MLB DraftKings DFS: 3 Cheap starting pitchers for June 13

Managing your DraftKings budget while having the best lineup possible is the challenging part of DFS. Here are three cheap pitchers to build your lineup around.

DraftKings differs from FanDuel for baseball in a lot of ways. The main one is that DraftKings gives its users a budget of $50,000 for 10 players compared to $35,000 for nine players. The roster construction is also different, forcing players to use different strategies on each site.

DraftKings deploys two starting pitchers, each infield spot and three outfielders. FanDuel has one pitcher, a catcher/first base combo, each infielder, three outfielders and a utility, putting more of an emphasis on offense.

With the need for two pitchers, owners have to carve out a nice chunk of their budget for starting pitching. And, all 30 teams are playing on June 13, making the player pool ripe for the picking. There are a lot of expensive pitchers, including Chris Sale and Gerrit Cole both over $13,000. That is a lot to spend on just one player.

In order to save you some bucks to use at another spot, I will give you three pitchers that will give you quality results for cheaper than Sale or Cole.

Dylan Covey, $5,500

Covey has three 20-plus point games in his last four starts. He had high strikeout and low run totals in those three games. The one down game was on the road against the Cleveland Indians. He went just 4.1 innings, giving up five runs, two earned, on five hits and three walks.

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Covey faces the Indians on June 13. That may seem like a death sentence. It’s not. The Indians have struggled in June, hitting .225 with 10 home runs this month. This team can go off at any point, but it’s been a two-week trend of bad games from the offense.

Though Covey has the White Sox offense behind him, hitting just .214 this month, I think he has the stuff to shut down the Indians at home.

Jameson Taillon, $7,600

Taillon has had an up-and-down season so far. After pitching a one-hit complete-game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds, he’s given up a lot of runs. Though, he recently had an eight-inning, three-hit game on June 1.

Taillon has the benefit of pitching in Arizona for his next start. I mentioned the negative effect the recently installed humidor has had on the Diamondbacks offense. Chase Field is a pitcher-friendly park this season. While the team is on fire this month, they are hitting a horrible .222 at home.

Taillon may be a little pricey for a “cheap” option but compared to the rest of the pitching options, he’s one of the more talented bargain picks.

Tyler Mahle, $6,700

Mahle is another pitcher that got off to a hot start but hit a rough patch after the first month. He posted a 5.33 ERA in May. Though, in June, he has a 1.80 ERA, albeit in just two starts.

Mahle doesn’t pitch deep into games, averaging 5.28 innings per start, but that is enough to qualify for the win, an extra four points to your score.

It also helps that Mahle will be pitching away from Great American Ballpark. He faces the Kansas City Royals on the road. The Royals are hitting .251 at home but only have 116 runs scored, 11th and 26th in the league, respectively. They are hitting .194 in June.

Mahle should be able to right himself in this matchup, making him worth the price as your No. 2 pitcher.

Next: DFS MLB Game by Game Breakdowns

These three pitchers have good matchups, favorable park surroundings and an offense to give them run support for a win. If you don’t want to splurge for two pitchers, use one of these guys in your DraftKings lineup.

MLB DFS: 3 Cheap DraftKings Starting Pitchers for June 13

By Bill Pivetz | Jun 13, 2018

Managing your DraftKings budget while having the best lineup possible is the challenging part of DFS. Here are three cheap pitchers to build your lineup around.

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