Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Braves vs. Phillies 8/31/24

Major League Baseball presents a matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves 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 Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves matchup.

Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks

Zack Wheeler, Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies $11,800

On Saturday evening, Major League Baseball presents the third game of a four game National League series between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies.

How are these two teams playing entering tonight’s National League Game? The Atlanta Braves have won 13 of the team’s last 18 Games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 10-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins last week.

Similar to the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies arrive at this evening’s MLB contest playing rather good baseball. More specifically, the Phillies have won five of the team’s last seven games played this season, including a 5-0 shutout win over the Houston Astros four days ago.

It should also be noted that the Atlanta Braves defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 in last night’s second game of this four game National League 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. In my opinion, Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler is without a doubt one of the best starting pitchers in the National League in 2024. Having stated that, how has Wheeler been playing from a statistical standpoint? Let’s review Wheeler’s recent game data to answer that question.

In the 26 games that Zack Wheeler has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2024 MLB regular season, Wheeler has posted a 2.74 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.00 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched) and added a whopping 176 strikeouts while allowing 45 walks.

More recently, in the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 win over the Houston Astros five days ago, Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler pitched at a high level. In the Phillies win over the Astros just noted, Wheeler pitched seven quality innings, striking out six Houston Astros batters while allowing only six hits and two walks.

As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct captain is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest. In summary, I am rolling with Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler as my captain for this one game MLB DFS slate.

Flex plays I like to play well this evening (Draftkings price noted): Max Fried, Starting Pitcher (Atlanta Braves) $11,000: Trea Turner, Shortstop (Philadelphia Phillies) $9,600: Bryce Harper, First Baseman (Philadelphia Phillies) $9,000.