck out roughly 200 times already this year. Castillo has an elite fastball and racked up the strikeouts anyway. He is a lock at this price. He would be a lock at $10,000! Enjoy the bargain, and no matter how many lines you run, I’m not sure you should run one without Castillo in it. After all, he picked up 29.3 DraftKings points in his first start, also against this Tigers team.

Bargain Tier:

Matt Andriese ($5,800): Andriese was brilliant in relief in his first appearance of the season when Ohtani failed to record an out. This is a tough spot against the Astros, but this might not be the same Astros team since they aren’t stealing signs anymore. Andriese is an interesting GPP punt, but all low-priced pitchers carry massive risk tonight.

Kris Bubic ($4,000): Bubic led the entire minor leagues in strikeouts last year. That’s good, right? Well, he did all of that damage in class A. That’s right. The Royals are calling up a guy to start that has never pitched above A ball. There’s plenty of risk here, but due to the fact that the hitters don’t have much to study of him, he could have the early advantage in his career. This is a huge risk though.