Fantasy Baseball: 3 Cheap DraftKings Pitchers for July 20 (Late)

Daily fantasy baseball is still going strong. With only seven games in the July 20 night slate, here are 3 cheap pitching options for DraftKings.

Despite all the controversy surrounding daily fantasy sports, it’s still very popular. Daily fantasy baseball is something the fantasy industry has incorporated into their coverage of the sport, so fantasy owners are looking for advice from the best. If you are looking for pitching advice for the July 20 night slate, games beginning at 7 PM, here are three cheap pitching options.

In daily fantasy baseball, a “cheap” pitcher is someone I could use for, at the most, 15 percent of my total budget. In DraftKings, with a $50,000 budget, that would limit you to using $7,500 for one player.

Looking at the starting pitchers for the night games, you won’t have to worry about using many pitchers that cost more than that. There are good sleeper picks that you could use and boost your offensive players, which is where you can accumulate a lot of points.

1. Wei-Yin Chen, @PHI, $6,800

Chen has had two great outings over his last four games. The third game could be considered average at best. In those of those games, he scored over 20 points. In the third I’m referencing, he scored 11.3 points. He did give up four earned runs over six innings.

In his July 20 game, he will face the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies offense isn’t a big threat to most pitchers. They rank 17th in batting average and 25th in on-base percentage this month. If Chen can limit the baserunners, he’ll have another successful start.

Don’t let his stats scare you. His 4.90 ERA and 1.26 WHIP aren’t favorable to those playing in season-long fantasy baseball. Over his last four starts, he has a 3.91 ERA, a full run lower than his 2016 total. This is a good matchup to get behind.

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2. Jeff Locke, vs. MIL, $5,600

Similar to Chen, Locke’s most recent starts haven’t been the best. He scored 4.3 and -0.4 points in his last two games. In the three starts prior to that, he scored 11.7, 20.8 and 22 points. Yet, Locke has a favorable matchup at home against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers are last in runs scored, 29th in average and 26th in OBP in July. Their power hitters looked to have cooled off as the summer heats up. Locke pitches better at home than on the road, 2.81 ERA at home and 7.47 ERA on the road.

For the price, Locke is a good No. 2 starting pitcher to use in your lineup. With the Pittsburgh Pirates offense starting to score, he could be in line for the win, which is an extra four points.

3. Gio Gonzalez, vs. LAD, $7,300

The most expensive pitcher on my list, Gonzalez has been the most consistent of the three. While he has had a couple of negative starts, he’s scored at least 20 points three times. He scored 14 points in his list start, two earned runs on four hits and four walks in 5.2 innings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers offense is scoring a lot of runs in the start of the second half. In four games, they have scored 27 runs. That big 13-run game definitely skewed the numbers a bit, though. They rank first in batting average post All-Star break.

With only five pitchers priced higher than Gonzalez, you won’t be spending a lot of your budget on pitchers. His home-road splits are pretty equal and the Dodgers offense looks good. So, this isn’t a matchup pick, this is a “believe in his skills” pick.

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The list of starting pitchers may not be the best for the night slate, but there is value to be had. Locke and Chen are more matchup based and their prices aren’t too bad. Gonzalez cost only a few hundred dollars more, but is a better pitcher.

Daily fantasy baseball is all about roster construction. You have your pick at any players, so building the best roster is where skill comes into play. If you go with two of these pitchers, you could stack your offense with some top-tier hitters.