This is quite possibly the best pitching slate we have had all season! The stars have aligned to provide us with a number of elite pitching options for one of the biggest MLB DFS slates of the year, as we have a massive 14-game slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings tonight.
RotoBaller has all your fantasy baseball and DFS needs! Check our probable pitchers page to see all of today’s starters, and be sure to utilize our MLB DFS Optimizer to create unique lineups for tonight’s slate!
When we're looking for pitchers, we want to target guys who can limit runs and pitch deep enough into games to pick up wins. That said, we don’t always need to target pitchers on heavily favored teams. In fact, we want strikeouts more than anything whenever possible, as the scoring system on both FanDuel and DraftKings really rewards pitchers who rack up Ks. Let’s see who cracks the top five on my list this week!
It wasn’t easy, but I was able to pare my list down to just five arms to target, and I made sure to provide a few cheaper options, as well. Don’t forget to check out my “honorable mentions'' at the end if you are looking for a bigger player pool.
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Best starting pitchers, sleeper SPs for Friday's MLB DFS contests
By Dan Palyo
Max Scherzer, Rangers vs. Twins ($11,000 DK, $11,000 FD)
On a slate full of aces, it’s going to be Mad Max for me if I choose to play one of the pitchers from the highest-priced tier. I have to break my rule here by using a pitcher against the same team two starts in a row, but we saw the type of ceiling that Scherzer has against this strikeout-prone Twins team in his last start when he whiffed 10 over seven frames.
Other than one bad start against the Brewers, Scherzer has been incredible down the stretch, and I expect him to do what he does best tonight -- aggressively attack hitters in the zone and rack up a bunch of strikeouts. The Twins have power and some solid offensive numbers against righties this season, but the risk is likely worth the reward here, as Scherzer has the best strikeout floor of any elite starter this evening.
Justin Verlander, Astros vs. Yankees ($9,800 DK, $10,300 FD)
The Zack Wheeler-Freddy Peralta duel in Milwaukee should be great, but I am going to skip over those guys tonight and roll with the veteran Verlander as my next pick.
JV comes into this start in some excellent late-season form. He’s spun 11 straight scoreless innings over his past two starts while racking up 16 strikeouts against the Red Sox and Tigers.
He gets the reeling Yankees at home tonight, a team that he pitched well against about a month ago when he limited them to just two runs over seven innings. This New York lineup often doesn’t have a single lefthanded hitter in it, which definitely plays to Verlander’s strengths and gives him the platoon advantage.
Backed by a red-hot offense, I love Verlander’s chances of coming away with a win tonight and around a strikeout per inning.
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Eduardo Rodriguez, Tigers @ White Sox ($9,400 DK, $9,500 FD)
Here’s where we can get a little bit different and go off the beaten path for tournaments. E-Rod is coming off a poor start against the Astros, but that is one of the tougher matchups for lefties in all of baseball (and one reason you should avoid Carlos Rodon tonight).
Rodriguez is having a solid overall campaign this year despite a few minor injuries forcing him to miss a handful of starts. He’s in one of the best strikeout spots of any pitcher on the slate tonight, as he’s facing a White Sox team that leads all MLB teams with a 29-percent K percentage against LHPs over the past month.
I would expect Eury Perez to be a more popular play than E-Rod around the same price point, but I think Rodriguez brings just as much strikeout upside at lower ownership.
Mitch Keller, Pirates @ Cardinals ($8,000 DK, $10,500 FD)
I had to include my guy Keller on the list today based on the weird price discrepancy that exists between his salary on FanDuel and DraftKings.
You could probably argue that he’s overpriced on FanDuel, as he’s the same price as other more consistent ace pitchers. However, he’s badly underpriced on DraftKings, where he’s cheaper than Michael Wacha.
Keller experienced some regression in the second half of the year, seeing his ERA rise over 4.00 and getting smacked around for eight earned runs twice and six earned runs in another start.
However, in his past two starts, Keller has reminded us of how good he can be and that his breakout season has been no fluke. He whiffed 12 Twins over six innings before shutting out the Cubs over eight solid frames in his last start.
The Cardinals are a decent offense, but lately, they’ve been pretty lackluster. Keller is good enough that I can justify playing him at $8K on DK in a neutral matchup.
Hyun Jin Ryu, Blue Jay @ Rockies ($6,300 DK, $8,200 FD)
I rarely consider using pitchers in Coors Field, and I wouldn’t recommend going this route unless you are looking for a really sneaky play for large-field tournaments. However, Ryu has pitched well for Toronto since returning from an injury that kept him out the entire year until August. He’s been incredibly efficient in his five starts, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.
The Rockies are one of the worst offenses in baseball, and they’ve struggled against both righties and lefties. Over the past month, they have struck out 28 percent of the time against LHPs, so Ryu could get a nice little bump in Ks tonight.
Honorable Mentions: Kodai Senga vs. Seattle; Logan Gilbert @ NY Mets; Eury Perez vs. Washington; Patrick Sandoval @ Oakland
