Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Royals vs. Orioles 10/1/24

On Monday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with a playoff matchup between the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. Let’s take a look at this MLB Game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles 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 Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles matchup.

Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks

Captain-Corbin Burnes, Pitcher, Baltimore Orioles $11,400

On Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the first game of an American League Wild Card playoff series featuring the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles.

How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB playoff game? The Kansas City Royals arrive at the opening game of this American League Wild Card series with the Baltimore Orioles playing rather good baseball. More specifically, the Royals won four of the team’s last six games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves two days ago.

Similar to the Kansas City Royals, the Baltimore Orioles have been playing quality baseball recently. Let me be more specific. The Orioles won five of the team’s last six games played in the regular season, including a dominating 10-1 victory over the New York Yankees last week.

Now that we have identified how both of these American League teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this afternoon’s American League Wild Card game. Talented Baltimore pitcher Corbin Burnes has certainly established himself as a valuable member of the Baltimore Orioles starting pitching rotation this season. Having stated that, how has Burnes been playing from a statistical standpoint in 2024? Let’s review Burnes recent game data to answer that question.

In the 32 Games that Corbin Burnes pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in the 2024 MLB regular season, Burnes posted an impressive 2.92 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.10 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched) and added 181 strikeouts while allowing 48 walks.

More recently, in the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers 11 days ago, Baltimore hurler Corbin Burnes pitched rather well. Corbin Burnes pitched seven quality innings striking out five Detroit batters while scattering three hits and three walks in the Orioles win over the Tigers. I fully expect Corbin Burnes to continue to pitch at a high level versus the Kansas City Royals later today.

In my opinion, Corbin Burnes is the most likely player to post the most fantasy points in this afternoon’s MLB playoff Game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Baltimore starting pitcher Corbin Burnes at the captain position for this Draftkings MLB Showdown contest.

Flex plays I like to play (Draftkings price noted): Cole Ragans, Starting Pitcher (Kansas City Royals) $11,800: Gunnar Henderson, Shortstop (Baltimore Orioles) $9,200: Bobby Witt Jr., Shortstop (Kansas City Royals) $9,400.