Draftkings Best MLB Showdown Picks: Braves vs. Giants 8/12/24
Draftkings picks and predictions for this evening's Braves vs. Giants matchup.
Major League Baseball presents a matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a Draftkings perspective.
Prior to discussing the Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants 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 tonight’s Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Chris Sale, Pitcher, Atlanta Braves $12,000
On Monday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a four game National League series between the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants.
How are these two National League teams playing entering tonight’s game? The Atlanta Braves arrive at the first game of this four game National League series playing below average baseball. More specifically, the Braves have lost seven of the team’s last ten games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including an embarrassing 10-0 shutout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers last week.
In direct contrast to the Atlanta Braves, the San Francisco Giants arrive at this evening’s MLB contest playing quality baseball. Let’s review the Giants recent game data to better shed light on my previous statement. The San Francisco Giants have won seven of the team’s last ten games played this season, including an 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers three days ago.
Now that we have ascertained how both of these Major League Baseball teams are currently playing let’s turn our attention to this evening’s contest. Talented Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale has quickly ascended to be one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. Having stated that, how has Sale been playing from a statistical standpoint in 2024? Let’s review Chris Sale’s recent game data to answer that question.
In the 21 games that Chris Sale has pitched for the Atlanta Braves in the 2024 MLB regular season, Sale has posted a 2.75 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.00 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched) and added a robust 165 strikeouts while allowing only 30 walks. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select for the captain position of a Draftkings MLB showdown contest.
For the reasons just noted, I am backing Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale as my captain for this one game DFS MLB contest.
Flex Plays
Marcel Ozuna, Outfielder, Atlanta Braves $9,600
Atlanta outfielder Marcel Ozuna certainly brings a quality bat to this Atlanta Braves lineup. In his last three games played for the Atlanta Braves in the 2024 MLB regular season, Braves outfielder Marcel Ozuna accumulated an impressive five hits (two home runs), four runs scored, and one walk in 14 plate appearances.
Additional flex plays I like (Draftkings price noted): Blake Snell, Starting Pitcher (San Francisco Giants) $11,400: Austin Riley, Third Baseman (Atlanta Braves) $9,000: Matt Chapman, Third Baseman (San Francisco Giants) $8,400.
