Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Tigers vs. Astros 10/1/24

Major League Baseball presents a playoff matchup between the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Detroit Tigers vs. Houston Astros 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 tomorrow afternoon’s Detroit Tigers vs. Houston Astros matchup.

Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks

Captain-Tarik Skubal, Starting Pitcher, Detroit Tigers $12,000

On Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the first Game of an American League Wild Card playoff series featuring the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros.

How are these two teams playing entering tomorrow afternoon’s MLB playoff Game? The Detroit Tigers arrive at the opening Game of this American League Wild Card series with the Houston Astros playing rather good baseball. More specifically, the Tigers have won six of the team’s last seven Games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox three days ago.

Similar to the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros have been playing quality baseball recently. Let me be more specific. The Astros has won three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners last week.

Now that we have identified how both of these American League teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to tomorrow’s American League Wild Card game. Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal has certainly pitched at a high level to this point in the 2024 MLB regular season. Having stated that, how has Skubal pitched from a statistical standpoint in 2024? Let’s review Tarik Skubal’s game data to answer that question.

In the 31 games that Tarik Skubal pitched for the Detroit Tigers in the 2024 MLB regular season, Skubal posted a robust 2.39 ERA (Earned Run Average), 0.92 WHIP (walks, hits, inning pitched) and added a massive 228 strikeouts while allowing only 35 walks.

More recently, in the Detroit Tigers 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals 12 days ago, Tarik Skubal pitched rather well. Skubal pitched five quality innings striking out seven Kansas City batters while scattering three hits and one walk in the Tigers win over the Royals.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Tigers 4-2 win over the Royals just noted, Skubal compiled a whopping 24.3 Draftkings points.

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

Flex plays I like (Draftkings price noted): Framber Valdez, Starting Pitcher (Houston Astros) $11,000: Jose Altuve, Second Baseman (Houston Astros) $9,000: Kerry Carpenter, Outfielder (Detroit Tigers) $8,000: Matt Vierling, Third Baseman (Detroit Tigers) $6,800.