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MLB DFS Pitching Primer: Thursday, July 18 – Thor Will Drop The Hammer

By Dan Palyo

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 15: Pitcher Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets runs back out to the mound to pitch the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a game at Citi Field on June 15, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Pirates 11-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 15: Pitcher Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets runs back out to the mound to pitch the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a game at Citi Field on June 15, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Pirates 11-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – APRIL 02: Brad Keller #56 starting pitcher of the Kansas City Royals throws against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Kauffman Stadium on April 02, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – APRIL 02: Brad Keller #56 starting pitcher of the Kansas City Royals throws against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Kauffman Stadium on April 02, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS Pitching Primer: Early Slate Draftkings

Chris Sale (10k DK) vs. Toronto

So I’m curious to see what Sale’s ownership will be on this early slate. Normally, you’d expect him to be 50% or more but we have several other good pitchers in these early games and we have a slumping Sale who has allowed 5 earned runs in each of his last three starts.

I’m not buying any of the “Chris Sale is broken” chatter that is taking place, I really do think he’s just been the victim of some bad luck and perhaps has had his confidence shaken a bit. If anything, I want to buy low on one of the best pitchers in baseball at this price tag and against a team with a substantial strikeout rate like Toronto.

I’d be playing him over Aaron Nola in cash games and I think he makes for a great GPP play, too. Especially considering the fact we have a really cheap SP2 to pair him with on Draftkings.

Brad Keller (5.5k DK) vs. Chicago White Sox

For some reason, Draftkings decided not to price up Brad Keller despite the fact that the Royals starting pitchers have allowed just 2 runs over the first three games of this series with the White Sox. Keller is 7.9k on FanDuel (where I will leave him alone) but absurdly cheap on DK in a plus matchup against the slumping Sox.

He’s considerably better against righties than lefties as his walk rate goes down and his groundball rate goes up and he should see 5-6 righties today in the White Sox lineup. He also happens to be coming off his best start in over a month against the Tigers as he went eight innings and struck out seven. He doesn’t have to be all that good to make value at this price, and he’ll likely be a chalky play based on the Royals pitchers’ success in this series so far.