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MLB DFS pitching gems August 20: Bieber fever in New York

By Brandon Lauderback

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 09: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians acknowledges the crowd during the 90th MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 09: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians acknowledges the crowd during the 90th MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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DraftKings MLB
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers delivers the pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS Pitching Plays

Clayton Kershaw  – Kershaw comes in as the most expensive pitcher on this slate that is full of great arms. With a 3.74 SIERA, 42% HC, a 50% GB rate, and a 27% K rate. He will face the Blue Jays, who have been hitting the ball better as of late, but they do have a 24.3% K rate, which does help boost Kershaw’s upside.

The major issue I have with this play is that they do not hit that many GB, and have a .191 ISO which is rather high for my liking. Clayton has been on another level as of late, and in four out of his last five games has racked up at least nine strikeouts.

Pitch Mix  – As is very standard for him, Kershaw is very fastball, and slider heavy, while mixing in the curve 17% of the time. Those three pitches are his bread and butter, and the breaking balls are getting over 40% whiffs on the season. That slider has also been getting over 60% GB on a regular basis, with the curve sitting around 50%.

One very notable thing is that Clayton is giving up virtually no ISO against any of his pitches, with that fastball decreasing every single month this season. The movement is still very solid on his pitch mix, with the velocity dropping slightly this season, but it hasn’t been affecting him in the slightest. I do prefer my next option a little bit more, at a discounted price, but I could see Kershaw yielding some decent ownership in cash games.