Draftkings Best MLB Showdown Picks: Pirates vs. Brewers 7/11/24

Major League Baseball presents a matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a Draftkings perspective.

Prior to discussing the Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers 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 Pittsburgh vs. Milwaukee Brewers matchup.

Draftkings Picks

Captain-Paul Skenes, Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates $12,600

On Thursday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the final game of a three game National League series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers.

How are these two teams playing entering this afternoon’s MLB game? The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost five of the team’s last nine games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 3-2 loss to the New York Mets four days ago. The Milwaukee Brewers arrive at the final game of this National League series playing far better than the Pittsburgh Pirates.  More specifically, the Milwaukee Brewers have won ten of the team’s last 16 games played this season, including an impressive 9-0 shutout win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of this three-game series last night.

Now that we have determined how both teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this afternoon’s contest. Pittsburgh starting pitcher Paul Skenes has certainly illustrated that he is a key member of this Pittsburgh Pirates pitching rotation this season. Having stated that, how has Skenes been playing from a statistical standpoint? Let’s review Paul Skene’s recent game data to answer that question.

In the ten games that Paul Skenes has pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2024 MLB regular season, Paul Skenes has posted a robust 2.12 ERA (Earned Run Average), a 1.01 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched), and added an impressive 78 strikeouts while allowing only 12 walks. I think it’s fair to say that Skenes is getting it done on the mound in 2024.

In my opinion Paul Skenes is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this afternoon’s National League contest. For that reason, I am rolling with Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes as my captain for this one game DFS MLB Showdown slate.

Flex Plays

Bryan Reynolds, Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates $8,800

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has been a consistent key contributor to this Pittsburgh Pirates lineup in 2024. Let me provide a sample of Reynold’s recent game data to better shed light on my previous statement. In his last two games played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2024 MLB regular season, Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has accumulated three hits and two runs scored in nine plate appearances.

Additional flex plays I like this afternoon (Draftkings price noted): Aaron Civale, Starting Pitcher (Milwaukee Brewers) $10,600: Brice Turang, Second Baseman (Milwaukee Brewers) $8,200.