Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Reds vs. Padres 9/10/25
Cincinnati Reds vs. San Diego Padres
September 10, 2025 8:40 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the San Diego Padres vs. Cincinnati Reds 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 this evening’s Reds vs. Padres matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Nick Pivetta, Starting Pitcher, San Diego Padres $12,000
On Wednesday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the final game of a three-game interleague series featuring the Cincinnati Reds and the San Diego Padres.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The San Diego Padres arrive at the third game of this three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds playing good baseball. More specifically, the Padres have won three of the team’s last four games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an 8-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies three days ago.
Similar to the San Diego Padres, the Cincinnati Reds are playing quality baseball entering the final game of this interleague series. The Reds have won three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a 6-3 win over the New York Mets last week.
Now that we have determined how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s contest. Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta has been a solid performer for the San Diego Padres this season. Having stated that, how has the talented pitcher performed from a data standpoint? Let’s review Pivetta’s relevant statistical data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In 28 starts made for the San Diego Padres this season, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta has compiled a rather impressive 13-5 (win-loss record), a 3.36 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 0.96 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) which ranks fifth in MLB. Additionally, Pivetta has amassed 172 strikeouts (16th in MLB) while allowing 44 walks in 164.1 innings pitched this season.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings MLB showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups.
In my view, Nick Pivetta is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in today’s MLB game. With that said, I am backing San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta 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): Fernando Tatis Jr., Outfielder (San Diego Padres) $9,400: Andrew Abbott, Starting Pitcher (Cincinnati Reds) $11,000: Manny Machado, Third Baseman (San Diego Padres) $8,600.
