With DraftKings having two roster spots for pitchers, it creates an opportunity to take a stand in a limited player pool. To play it safe, the majority of users like to roster the chalkiest pitchers in hopes of their bats being the main focal point of their lineup. While in theory it is a great strategy, it limits a lineup’s ability to stand out from the rest and ultimately land in the top 5 of a large-field GPP. That’s why we need MLB DFS pivots.
The goal in this breakdown is to find which pitchers can give lineups the opportunity to return massive ROI while being undrowned across the field. Using Stokastic’s Top Pitchers Tool, we are able to determine the pitchers that are expected to be chalk, along with the pitchers that are projected for high leverage in contests. The correlation of high leverage but low ownership is a crucial piece to unlocking a lineup’s potential.
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Let’s dive into which pitchers stand out in both of these categories to find the best MLB DFS pivots for today.
Best MLB DFS Pivots Today: Ryan Pepiot and More (April 29)
Ryan Pepiot ($9,100)
It’s a risky situation picking a right-handed pitcher against the Brewers at home, but they have the 10th-highest strikeout rate in the past seven days at 24.7% and the eighth-highest strikeout rate when playing at home, 24.4%. Pepiot has been a bit inconsistent in his first five starts, having results where he either gives up over four runs or one run. What makes Pepiot so appealing is his 28.2% strikeout rate on the season, giving us the reassurance and upside of being able to rack up strikeouts in bunches.
With Pepiot being in the $9,000 price range, he offers a ton of salary relief off of a $10,400 Joe Ryan, who is pulling 28% ownership, second highest among pitchers. If you don’t want to fade Ryan, we can also go the route of using him as a pivot off of Max Friend for only $400 more, with half the ownership. Either way you want to play it, rostering Pepiot gives us some flexibility while being able to gain positive leverage in a large-field GPP.
Christopher Sanchez ($8,400)
Sanchez is on the road tonight to face off against the Angels, who have a 29.8% strikeout rate in the last seven days, second highest in the league. Adding to the encouraging strikeout trend, the Angels also have the 10th-highest strikeout rate against lefties this season, 23.5%. Looking at Sanchez through Stokastic’s Top Pitchers Tool, he grades out tremendously with a 16.3% chance at being a top-2 pitcher while having an 11.3% chance at being a top-2 value play and the seventh-highest ownership projection at 14.1%.
Rostering Sanchez tonight gives us some positive leverage at 2.2%, which is due to Fried projecting for 31.9% ownership, highest among pitchers. With Sanchez being in a trendy matchup, I like the idea of replacing some Fried ownership with the Sanchez.
Get started finding the best MLB DFS pivots by using Stokastic tools today! Check out all we have to offer here!
