High Tier
Corbin Burnes (MIL) – For better or worse, I’m getting in line to follow the chalk tonight with Burnes. I mean it’s right after he threw eight no hit innings in his last start while striking 14 in a performance that really shouldn’t have been surprising to anyone who was watched the right-hander this season. With a 2.25 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, Burnes has simply been dominating this season striking 210 batters in 152 innings, and the only concern is that the Brewers are cautious with him from a workload standpoint tonight beyond six innings. Even if that is the case, Burnes has been that good that we will see plenty of DFS production out of him in a favorable matchup against the Cubs.
Aaron Nola (PHI) – With 4.58 ERA things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for Nola but his 3.41 FIP and 1.12 WHIP do help to tell a story that is a little more favorable. Then factor in his 11.15 strikeouts per nine inning and the positive matchup against the Mets tonight, and it is situation I’m looking to target. Based on the way New York has been struggling this week, tonight could be the perfect opportunity for Nola to get back to winning ways after going nine starts without a victory; seven no-decisions and two losses.
Mid Tier
Lance Lynn (CWS) – The fact that I’m confused is nothing new for me, but in this case seeing Lynn’s salary on DK drop by $1,100 after his last start did make me do a double take. After a brief stint on the Injured List, Lynn returned to throw five shutout innings against Boston while striking out nine and scattering two hits without allowing a walk. Lynn was efficient, needing just 70 pitches to get through five innings and I would expect to his workload increase tonight and it’s hard not to like him facing Texas as he takes a 2.50 ERA and 1.05 WHIP into the matchup.
Lance McCullers (HOU) – On an overall basis, it’s hard to argue with McCullers’ 3.34 ERA in the second half of the season over 11 starts and for the most part he has been consistent as the most runs he has allowed in a game over that stretch is four. With seven strikeouts in three of his last four games the right-hander appears to be rounding into form and his DK price has dropped by $600 after a strong effort in his last time out against the Angels. Tonight, he looks to build on the six innings of one run ball he threw while striking out seven for his 12th victory of the season. In what has been a common theme so far, we also like the matchup at home against Arizona.
Value Tier
Daulton Jeffries (OAK) – There are hitters more expensive than Jeffries tonight so he certainly has that going for him. The concern here though is that Jeffries is making the start against the Angels tonight after previously being in the bullpen so it’s unclear what the pitch count will be. It is a good sign though that in his last relief appearance, Jeffries threw 3.1 scoreless innings while striking out two and allowing three hits while not walking a batter. Jeffries lone start this season did come against that same Los Angeles team as he allowed three runs in 5.1 innings for a reasonable 12 DK point performance. You can easily pair Jeffries with Burnes and still be in a positive salary position tonight.
Yusei Kikuchi (SEA) – On average, Kikuchi puts up 16 DK points per start with a 4.23 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, but on a start-to-start basis, he is more volatile. Granted each of his last two negative point performances did come against a tough Astros team, but he has also recently struggled against the same Royals team that he is facing tonight; four runs in five innings on four hits and one walk while striking out just three. In his last start things looked a lot better for Kikuchi as he is coming off a five inning, one run performance as he struck out eight as he performed at the high end of his expectations. With that being said, Kikuchi is best left for GPP lineups.