I found it difficult to come up with a Top 3 MLB pitchers to use for this Sunday, June 25. The high salary cost pitchers ended up on my stay away from list. I came up with 3 pitchers that, honestly, could be huge for my team on Sunday, or fold in half before the end of the 4th inning.
Sunday is a crazy challenging day for MLB DraftKings players. Let's get to it!
Top 3 Pitchers to Add
1. Michael Pineda, New York Yankees
Pineda can be up or down. Sometimes he's on. Sometimes he's off. His ERA of 3.56 isn't bad. His WHIP of 1.20 isn't terrible. My hope is that he's on this Sunday versus the Texas Rangers. The Rangers bat .194 vs Michael Pineda. Texas has struck out 20 times versus Pineda from 62 at-bats. I think he has a chance to shut down the Yankees this Sunday.
2. Brad Peacock, Houston Astros
Peacock pitched 5.2 innings in his last start on June 19. He gave up 1 earned run from 4 hits. He struck out 8. It was a decent showing. Seattle has 17 hits from 51 at-bats versus Peacock. That's a blistering .333 batting average. I'm not worried. Peacock's been great in his last 2 starts. The only thing I'm worried about is how far the Stros allow him to go against the Seattle Mariners on June 25.
3. Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks
Yes, Zack's an ace. He's the only ace I'm considering for my Sunday team. Greinke can fantastic. Or, he can suck it up. Versus the Phillies on Sunday, he should have no issues. Zack has a 2.77 home ERA. The Phillies bat .207 versus Greinke. I think he ends up striking out close to 10 while holding the Phillies to 2 runs or less.
Top 3 Pitchers to Stay Away From
1. Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins
Santana could rediscover the form that led him to a 2.97 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP versus Minnesota on Sunday. I'm just not sure he does. In his last 10 innings pitched over 2 starts, Santana has allowed a combined 19 hits, and 11 earned runs.
Ervin should be one of the higher salary cost pitchers on June 25. Cleveland has a .227 batting average. Since Santana has been so bad lately, I'm thinking of taking a chance and going against Minnesota's ace by placing Cleveland batters on my DraftKings team.
2. Edinson Volquez, Miami Marlins
Like Santana, something's gone amiss with Edinson Volquez. On June 8, he pitched 7 innings. He threw a 3-hitter versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out 8. He didn't allow a single earned run. But, in his last 2 starts, he's only pitched a combined 8.3 innings. He's allowed 10 earned runs from 11 hits. He's struck out 7.
Sunday's opponent, the Chicago Cubs, bat .262 versus Volquez. That's a high enough batting average for me to say I can't use him.
3. Brandon McCarthy, L.A. Dodgers
McCarthy's ERA, 2.87, WHIP, 1.07, and record 6-3, are fantastic. But, McCarthy hasn't faced the Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers' weekend opponent, yet this season. The Rockies bat .292 against McCarthy.
I think McCarthy's one of the higher-priced pitchers on June 25. I can't add him to the team. I just can't. There's a chance his streak of allowing 2 earned runs or less in 6 straight goes bye-bye.
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