Covering the Bases: Sunday, August 13
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.
Happy Sunday, Grinders! We have the usual Sunday slate on tap for us today, with eight games available on the main slate. This slate is definitely geared toward more pitching than offense, but it’s not like we have a ton of aces throwing. There’s a lot of “good but not great” on the mound, and ownership will likely be a bit concentrated on a few offenses. It should be an interesting Sunday afternoon on the diamond.
Let’s see what this slate has to offer for MLB DFS picks!
Sunday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings
Top Tier Pitching
Gerrit Cole vs. Marlins
Freddy Peralta vs. White Sox
Zach Eflin vs. Guardians
When it comes to top arms, I see three clear options available for us today. Let’s take a peek at their 2023 numbers:
Cole – 2.75 ERA, 3.70 xFIP, 27% K, 7% BB
Peralta – 4.28 ERA, 3.72 xFIP, 30% K, 9% BB
Eflin – 3.34 ERA, 3.15 xFIP, 26% K, 3% BB
Gerrit Cole is still a very good major league pitcher, but he just doesn’t have quite the same ceiling as what we saw from 2019 through 2022 when his strikeout rate was above 32% every year. We got so used to those numbers that a 27% strikeout rate seems “poor” for him. He’s still very good, and he’s going to be allowed to pitch deep into games. However, he’s also priced at a premium. He’s $1,400 above Peralta and $1,800 above Eflin on DK. He’s $200 above Peralta and $500 above Eflin on FD, and I just don’t see a reason why he should be priced above the others. The xFIP numbers are similar for all three. The strikeout numbers are similar for all three. The matchups for run prevention are similar for all three.
In my eyes, if there’s one pitcher who has the potential to break the slate…
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