Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Athletics vs. Cubs 9/18/24

Major League Baseball presents a matchup between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a Draftkings perspective.

Prior to discussing the Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago Cubs game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.

Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules

You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.

The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.

*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this afternoon’s Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago Cubs matchup.

Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks

Captain-Justin Steele, Pitcher, Chicago Cubs $12,200

On Wednesday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the final game of a three game interleague series between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs.

How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The Chicago Cubs arrive at the third and final game of this three game interleague series with the Oakland Athletics playing below average baseball. The Cubs have lost four of the team’s last six games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 10-8 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last week.

Similar to the Chicago Cubs, the Oakland Athletics have not been playing good baseball recently. The Athletics have lost three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox three days ago.

It should be noted that the Oakland Athletics defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in last night’s second game of this three game interleague series.

Now that we have determined how both of these Major League Baseball teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s contest. Chicago pitcher Justin Steele has established himself as an essential part of the Chicago Cubs starting pitching rotation this season. Having stated that, how has Steele been playing from a statistical standpoint? Let’s review Steele’s recent game data to answer that question.

In the 22 games that Justin Steele has pitched for the Chicago Cubs in the 2024 MLB regular season, Steele has posted a 3.38 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.11 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched) and added a whopping 131 strikeouts while allowing 34 walks.

More recently, in the Chicago Cubs 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates last month, Chicago starting pitcher Justin Steele pitched rather well. More specifically, Steele pitched five quality innings striking out six Pittsburgh batters while scattering six hits and two walks in the Chicago Cubs win over the Pirates.

In my opinion, Justin Steele is the most likely player to post the most fantasy points in tonight’s MLB regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele at the captain position for this Draftkings MLB Showdown contest.

Additional flex plays I like this evening (Draftkings price noted): Brady Basso, Starting Pitcher (Oakland Athletics) $11,200: Seiya Suzuki, Outfielder (Chicago Cubs) $8,800: Brent Rooker, Outfielder (Oakland Athletics) $9,600: Nico Hoerner, Second Baseman (Chicago Cubs) $7,200.