Only nine games on the DraftKings slate today and there are not a ton of great pitching options to be had. Let’s talk about the best of the worst, based on DraftKings strategy and scoring.
Jacob deGrom ($12,000) is clearly the #1 pitcher on the board in all formats and he is priced accordingly. It’s easy to see why he is the top pitcher option by looking at his L5 games (below). His 2.74 xFIP is the best on this slate over the L30 and is boasting a 9.87 K/0 which is also the highest on this slate. He has a matchup with the Phillies who have been much better since the All-Star Break but deGrom has has no problem dicing them up this season. deGrom has only surrendered 2 ER in 13.1 IP vs. the Phillies this season, while racking up 12 Ks. His numbers have been even better recently, sporting a 1.67 ERA in August with 30 Ks and only 8 BBs in 27 IP.
The contrarian play should certainly be Hisashi Iwakuma ($10,200). Being the second most expensive player usually leads to being under-owned. A very similar run of great performances for Iwakuma, including the no-hitter two starts ago. The argument could certainly be made that Iwakuma has the better matchup with the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are 20th in wOBA in the L14 and play in one of the most hitter friendly parks in the league. Iwakuma is primed for another great outing today.
One really interesting play is Julio Teheran ($8,100) who will face the Rockies today. First of all, Teheran has returned 21 or more points in three of his last four games, pitching over 6 innings in all of those outings. Additionally, he’s shown some higher strikeout ability, with 24 Ks over those same games. The matchup here is what everyone will be trying to figure out. The Rockies had been on an absolutely miserable run before they got back home to Coors Field. They had the highest K rate in the league and one of the worst wOBAs. They go home and get inflated numbers to bounce them back up the rankings, but that might be Fools Gold. In their 7 game road trip before the most recent home stand, the Rockies only scored 17 runs total including being shut out twice and losing 6 of 7. It’s clear they are a much different team on the road and Teheran has been pitching well. It’s certainly justifiable to roster him today.
Dollar-For-Dollar, it might be Nathan Eovaldi ($6,500) who is the best play of the day. Eovaldi tops the value rankings for today as he is averaging 17.41 DK points per game in his L30. If he returns that game today, it will provide 2.6x his price to your team. The matchup with the Astros is what’s really juicy. Despite a four game sweep of the Dodgers, they have done little damage at the dish. They rank 27th in wOBA during the L7 with a MASSIVE 28% K rate which is second worst in baseball. You don’t need much to him to pay for himself and the matchup doesn’t get much better than this!
I am not particularly thrilled about anyone else. I could make a case for Jorge De La Rosa ($7,100) or Joe Kelly ($5,900) if you were desperate and looking for high upside GPP options.