Hey everyone! First off, happy Memorial Day and thank you to everyone who has served or is currently serving to protect our country. It is an interesting slate from a pitching standpoint and while there aren't any clear cut aces going, there are several talented pitchers in nice spots.
In this article, I’ll be providing you with the top starting pitcher streamers for daily fantasy baseball (DFS) and for seasonal leagues for 5/30/16. 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.
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
Matt Harvey (SP-NYM) vs. Chicago White Sox
FanDuel: $7,200 / DraftKings: $6,200
This is the matchup tool's favorite pitcher of the day, but this is more of a stay away. His price tag is nice and low, but Harvey's low price is well earned by his poor performance over most of the 2016 season. I don't hate Harvey as a GPP-only play to diversify a lineup or two, but otherwise you can safely avoid him. Jeff Samardzija against the Braves and Jose Quintana against a Mets team that struggles against lefties are my top ranked pitchers on the slate.
Carlos Martinez (SP-STL) @ Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel: $8,900 / DraftKings: $7,400
This is another pitcher who I am going to avoid today. Martinez hasn't looked right since a respiratory ailment cut his start short back on May 6th. Add in the fact he's pitching in home run-happy Miller Park against a Brewers lineup that has been feisty against right-handed pitchers and Martinez is in a tough spot on Monday.
Matt’s Value Plays of the Day
Nathan Karns (SP-SEA) vs. San Diego Padres
FanDuel: $8,700 / DraftKings: $9,500
Karns is a little pricey on DraftKings and a little more reasonable on FanDuel. That being said, he has a chance to be the highest scoring pitcher on the slate as he will take on an offensively inept Padres lineup. San Diego continues to scuffle along this season, especially against right-handed pitching. Against righties, they are ranked last in wOBA and 29th in ISO while posting the fourth-highest strikeout rate in the league. This is a dream matchup for Karns, who is striking out just under nine batters per nine innings this year.
Ervin Santana (SP-MIN) @ Oakland Athletics
FanDuel: $6,300 / DraftKings: $7,100
Santana is coming off of his worst start of the year as Kansas City smacked him around pretty well this past Tuesday. Look for the right-hander to have an easier time with the A's offense today. Oakland, against right-handed pitchers, is ranked just 26th in the league in wOBA and 22nd in ISO. Santana is in a great spot for this start.
Starting Pitchers to Fade in Daily Fantasy Baseball
Josh Tomlin (SP-CLE) vs. Texas Rangers
FanDuel: $8,500 / DraftKings: $7,900
Tomlin continues to roll along and his season-long statistics look pretty. Don't be fooled, however, as this is a tough spot for him against a Texas lineup that is starting to heat up. Tomlin is a pitcher who doesn't have great stuff and instead relies on placement and smarts to outwork his opponents. The Rangers lineup is full of dangerous hitters and that could make it a long day for Tomlin. It is just really hard to trust Tomlin in this spot, especially considering his price point. Justin Verlander has the same price as him on FanDuel and is a much better option against the Angels.
Junior Guerra (SP-MIL) vs. St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel: $7,000 / DraftKings: $7,300
Guerra has been a nice story this season as he's pitched rather well. He even has an 11-strikeout game against the Cubs to his name. That being said, he is in a tough spot against a Cardinals lineup that has dominated right-handed pitching this season. St. Louis, against righties, is ranked second in wOBA and first in ISO. Add in the fact that this game is being played in hitter-friendly Miller Park and Guerra is an easy fade.
Matt Harvey (SP-NYM) vs. Chicago White Sox
Carlos Martinez (SP-STL) @ Milwaukee Brewers
The reasons to fade these two can be found at the top of the column, but it just felt right to reiterate those thoughts here. Both have been pitching poorly and are in bad spots today.
Full Season MLB & DFS Premium Pass
Get a Premium Pass for the entire MLB season - including the playoffs - for only $29.99. That's Premium access to over 10 tools, and over 20 valuable resources, for one incredible price. Here's a taste of what you get:
- DFS lineup picks and cheat sheets for FanDuel and DraftKings - seven days a week
- Three expert lineups: FanDuel, DraftKings, and Stack of the Day - seven days a week
- Top DFS value plays, avoids and injury updates - seven days a week
- Lineup tools: daily premium hitter and pitcher matchup ratings
All of this for just $29.99... it's simply the best deal around. No other site offers this type of deal. What are you waiting for?
Live Expert Q&A Chats - Every Weekday @ 1 PM and 6 PM EST (DFS)
Fantasy Baseball Chat Room
[iflychat_embed id="c-55" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]