Fansided

MLB DFS picks and pivots: Goodbye for the 2019 season!

By Brian Tulloch

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 19: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers waves to fans prior to the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 19, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks won 10-7. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 19: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers waves to fans prior to the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 19, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks won 10-7. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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MLB DFS
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Mike Fiers #50 of the Oakland Athletics tosses a baseball in front of the dugout during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, September 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

MLB DFS – Friday Pitching Picks

As we have headed down the homestretch of the MLB season, we have focused our builds in recent slates on going double-barrel aces with high K arms with something to play for and frankly, it has been the winning formula on a consistent basis.

The issue tonight is that the high-end arms that are available, do not have nearly enough inning certainty to digest their price points of $20K plus on FantasyDraft. So while Walker Buehler, Jose Berrios and James Paxton are all great plays in a vacuum, paying over $20K for postseason warm-up starts may be stretching our salary cap too far and in the context of this slate, that may end up being a mistake specifically because we have Coors Field, one last time at our disposal.

So if we want a piece of Coors Field, where can we go with our arms to make it work?

Mike Fiers ($15K) as an SP1 on the final slate of the year for me feels a little gross, but the truth is, he checks the boxes for what we need here tonight. First and foremost, Fiers and the A’s are in the middle of a wild card crunch so this game is critical for them in Seattle against the Mariners. Vegas has installed Fiers as a near -200 road favorite and the Mariners have an IRT under 4 which is the third-lowest on the entire slate.

Fiers is coming off one of his best starts of the year, throwing 8 innings of shutout ball on his way to 30+ fantasy points and did it all with amazing efficiency, throwing only 95 pitches. The Mariners projected lineup has a 23% K rate against RHP this season so there is some solid K equity already built into this lineup on top of their low IRT.

I have been very consistent down the stretch of using arms with something to play for, so the choice of using Nathan Eovaldi ($8.3K) as my SP2 here tonight maybe a bit off-brand but I think he makes for one of the best point per dollar options on a night we want to prioritize Coors and the bats.

Eovaldi and the Red Sox have nothing to play for, but even a pedestrian outing here tonight against the Orioles could pay off this price tag easily. Eovaldi has K upside, striking out 6 batters in every single one of his last three starts and reached 100 pitches in his last start against the Rays, so we know he is finally stretched out.

So we have a pitcher, with 100 pitch ability, who has 6K+ upside against a lineup with a 24% K rate against RHP and he costs the same as Cory Spangenberg. If Eovaldi gets you double-digit points you are going to be happy at this price and the fact he has gone for 17 and 20 fantasy points in 2 of his last 5 starts, gives him upside that just simply doesn’t align with the price point so lock and load!