MLB DFS Pitching Primer for 5/5/21 (Premium Content)

MLB DFS Pitching Primer for 5/5

High-Priced Aces

These are your studs who are worth paying up for on this slate. It makes sense to deploy these guys as your cash game plays on FanDuel and as your SP1 on DraftKings based on their high floor/ceiling combination.

Shane Bieber @ KCR (12.2k FD, 10.4k DK) 

Give me Bieber in cash on both sites! Rinse and repeat! There are a few other nice studs in good spots here, but no one in baseball outside maybe Gerrit Cole has been as reliable as Bieber the last two years. He's pretty easy to fit on DraftKings and I would make the case you find the value necessary for him on FanDuel. He already whiffed 12 Royals earlier this year and has only one start this season with fewer than 10 strikeouts! I have him projected for 10-11 today.

Yu Darvish vs. PIT (11.8k FD, 10.2k DK) 

Darvish is a -230 favorite today at home against a very poor offensive team - my very own Pittsburgh Pirates. He's in great form, having struck out 12 Giants in his last outing and having piled up five consecutive quality starts. He's been really darn good for the Pads this year and this is an excellent matchup for him to keep things rolling. There's a lot to like here and the DK price is pretty reasonable, too.

Walker Buehler @ CHC (10k FD, 9.7k DK)

We missed out on Buehler on Monday, but he's back on the bump today in Wrigley for a matchup with the North-siders. I like this spot for Buehler a lot. The Cubs have been striking out a lot this year (almost 27% vs. RHP) and Buehler has slowly ramped up his own strikeouts with 9 and 10 in his last two outings, respectively. I like the price here for GPPs as I think he can give us some similar production to the other two aces for less salary.

Mid-Tier Pivots

These are riskier plays who often go overlooked in the 7-9k price range, but have a lot of upside for tournaments and will save us some salary to spend on better hitters or another mid-tier pitcher (on DraftKings).

Freddy Peralta @ PHI (9k FD, 9.5k DK) 

He's on the high end of the mid-tier today, but there's not a lot to like in the 7-8k range to be honest. I am a fan of Freddy's work this season and I will continue to roster him, even in tough spots. He came through nicely in his last outing at low ownership against the Dodgers and he gets the Phillies today, a team that lacks much pop from the left side of the plate without Bryce Harper. I have Freddy pegged for nearly 9 strikeouts today and I think he makes for an elite GPP play as he likely goes overlooked in this price range.

Bargain Bin

These are the best value pitchers to use, either on FanDuel as your lone starter or on DraftKings as your SP2.

Martin Perez vs. DET (6.7k FD, 6.6k DK)

It's here! The day that I have to roster a sub-par pitcher in an amazing spot. I have been loading up on lefties against the Tigers all season and I am committed to attacking that spot as they have been absolutely TERRIBLE against LHP this year. A 37% strikeout rate is simply incredible and it puts my K-projection for Perez at 6-7 today. Just understand that he's still not a great pitcher and there is some risk here, but the upside is 6 solid innings and 6-7 strikeouts, which at this price would be too good to pass up!

Adbert Alzolay vs. LAD (6.4k FD, 7.9k DK)

Some might not realize that the Dodgers have been striking out right around league average vs. RHP (23%). This is a FD play only because Perez is so much cheaper on DK, but I think Alzolay is definitely capable of throwing 5-6 solid innings today and getting a strikeout per inning. Obviously, it's a dangerous spot, too, as the Dodgers have a bunch of good hitters and a lot of power AND this is a small ballpark, but he's definitely worth a shot if you want to load up on bats on FD.

Cash Game Rankings:

1. Bieber
2. Darvish
3. Buehler
4. Perez (SP2 on DK)

GPP Rankings:

1. Buehler
2. Peralta
3. Perez
4. Bieber
5. Darvish

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