Covering the Bases: Saturday, July 1
STLCardinals84, one of the best tournament players in the game, is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his MLB DFS picks.
Welcome to the weekend, Grinders! We have our usual split slate Saturday in store today, but it is another one where things are heavily skewed toward day games. Both FanDuel and DraftKings are offering a ten game “main” slate that starts at 4 PM ET, and that will be followed by a four game evening slate.
After a few crazy days this week, it seems like we are going to get a breather on weather issues today. I’m sure Kevin Roth is thankful for that! In any case, the main slate offers quite a bit of fun on both the pitching and hitting sides of the ledger, so let’s get down to business with some MLB DFS picks!
Saturday Afternoon Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings
Tier 1-A Arms
Zack Wheeler vs. Nationals
Dylan Cease vs. A’s
Nathan Eovaldi vs. Astros
We have a lot of viable pitching options for a seven game slate, but it separates into a top tier of three for me.
Wheeler – 3.86 ERA, 3.66 xFIP, 27% K, 6% BB
Cease – 4.04 ERA, 3.90 xFIP, 28% 10% BB
Eovaldi – 2.82 ERA, 3.47 xFIP, 25% K, 6% BB
When it comes to searching for a combination of safety and upside, it’s really difficult to start with any pitcher other than Wheeler. His numbers remain rock solid across the board, with a 3.86 ERA and 3.66 xFIP, and he has shown remarkable consistency with his stuff. He had a 26.9% strikeout rate and a 5.6% walk rate in 2022, and he has a 26.8% strikeout rate and a 5.6% walk rate in 2023. Can you get any more consistent than that? This isn’t the highest upside matchup against a low-strikeout Nationals team, but that is offset by their lack of power potential and the fact that Wheeler is very much capable of pitching seven or eight dominant innings.
Cease is the risk/reward pivot away from Wheeler here. He had a very underwhelming start to the season, but he has bounced back nicely and posted a 2.20 ERA and 42/10 K/BB ratio in five June starts. He naturally benefits from a matchup against Oakland this afternoon, and that should help him take an aggressive approach. Assuming that helps the command, he absolutely has the ceiling to be the SP1 on this slate. He’s my favorite GPP option.
I have nothing against Eovaldi, but it’s tough to figure out how he fits into the context of this slate. Those seeking safety will go to Wheeler. Those seeking upside will go to Cease. If that keeps Eovaldi flying under the radar, he’s a solid option in his own right against a Houston offense that is more hit or miss with Alvarez on the shelf. Keep a close eye on ownership projections with Eovaldi as we get closer to lock.
Tier 1-B Arms
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