A very special DraftKings ‘King of the Diamond’ promotion continues this Friday, July 4! This time, the prize pool—normally one million—jumps to two million!
You may be asking, what is the “King of the Diamond”? For an in-depth breakdown of this promotion, you can read our How to Play King of the Diamond article on DraftKings Network. Below is a quick summary:’
- Opt into the promotion on DraftKings Sportsbook
- Choose between 2-5 players to place in any type of parlay (Same Game Parlay, SGPx) with a “To Hit a Home Run” bet. (Examples: Aaron Judge 1+ Home Run, Shohei Ohtani 2+ home runs, etc.)
- King of the Diamond is awarded to all MLB players who hit 1 or more home runs as part of the highest-scoring MLB team (from eligible games) of the day.
Follow me on Twitter (X) for daily MLB info and picks @SBuchanan24
DraftKings King of the Diamond Strategy
Essentially, two conditions must be met to be eligible to win part of the King of the Diamond jackpot: one or more players must hit a home run and play for the team with the highest score that night. One way to determine which players to pick is to identify the teams with the highest projected totals for that night. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, these are currently the highest projected team totals as of 6:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Highest MLB team totals for Friday, July 4th
- Chicago White Sox 5.5 runs at Colorado Rockies (over +105 under -135)
- Colorado Rockies 5.5 runs vs. Chicago White Sox (over +110, under -140)
- Toronto Blue Jays 4.5 runs vs. Los Angeles Angels (over -145, under +114)
- San Francisco Giants 4.5 runs at Athletics (over -140, under +110)
- Los Angeles Dodgers 4.5 runs vs. Houston Astros (over -140, under +110)
MLB Starting Pitchers: Most home runs allowed
Of today’s starting pitchers, here is a list of those who have allowed the most home runs this season. In parentheses, the breakdown shows home runs allowed to right-handed and left-handed batters.
- Zack Littell (TB) at Minnesota Twins: 23 home runs allowed; 1.9 HR/9 (12 vs. RHB, 11 vs. LHB)
- JP Sears (ATH) vs. San Francisco Giants: 18 home runs allowed; 1.8 HR/9 (16 vs. RHB, 2 vs. LHB)
- Colin Rea (CHC) vs. St. Louis Cardinals: 14 home runs allowed; 1.6 HR/9 (5 vs. RHB, 9 vs. LHB)
- Bryan Woo (SEA) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: 13 home runs allowed; 1.2 HR/9 (4 vs. RHB, 10 vs. LHB)
MLB Weather Notes:
None!
DraftKings King of the Diamond Home Run Picks for Friday, July 4
Heliot Ramos to hit a home run +190 vs. Athletics
The Giants are well-positioned to dominate at the plate today against Athletics starter JP Sears. As previously mentioned, Sears has allowed the second-most home runs on the slate with 18, 16 of which have been hit by right-handed batters.
Ramos has the best odds to go deep in this game, listed at +190, and the matchup takes place in the hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park. Sears has been especially vulnerable with his four-seam fastball and slider, surrendering seven and six home runs off those pitches, respectively. Interestingly, Ramos has also done most of his damage against those same pitch types, accounting for six of his 13 home runs this season.
Byron Buxton to hit a home run +205 vs. Rays
Another team worth targeting this afternoon is the Twins. They’re facing Zack Littell, who has allowed the most home runs on today’s slate with 23. Unlike Sears, Littell distributes those homers fairly evenly—12 to right-handed hitters and 11 to lefties.
Buxton has been red-hot at the plate, launching nine home runs in the month of June alone. Littell relies on four primary pitches, and all of them have been vulnerable to the long ball. His slider has been the biggest issue, giving up nine of the 23 home runs he’s surrendered.
Buxton and the Twins will likely be a popular choice, but they’re a very strong candidate to lead the slate in runs scored.
Michael Busch to hit a home run +400 vs. Cardinals
Miles Mikolas is an intriguing pitcher to target today for the King of the Diamond promotion. While he hasn’t allowed many home runs overall—just nine on the season—his recent performance has been underwhelming. He finished June with a 6.58 ERA, giving up 19 runs on 34 hits, including six home runs over 26 innings. It was by far his worst month of the season, and the six home runs allowed were more than double what he surrendered in any other month.
Of the nine home runs he’s given up this year, six have come off left-handed hitters. Naturally, Kyle Tucker (+285) stands out as a strong option, but I think Michael Busch presents a great lower-owned alternative. All 14 of Busch’s home runs this season have come off right-handed pitchers, and he hit seven of them in June alone.
Andrew Benintendi to hit a home run +600 vs. Rockies
I get it—you probably don’t want to burn a KOTD parlay spot on a White Sox player. But they’re playing at Coors Field and surprisingly have the highest team total on the slate (which is wild to say), so it’s tough to ignore.
The good news is that even in Coors, you can grab someone like Andrew Benintendi—who has 10 home runs this season—at +600. From a power perspective, he’s been one of the better hitters on the White Sox, posting a .206 ISO. Seven of his 10 home runs have come against right-handed pitching, making this a favorable matchup.
Antonio Senzatela has struggled badly at home, carrying a 7.01 ERA and allowing six of his 13 home runs in Coors. It might be an uncomfortable click, but it could be a necessary one.
Follow me on Twitter (X) for daily MLB info and picks @SBuchanan24
Good luck with your King of the Diamond picks for tonight! Whenever this promotion is happening, I’ll be doing these strategy articles exclusively on DraftKings Network.
For a more in-depth breakdown of how the King of the Diamond promo works, check out our How to Play King of the Diamond article on DraftKings Network.
