Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 20, 2016, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Welcome to our new daily article breaking down some of the other pitching targets on this slate. We covered our system's top value plays in our daily picks article and hitter stacks but here we will look at other dudes to consider.
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Stacking in DFS MLB is such an important concept if you’re looking to take down a big tournament on FanDuel or DraftKings. It’s also a good way to diversify cash games because the variance in baseball can mean wild swings (ahem) in the scoring on a particular slate. The concept is easy. You want to pile players from one or two teams into your lineups because those guys compound scores by helping each other score runs when the going is good.
Pitching Targets
Note: We discussed Jose Fernandez and Matt Wisler in the Main Article, and will be going over a few more options below.
Early Slate
Opponent - ARI (Corbin) Park - @PIT
FD - 38.12 DK - 20.44
Jose Fernandez will be the "chalk" of today's slate (and should be on your rosters), but I like Gerrit Cole as a SP2 option. He will be going up against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, which isn't the best of matchups for Cole, as the Diamondbacks own a 97 wRC+ (14th in MLB) against right-handed pitching. The matchup might not be all that, but I love his chances of picking up the win. The Pirates are entering this contest as -170 favorites. They will be going up against southpaw Robbie Ray today, so look for them to back up Cole with some runs. I know the weather is looking bad (7 AM ET as I am writing this article), so if weather does not get any better -- I would go with Drew Smyly (cash games) and J.A. Happ (tournament games).
Main Slate
Opponent - BAL (Gausman) Park - @HOU
FD - 29.62 DK - 15.29
WOW! I thought last night's slate was ugly and this one is even worse. I'm going to be very honest with you guys -- there is no "safe play" tonight. Every one of these pitchers are inconsistent and/or have bad matchups. So, I will just give you the two guys that I believe have the most upside on tonight's slate (surprisingly they are going head-to-head against each other) 1-0 final score please :)!
The first guy I will be talking about is Lance McCullers. He will be going up against the Orioles tonight, which is no easy task, but no one is a "safe play" like I mentioned earlier. So why is this crazy guy talking about Lance McCullers you may ask yourself -- and it's because of his K upside. He owns a 23.4 K% on the year (good upside) to go along with a xFIP of 3.75. I know his ERA is over five, but that will come down soon, so don't worry about that.
His matchup against the Orioles is a tough one, but there are two reasons why I like the McCullers play: 1. Chris Davis is cold right now, so he is facing them at a perfect time. 2. The Orioles have a 23.1 K% against right-handed pitching, so this means that McCullers will fan some hitters. I believe that he is an excellent tournament play tonight. Like everyone says, "Go big or go [home]."
Opponent - HOU (McCullers) Park - @HOU
FD - 30.71 DK - 16.16
I know I just went off on Lance McCullers and telling you why I like him, but I also like Kevin Gausman. He will be going up against the Houston Astros which provides him with upside. The Astros own a 25.3 K% (3rd in MLB) to go along with a .314 wOBA (16th in MLB). The matchup obviously isn't the best, but you got to love Gausman's K potential tonight.
Gausmen on the other hand, has been solid to start the year. He owns a 2.70 ERA, which is backed up by a 3.85 SIERA and 3.34 FIP. He doesn't own a high strikeout rate, as it sits at 7.36 K/9, but you have to love the upside he has tonight going up against the Astros. The 25-year-old has been solid to start off the year and I like him in all formats tonight.
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