With most of the stud pitchers getting starts Thursday and Friday, that leaves only a few to choose from on tonight’s 7-game main slate. It makes a lot of sense to pay up for pitching tonight with all the value bats (White Sox, Padres, Dodgers), and that’s likely the strategy I will be using tonight in GPPS. We’ll have Awesemo weigh in on a couple pitchers, and then I (Tommienation1) will provide some additional analysis.
Yu Darvish ($12,200 DK/$9,400 FD)
“Darvish is the biggest favorite of the night at -205 on the road against the Marlins, who will likely have a handful of right-handed batters in the lineup, increasing his floor and upside.”
Darvish is projected to face five righties tonight in Miami, and he posted a 27.6% K-rate against right-handed batters last year. The Marlins’ implied team total of 3.3 runs suggests that Darvish should have a great chance to set most of these guys down, as there is really only one power bat (Justin Bour) that may cause him problems. Even against lefties, Darvish’s 26.9% K-rate and 44.7% Ground Ball Percentage should give you confidence in paying up for him, especially on FanDuel.
Zach Greinke ($10,100 DK/$9,000 FD)
“Of all pitchers on the main slate, Greinke trailed only Darvish in K/9, and posted the best BB/9 (2.00) and xFIP (3.34) in 2017. Against the Rockies, who have an implied total under 4, Greinke is another great spend-up option, as he and Darvish are well above the other pitchers on this slate.”
Greinke is amongst the top of the list in most of the stats we look for in DFS pitchers, including WHIP (1.07), K% (26.8%), and BB% (5.6%), as well as the ones Awesemo mentioned above. He may not throw a blazing fastball, but he was in the top-25 in whiffs/swing last year in the MLB so his stuff is still clearly some of the best in the league. If you can’t afford Darvish on DK, Greinke makes for a solid SP1 on DraftKings for a $2,100 discount.
