Saturday night’s slate is a big one for the Fantasy Alarm family as Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster defend their FanDuel Playboy Championship in Los Angeles. However, the game is being played on a different field from last year. With negative scoring now removed from the FanDeul lexicon, the starting pitcher positon is not the “make or break” spot it’s been in the past. It is, however, still a vital part of the equation especially with weather being a potential issue in many games today.

Here’s the RPV per Dollar for tonight’s pitching slate to begin our breakdown:

Player

FPPG

Raw RPV

 Salary

Pts per $

RPV Per Dollar

Matt Andriese

34.4

0.191

 $7,800

$227

0.196

Kendall Graveman

21.6

-0.252

 $5,000

$231

0.179

Steven Wright

39.5

0.368

 $9,200

$233

0.174

Ian Kennedy

34.3

0.188

 $8,100

$236

0.162

Marcus Stroman

29.6

0.025

 $7,000

$236

0.161

Chris Sale

46.5

0.610

 $11,100

$239

0.153

Stephen Strasburg

48.5

0.679

 $12,000

$247

0.122

Jeff Samardzija

39.8

0.378

 $10,200

$256

0.091

Dan Straily

26.3

-0.089

 $6,900

$262

0.069

Josh Tomlin

32.2

0.115

 $8,500

$264

0.064

Ervin Santana

23.7

-0.179

 $6,300

$266

0.057

Bartolo Colon

27.0

-0.065

 $7,300

$270

0.041

Collin McHugh

28.5

-0.013

 $8,000

$281

0.004

Michael Wacha

24.4

-0.155

 $7,400

$303

-0.076

Jeff Locke

21.9

-0.242

 $6,900

$315

-0.118

Justin Nicolino

18.9

-0.346

 $6,100

$323

-0.145

Mike Pelfrey

15.8

-0.453

 $6,000

$380

-0.347

Tyler Wilson

18.7

-0.353

 $7,200

$385

-0.366

Ivan Nova

17.2

-0.405

 $6,900

$401

-0.423

In terms of cost efficiency, it’s hard to argue against Tampa’s Matt Andriese. He’s actually averaging 34.4 points over his last five starts on FanDuel scoring. He even has a tasty matchup against a light hitting Twins lineup sans Miguel Sano in a pitcher friendly park. The forecast of rain is the troubling factor that gives pause. Steven Wright is nearly as appealing and has a first rate offense behind him. He’s also facing a tough Blue Jays team. The good news is they’re not as potent of an offense away from the Rodgers Centre. But, can you ever really trust a knuckleballer? Especially for $100K?

Kendall Graveman falls between the two, but he lacks the upside needed to separate in a tournament like tonight. Marcus Stroman has the right tools to be successful, but the wrong matchup. He’s the best contrary play tonight as Steve Wright may be heavily owned. That takes a lot of guts though in tonight’s scenario and is a clear boom or bust play. Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg are the big dogs on tonight’s list, with the slight edge in efficiency going to Sale. However, again weather could be a factor. Forecast may keep their ownership down, but if one should sneak in a great performance between the raindrops it could be the difference maker. Ian Kennedy against the Cleveland Indians. Kennedy put up 51 points on FanDuel in his last outing against the tribe and has been pretty consistent all year. In terms of cost efficiency and matchup, he’s very appealing. But guess what!? Rain may be a factor there as well. The same for Jeff Samardzija and Dan Straily. Both are sound options who offer strong value, but weather will decide their ownership.

From the look of things, I’m in agreement with Fantasy Alarm’s Kenneth Le. Maybe the knuckleball is more dependable than the weather. We’ll have to wait and see tonight to see what starter is in the winning lineup. My guess is Wright or either Sale/Strasburg should someone have the fortitude to make the call and the good fortune to get a full start from one of them.