Agents of Fantasy - Heroes Who Can Take Down an MLB DFS Tournament: May 10th
TJ Zwarych is one of the top up and coming Daily Fantasy Sports players in the world. Not only is he a long time RotoGrinders member, but he is also the Editor-In-Chief of TV & Film media outlet the Agents of Fandom and host of their podcast. The Agents of Fantasy are a brand new segment where TJ brings his love for Fandom into the Daily Fantasy Sports circle, to help you take down tournaments.
May 10th
Each segment, the Fantastic Four will include my top 4 pitchers for tournaments on FanDuel and DraftKings. At times, they’ll include plays who are picking up ownership if I feel like the rostership still doesn’t reflect their upside. Typically, if there is a cash game lock and someone who is pushing 50% rostered, these pitchers won’t get mentioned.
Fantastic Four – Top Tournament Pitchers
Kyle Wright -10000 (DK)/10900 (FD) – Wright has boasted a fantastical augmentation in his super powers this season, taking his already impressive strikeout rate above 30% so far this season. PlateIQ shows us the two righties able to combat Wright’s ground ball skills the best are Story and Hernandez, however they also are among two of the higher strikeout percentages on the slate. Wright isn’t picking up near the rostership of Verlander, and although his median projection isn’t as strong, I love his upside for tournaments.
Jesus Luzardo – 9100 (DK)/10000 (FD) – What if i told you, you could get a pitcher striking out 33.3% of batters so far this season, being rostered at less than 5% on FD, and 10% on DK? Guess what, I AM telling you that! Jesus Luzardo has been at ace level so far this season, and the aces up his sleeve aren’t leaving anytime soon. While the Arizona lineup does have a few hitters who enjoy taking battle against left-handed pitching, this is a team I fear more against righties. My favorite tournament option overall in a pool of phenomenal high priced pitchers, Jesus Luzardo is ready to save the day.
Garrett Whitlock – 7700 (DK)/7900 (FD) – Garrett Whitlock is a hot young prospect for Boston who came out of the bullpen last year. While that may have been the plan for him again to start the season, Whitlock’s strikeout rate combined with injuries to the Red Sox pitching staff has thrust him into a starting role. Whitlock has torched opposing batters to the tune of a 35.8% (!!!) strikeout rate so far this season. The biggest drawback to this hero has been pitch count, however the Red Sox seem ready to deploy their strikeout wizard in greater doses, as he reached 78 pitches his last start (up from 61). If I’m dipping my toes in the waters of the mid-tier today, Whitlock is my top option.
Brad Keller – 7300 (DK)/9000 (FD) – The pricing of pitchers is a lot more comparable between the two sites today, as opposed to yesterday. While this is mostly the case, the narrative does not fit for Brad Keller. All this man has done all season is get outs and eat up innings. Failing to reach 6 innings only once all year, Keller is a consistent option and is one of the top SP2 options today on DK. Even on Fanduel where his price tag isn’t as enticing, Keller remains a fine tournament option.
Earth’s Mightiest MLB DFS Stacks
There was an idea, _Dave Potts knows this, called the Stacking Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of of remarkable baseball players, to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them, to hit Home Runs with people on base, like we never could.
New York Mets – I typically don’t like selecting a team that will be played as much as the Mets will be tonight, however the matchup is too good to pass up. At this stage of his career, Patrick Corbin simply doesn’t strike anyone out. The middle of the Mets lineup is primed to wreak havoc on Corbin tonight, with Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar being my favorite Metvengers.
San Francisco Giants – Ever since the beginning of last year, the Giants have seemed to consistently be one of the top under rostered stacks. While Senzatela is alright at keeping the ball on the ground, the Giants top of the order has powers of flight that far outmatch the Rockies pitcher. If Brandon Belt is back in the lineup, he is far and away the top option. However, I love this entire lineup top to bottom, and they’re ready to avenge your lineups from the late night hammer.
New York Yankees – Sometimes, not every member of your squad has super powers. Not everyone can be a god of thunder or have mind-bending magical powers. Sometimes, you’re only a master assassin. Unfortunately, in a league full of super powered individuals and meta-humans, being a very skilled regular ol’ human doesn’t cut it. Yusei Kikuchi isn’t a bad pitcher, he is a valuable 5th member of the Blue Jays rotation. Unfortunately, he is a left-handed pitcher who struggles against righties, facing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and co. The Yankees project as one of my top options today, and they currently aren’t being played as such by the field.