Fansided

DraftKings MLB picks July 29: How many K’s are in Cole?

By Mike Marteny

TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 24: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning during the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
DraftKings MLB
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 24: Chris Paddack #59 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of the Opening Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at PETCO Park on July 24, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

DraftKings MLB Pitcher Plays:

Top Tier:

Jacob deGrom ($12,000): This is a lot to pay for deGrom, especially if the Mets limit him to five innings again. That said, deGrom’s five is most starter’s seven. He can rack up a lot of points in a little time due to the lofty strikeout totals. Boston has hit just .194 off of him in 62 at bats with just one run. The only thing to fear here is a pitch count. If it comes out that he’s on one, don’t go heavy on deGrom.

Gerrit Cole ($11,400): The Orioles are just 6-34 lifetime against Cole. I know it’s a small sample size, but they struggle against righties anyway, let alone ones with elite strikeout upside. If Cole goes six innings, he might strike out a dozen. Even deGrom doesn’t offer quite that upside. You have to pay up for elite pitching today at least once to have a chance.

Middle Tier:

Chris Paddack ($8,400): Paddack shut down the Giants for six innings in the opener. Now he gets an arguably worse offense in the Giants at a pitcher’s park. Paddack isn’t going to approach the huge upside of Cole or deGrom, but he feels way too cheap at this price. He was 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings against the Giants last year. He’s the closest thing to a lock on this slate. Cole and deGrom still make me nervous. We know we’re getting six out of Paddack.

Brandon Woodruff ($8,100): Woodruff was solid on Opening Day and was solid against Pittsburgh last year. I expect a solid outing here and a prime chance for a win. Quite honestly, neither offense has looked all that good, but with Musgrove’s struggles against lefties, Milwaukee might just break through. Woodruff was 2-0 against the Pirates last year with more than a strikeout per inning. There’s solid upside here.

Bargain Tier:

Dustin May ($7,300): Many were scared off of Buehler last night because he was facing the Astros. That will be the same thing that happens with May tonight. There’s no reason to be scared of the Astros until they start hitting. If you want to be scared of Dave Roberts yanking May before five, that’s one thing. That said, May’s price is low enough to get excited about even if he doesn’t get the win.

Rich Hill ($7,200): The number of righties in the St. Louis offense scares me a little, but Hill brings big strikeout potential at a very low price. He struck out 74 in 61.1 innings last year. I don’t see him going deep into the game, but Hill should be able to approach 20 DK points if he goes five innings.

Johnny Cueto ($6,000): Cueto is very underpriced here. He looked good in the opener against the Dodgers. While the Padres do have some big bats, Cueto has held them to a .204 average in 49 at bats with 11 strikeouts. Cueto likely wont get the win, but he’s not going to get blown up either. He should provide solid value for the modest investment.