Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with an American League matchup featuring the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB 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 Cleveland Gurdians vs. Detroit Tigers matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Tanner Bibee, Starting Pitcher, Cleveland Guardians $10,800
On Thursday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a four-game American League series featuring the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers.
How are these two teams playing entering tonight’s American League game? The Cleveland Guardians arrive at the first game of this four-game series with the Detroit Tigers playing below average baseball. More specifically, the Cleveland Guardians have lost five of the team’s last six games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 9-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers last week.
In direct contrast to the Cleveland Guardians, the Detroit Tigers are currently playing good baseball entering this evening’s game. The Tigers have won seven of the team’s last nine games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a thrilling 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals two days ago.
Now that we have ascertained how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our attention to tonight’s contest. Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee has been an essential part of the Cleveland Guardians starting rotation this season. With that said, how has Bibee performed from a statistical perspective in 2025? Let’s review the veteran hurler’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
Through nine starts made in 2025, Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee has compiled a 3-4 (win-loss record), a 4.06 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 1.29 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched). Additionally, Bibee has amassed 35 strikeouts while allowing 17 walks in 26.1 innings pitched this season.
More recently, in the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins earlier this month, Cleveland starting pitcher Tanner Bibee certainly pitched at a high level. Let me be more specific. Bibee pitched seven quality innings while scattering five hits and no walks in the Guardians victory over the Twins.
In my view, Tanner Bibee is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in tonight’s MLB regular season game. Having stated that, I am backing Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee at the captain position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular season contest (Draftkings price noted): Jack Flaherty, Starting Pitcher (Detroit Tigers) $11,400: Steven Kwan, Outfielder (Cleveland Guardians) $8,800: Spencer Torkelson, First Baseman (Detroit Tigers) $8,400.