It’s a pretty slow sports day with the NBA Playoffs taking a day off before the Conference Finals and the lottery, only one NHL game, and not much else at all. However, we can always count on baseball to take over on the slow days this time of year. That being said, we only have seven games tonight, one of which is not on very many DFS slates. This slate is littered with viable options that do carry some risk, so I am going to go pitcher by pitcher and see where we end up.
Top picks
Robbie Ray is the highest priced pitcher on DK, and he is almost $2,000 below that mark on FanDuel, which is a relatively rare thing. This isn’t super strange with Ray, because he could very well overperform or underperform any price tag that is placed on him. Ray has an elite K%, and he has elite stuff. The issue is the walks, and that issue has really never been solved. With Ray, I will really try to figure out the ownership and go the other way. If Ray is super-high owned, I don’t mind Pirates stacks to attack a walk-heavy Ray and a bad D-Backs bullpen.
Jose Berrios and Aaron Nola are likely considered the most talented pitchers on the slate right now. I have almost no interest in Nola unless the field feels the same way. Nola has looked better in his last few games, but the matchup with the Brewers is a rough one. Berrios doesn’t have a great matchup either, but he would be my highest projected pitcher today, and he would likely be my highest owned pitcher if I didn’t worry about ownership.
Shane Bieber is not as good as the pitchers in his range on most sites from a talent perspective, but he is a good, young pitcher, and I think that the matchup makes up for it. I think that Bieber has elite upside at a cheaper price than most that can match it.
Matt Boyd is my favorite tournament play on the slate because he is incredibly talented. Boyd has been consistently great, and the Astros are a team that matches up poorly for him. I expect Boyd to be low-owned because he is facing an elite, right-handed heavy lineup. I will be fading the Astros and playing Boyd in tournaments.
Brad Peacock is another guy that is probably underrated from a talent perspective, and I love this matchup for Peacock. I expect Peacock to be one of my highest owned pitchers on the slate due to the upside in the matchup.
Not so fast
Mike Fiers is not in play for me, and I expect to be really heavy on the Mariners. I want to attack Fiers off of a career game, and Fiers is a guy that can get blown up. Full stacks or just home run fliers on the Mariners are both good with me.
Yusei Kikuchi is another guy that I really like on this slate if I need to save money. Kikuchi is another really talented pitcher that hasn’t done enough to get priced into that salary range. I think Kikuchi provides nice upside at the price.
Tyler Skaggs is a guy that I have liked at times due to his raw stuff, but this is not the matchup. The Twins offense is good and patient, and I expect them to get to Skaggs for a few homers. I’m not going to go all in on the Twins stack, but I will definitely have Twins in my lineup.
The final three guys are all ownership plays for me. Nick Kingham is not a good pitcher, but he’s fine, and I won’t talk anyone off of him if they want the lower ownership. I prefer Lopez over Peralta due to the matchup, but I think that Peralta is the better pitcher. I am willing to rely on the talent if the ownership is not similar, but I do prefer Lopez. I am fine with all three of these offenses in tournaments, but I would play Phillies, Indians, then D-Backs for the upside, as both Lopez and Peralta seem to have significant “off games.”