MLB DFS pitching gems August 22: An obvious stud, and a gem

MLB DFS: HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 07: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros looks toward home plate as he walks off the mound in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Minute Maid Park on June 07, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 23: Kenta Maeda #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 23, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs defeated the Dodgers 7-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS Pitching Plays

Kenta Maeda – What a price tag we get on Maeda today. He has been severely under priced all season long, and today is no different. With a 4.19 xFIP, 26% K rate, 40% GB rate, and 30% HC.

Toronto has been hitting the ball pretty well as of late, but on the year they do have one of the higher K rates at 26%, 43% GB, and 39% HC. This is a great chance to punt at pitcher, and load up on high priced hitters.

Pitch Mix – Maeda uses the fastball, slider, and change the most mixing in the curve and sinker. The slider and change are getting around 40% whiffs, most recently the curve got 70% which was very interesting.

The fastball, change, and sinker all got 60% GB as well, with very little ISO against any of his pitches. That curve is getting six inches of horizontal movement, and outside of that the rest of his pitches are very average in movement. I do have a problem with him not going deep into games at times, but at the price we can’t complain too much.