Pitcher List is proud to partner with DraftKings for the 2019 season. We’ll be featuring our top picks for every daily slate through the season and feature articles dedicated to the GPP.
Top Play SP: Jacob deGrom, NYM ($12,000) vs. MIA
NL Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom is in a tier of his own on tonight’s slate as he takes on the lowly Marlins. deGrom has a phenomenal 31.8% strikeout rate with just a 5.5% walk rate. The Marlins are the weakest lineup in all of baseball against right-handed pitching with their .287 wOBA, and deGrom gets to face them in his home ballpark. If you’re going to spend on starting pitcher, it’s not a difficult choice as to where to put your payroll.
Honorable mentions: Shane Bieber ($11,800) at CWS; Zack Greinke ($10,400) at SEA.
Value SP: Jeff Samardzija, SF ($7,500) vs. COL
Jeff Samardzija has surprisingly been pretty serviceable this season, with a 3.64 ERA in 175.1 innings despite some ugly underlying stats. This start has more to do with the matchup than Samardzija himself—the Rockies are awful on the road, with a .289 wOBA away from Coors. Shark faces the Rockies at home in an extremely pitcher-friendly park and is a strong discount play at this price.
Honorable mention: Jon Lester ($8,300) at PIT.
Top Play: OF Yasiel Puig, CLE ($4,500) at CWS
Yasiel Puig is one of the hottest hitters in the league right now, batting .452 with an 1.111 OPS over the past two weeks. His explosive combination of power (24 homers) and speed (18 steals) gives him lots of upside in GPP tournaments, and he’s got a fantastic matchup against Ross Detwiler. Detwiler has an abysmal 6.98 ERA and a 2.73 HR/9, so the Indians should have a huge performance, meaning lots of RBI opportunities for Puig batting cleanup.
Honorable mentions: 3B Josh Donaldson ($4,400) at KC (LHP Mike Montgomery); 2B/SS Kevin Newman ($4,200) vs. CHC (Lester).
Top Play: OF Michael Conforto, NYM ($4,400) vs. MIA
Michael Conforto homered twice last night and now has three in his past four games, good for 33 dingers on the year. Conforto has mashed right-handed pitching to the tune of a 141 wRC+ in 2019 and faces arguably the weakest righty on the slate in Robert Dugger, who is actually a real baseball player and not somebody I just made up. Dugger has a 5.73 FIP for Miami, so roll with Conforto tonight at an affordable price.
Honorable mentions: 2B/SS Jonathan Villar ($4,800) at TOR (RHP Jacob Waguespack); OF Willie Calhoun ($4,600) vs. BOS (RHP Rick Porcello).
Value: 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR ($4,000) vs. BAL
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was featured in yesterday’s post, and there’s no choice but to keep going back to him at this low of a price. He’s still facing the weakest pitching staff in all of baseball and doing so at home in a hitter-friendly environment. O’s starter Garbiel Ynoa has a 2.28 HR/9 and a 6.11 FIP, so an entire Blue Jays stack around Guerrero is definitely a strong play.
Honorable mentions: SS Jean Segura ($3,900) at WAS (RHP Anibal Sanchez); OF Alex Dickerson ($3,900) vs. COL (RHP Tim Melville).
Top Stack: Royals vs. Braves
The Braves are going with a bullpen game tonight, and as a team that already clinched, they will likely use a bunch of fringey relievers. Opener Josh Tomlin has a 4.67 FIP, for instance. It seems like DraftKings was expecting the Royals to face Mike Soroka tonight, as their bats are way too cheap. Jorge Soler is an absolute steal at $4,300 for a guy with 45 home runs, while Hunter Dozier ($3,800) and Whit Merrifield ($4,100) are great values as well.
Honorable mentions: Blue Jays vs. Orioles (Ynoa); Indians at White Sox (Detwiler).
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is troyklauder) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games on which I offer advice. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any nonpublic information.