Welcome to MLB Pitcher Patrol. In this article, I’ll be providing you with the top starting pitcher streamers for daily fantasy baseball (DFS) and for seasonal leagues for 5/3/16. These streamers will range from high-priced / high-ownership options to low-priced / low-ownership options, and will be sleepers and value picks for your cash games and GPPs on DraftKings and FanDuel, and also for seasonal leagues with daily lineups.
Today's pitching slate will be an interesting one to navigate. Jake Arrieta should always be taken into consideration whenever he takes the mound, but the Pirates will be a tougher test than he's seen lately. Matt Harvey will look to build upon an encouraging performance in his last outing against a weak Atlanta lineup while Sonny Gray looks to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career against a familiar foe in the Mariners.
There'll be three main sections of this article: our Pitcher Matchups Tool’s top plays, my value plays, and pitchers to fade. I highly recommend you check out the Daily Pitcher Matchups Ratings tool - it's an extremely useful tool for daily fantasy or seasonal streaming for finding the diamonds in the rough. Anyways, let's get cracking!
Daily Pitcher Matchup Ratings Tool Top Plays
Jake Arrieta (CHC) @ PIT
FanDuel - $12,100 / DraftKings - $12,100
Arrieta, rightfully so, is the top pitching option on the slate according to the matchup tool. The Cubs ace has been dominant as of late, following his no-hitter up with five innings of one-run ball against the Brewers. The Pirates will be a tougher matchup, but their lineup is primarily right-handed which will not help matters much for them.
Michael Wacha (STL) vs. PHI
FanDuel - $8.700 / DraftKings - $9,000
Wacha turns up as the matchup tool's second favorite option on the slate, which is directly a result of Philadelphia's low offensive rating. Wacha should be fine today and is likely to limit Philadelphia's scoring chances, but he just doesn't have enough strikeout upside. Matt Harvey is a better play with a great matchup against a punchless Atlanta lineup.
Matt’s Value Plays of the Day
Steven Wright (BOS) @ CWS
FanDuel - $8,500 / DraftKings - $7,100
The knuckleballer will look to build upon his recent success against the White Sox. He has allowed just one earned run over his past two outings while ringing up 14 strikeouts. The knuckleball can be fickle, but Wright is shaping up as a great tournament play.
Chris Tillman (BAL) vs. NYY
FanDuel - $7,400 / DraftKings - $6,200
Tillman is coming off his best outing of the season, racking up nine strikeouts over six innings of work against the Rays. The Yankees offense has not been very effective against right-handed pitching this year, ranking 26th in batting average and 23rd in wOBA.
Starting Pitchers to Fade in Daily Fantasy Baseball
Michael Wacha (STL) vs. PHI
FanDuel - $8,700 / DraftKings - $9,000
Even though the matchup tool likes him, Wacha is just too expensive to roster considering he doesn't strike out enough batters. The Phillies, while not a great offense, have been playing well as of late. There are other pitchers around his price range who have better upside.
Jeff Samardzija (SF) @ CIN
FanDuel - $8,700 / DraftKings - $8,200
Samardzija hasn't pitched poorly this year, but he's still kind of hard to trust. The Reds offense has been hitting the ball well the past two days. They scored six runs on Sunday and followed that up with six more runs in five innings against Johnny Cueto on Monday. Combine that with the hitter-friendly environment in Great American Ballpark and Shark is an easy fade.
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