Sunday promises to be a great one for MLB DraftKings players. As always, I'm searching for value when it comes to the pitcher position. My Top 3 value plays shouldn't cost too much in salary cap dollars. I like Kyle Freeland with the Colorado Rockies, Sonny Gray with the New York Yankees, and Danny Salazar with the Cleveland Indians.
One name that shows up on my to avoid list is Mets' pitcher Jacob deGrom. You're going to have to keep reading to find out why. Check out Sunday's, August 20, MLB DraftKings pitchers to add and pitchers to avoid!
Top 3 Value Pitchers to Add
1. Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies
Freeland has a decent 3.31 home ERA. The Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday's opponents, have never faced Freeland. I believe that gives the 24-year-old an edge in this game. Could Freeland bomb? Sure, but it's become increasingly clear that he's Colorado's best hope at not only getting to the playoffs, but at moving on in the playoffs.
I'm going to take a shot on Kyle to get it done.
2. Sonny Gray, New York Yankees
Gray's first 3 starts in pinstripes has gone as planned for the pitcher. It hasn't gone as planned for the team. Gray's only allowed 2 earned runs in each of his first 3 starts with the New York Yankees. The Yankees have only won 1 of the 3 games.
Sonny's always been good at controlling the Boston Red Sox offense. The Red Sox only bat .216 versus Sonny. He should throw a decent game again on August 20. I think he offers plenty of value versus a team he's familiar with.
3. Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians
Sure, KC bats .250 versus Danny Salazar. No problem. He's been as hot as any starting pitcher in MLB in his last 5 starts. He also hasn't struck out less than 8 batters in those last 5 starts. This includes striking out 10 Minnesota Twins on the road on August 15.
He struck out 12 Yankees at home on August 5. He struck out 8 Tampa Bay Rays on the road on August 10. Make sure to consider Danny Salazar for any MLB DraftKings Teams this Sunday.
Top 3 Pitchers to Avoid
1. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the few teams in Major League Baseball that has had success against Madison Bumgarner. Maikel Franco is 5 out of 11, Cesar Hernandez is 3 out of 9, and Tommy Joseph is 2 out of 6 versus MadBum. All told, the Phillies bat .317 against Bumgarner. They've got 20 hits from 63 at-bats.
MadBum allowed 4 earned runs off 9 hits in 6 innings of work against the Miami Marlins in his last start. He could bounce back with a decent game versus Philadelphia. Or, the last start could be a sign that his form is going south.
2. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Dodger batters only hit .256 against Justin Verlander. I don't care. I believe he has no shot of stopping LAD from scoring at least 5 runs in this game. Verlander imploded in his last against the Texas Rangers. He allowed 5 earned runs off 8 hits in 6 innings. 3 home runs were a part of the 8 hits. Dodgers should roll.
3. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
deGrom should be the highest-salary cap cost pitcher this Sunday. When deGrom is on, he's as good as any pitcher in the National League. This includes being as good as Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. With that being written, it's difficult to put deGrom on any of my MLB DraftKings teams for August 20.
The Miami Marlins, Sunday's opponent, bats .292 versus deGrom. That's a legit batting average because deGrom's faced 161 Marlin batters. Christian Yelich, who's been hot, is 11 out of 29 versus Jacob deGrom.
I think Miami has a shot at roughing up the Mets' ace pitcher.
Leave a Reply