Adam Strangis MLB DFS Starting Rotation 9.8
We get another nine-game slate but the pitching options are simply not that great. Sure, we have pitchers that are priced like they are going to be awesome but that could be a lot to ask. Let’s talk about them and pitchers that we might actually like in the MLB DFS Starting Rotation 9.8 so we can find our path to green screens!
MLB DFS Starting Rotation 9.8 – Main Targets
Ace Tier
Some pitchers are priced like aces but I will not look twice at three of them. Freddy Peralta only made it two innings in his last start and threw under 55 pitches, so I can’t imagine we get more than 75 or so tonight. That is frankly not enough to pay $10,200 for and I’ll move on quickly. It wouldn’t help that Philly is projected for playing four lefties.
The metrics don’t look poor for Nathan Eovaldi as he’s better against lefties with a .281 wOBA, 2.39 FIP, and a 25.4% K rate. One of the primary reasons is his curveball since it has a .207 wOBA and he uses that way more against the left side. The issues are the Rays are the Rays, one of the best offenses in baseball. The other scary part is they ranked fifth against the curve, so Eovaldi is out for me.
Yu Darvish hasn’t been right in a while. Since the start of July, his ERA has been over 6.32 across 44 IP. The wOBA has been at least .309 and while the xFIP says he’s been unlucky over that period, you can’t possibly trust him right now. The Angels aren’t an elite offense but I am not interested myself.
I feel like Shane McClanahan is going to be the chalk. It didn’t go super well the last time out against Boston, but he struck out eight and the young lefty isn’t going to give up eight hits and four runs very often. His K rate is 28% and the FIP/xFIP combo is under 3.30 for each metric. The swinging-strike rate is elite at 15.3% and that would rank fifth if he qualified. Boston is a strong offense against lefties overall but are still missing a main cog in Xander Bogaerts. With a whiff rate over 40% on all three of his pitches that isn’t the fastball, the salary doesn’t match the potential even with some risk baked in.
Frankie Montas has been on a tear and even against a tough offense, I’m still considering him. He is projected to face five lefties and that would actually work out for Montas by his splits. His K rate is 29.8% against that side of the plate and the FIP is down to 3.18. The White Sox are third in ground ball rate and that would help out as well, especially in Oakland. He uses that splitter far more against lefties and it has a .207 wOBA and a 51.5% whiff rate with 76 strikeouts. The White Sox are striking out about 23% of the time and Montas can do some damage.
I honestly don’t see much past this. Alek Manoah is closest but it’s still the Yankees in New York. They are 13th against the slider which is sort of interesting and I just don’t love the instability that Manoah brings. He does have upside in theory since the Yankees are whiffing almost 25% of the time but I’d rather just pitch Montas in Oakland. A pitcher like Vladimir Gutierrez is starting to pitch to his xFIP well over 5.00 and a punt like Andre Jackson has a 1.09 ERA but an xFIP over 5.00 as well with little strikeout upside so far in the majors.
MLB DFS Starting Rotation 9.8 Stacks
Dallas Keuchel has been getting blistered since the start of July, with an ERA well over 6.00 and a wOBA over .350, in addition to a K rate under 12% and a FIP over 6.00. Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Josh Harrison, and Jed Lowrie are all over a .300 wOBA and .120 ISO against lefties so far this year. They also have an ISO over .175 against the sinker, which is used 33% by Keuchel. Regardless of what pitch he’s throwing, it’s not working and the A’s should continue to hammer him.
Since it looks like a day to spend on pitching, we need a cheap stack and Baltimore fits perfectly with Oakland and get lefty Mike Minor. He has a 1.67 HR/9 against the right side of the plate and a 42.4% fly-ball rate. My main hitters are looking like Pedro Severino, Austin Hays, and Ryan Mountcastle. The latter two have a hard-hit rate over 55% against lefty fastballs and Minor throws it 44% of the time with a 312-foot average distance. Severino is rocking the best ISO on the team against that pitch at .329 and all of them are over a .185 ISO against lefties overall.
- Rays against Eovaldi
- Cubs against Gutierrez
- Braves against Sean Nolin
- Royals against Matt Harvey
Thank you for reading my MLB DFS Starting Rotation 9.8 and make sure you follow me on Twitter at @bucn4life! Be sure to sign up for an ALL ACCESS GOLD ACCOUNT account here at Win Daily Sports. Gain access to our Projection Models and jump into our Discord where we will have our experts talking plays across every sport and slate!
