If you’re opting to play this slate, my advice would be to go over to FanDuel where you only have to play one pitcher and have the option to play Tanaka. However, here are a couple pitchers that we’re spotlighting that you can play on either site tonight. Awesemo will give his take first, and then I (Tommienation1) will follow up.
Robbie Ray ($11,700 DK/$9,500 FD)
“Ray has the highest strikeout upside on the slate, and with only a few games on the slate, it’s going to be hard to get away from him on the road against a Cardinals team that has a 4 total.”
On the DraftKings 3-game slate, no pitcher comes close to rivaling Ray’s strikeout upside in this matchup, so he almost becomes the default SP1. On FanDuel, you’ve got a tougher decision because you can play Tanaka (“A” points grade) and only have to choose one pitcher, but on either site, Ray (“A” points grade) is a solid play in all formats. Despite a tough St. Louis lineup, the 32.8% K-rate since the start of 2017 should be reason enough to consider him. The hard-contact numbers are a bit concerning, but even if Ray gives up a couple runs, there’s a very good chance he ends the night with the most raw points of any pitcher on DraftKings.
Adam Wainwright ($7,000 DK/$6,000 FD)
“Wainwright provides some nice value on both sites going up against the Diamondbacks who have a 4 team total in a decent pitcher’s park.”
He’s not usually a guy I look at on most slates, but Wainwright (“C” DK value/ “A” FD value) has a few things going for him on this short slate. As Awesemo mentioned, the opposing team total and pitcher’s park is appealing, he’s decent at limiting hard-contact (just over 30% dating back to the start of 2017), and he’s got the highest ground-ball rate of any pitcher (47.2%) on the slate over the last year. The matchup may not be perfect for Wainwright, but at this price, he makes some sense in both cash-games and tournaments.
