Gary Gustafson 
Welcome back MLB DFS fans! Tonight, we have another solid slate on DraftKings with big prizes pools to take down so let’s get started with our top MLB DFS picks for today’s slate!
For those of you new to Picks and Pivots, the goal of this MLB DFS article each and every day is to provide you a “First Look” overview of the slate where we use DraftKings pricing as a baseline to help us get started. Rather than simply write out the “top plays,” this article will focus on slate strategy and roster construction with a GPP mindset to help you get started on your initial builds. Without further ado, let’s dive into today’s slate!
MLB DFS Picks and Pivots: Starting Pitchers
We have a 12 game Main Slate here on Friday with a TON of offense once again and without any weather concerns at first glance, it looks like we are a full go to start digging in!
The pitcher pool tonight is relatively deep, but it lacks the true must have ace and frankly, that is a good thing since we want to save some salary for the bats on this slate.
Tyler Glasnow ($9.7K) stands out as the top SP1 in my opinion with the kind of elite K arsenal we crave in MLB DFS, as he is sporting a 37.4% K rate and 14.1% swinging strike rate in 2020. We are finally seeing Glasnow’s workload tick up to where we can get a consistent ceiling, as he has thrown 100+ pitches for the first time in each of the last two games and will take on the same Oriole steam he struck out 13 batters against (38 DK pts) just four starts ago.
Pitchers against Detroit remains a thing. Enter Zach Plesac ($8.5K).
Over the last two weeks, we have seen five starting pitchers go for 20+ DK points against the Tigers, with arms like Corbin Burnes (41) and Brady Singer (32) putting up ceiling DK scores against the highest K lineup against RHP in all of 2020.
Plesac has a 14% swinging strike rate, going up against a Tigers projected lineup with a 29.4% K rate this season – this is another spot where you play the match-up that continues to deliver each and every night in DFS.
MLB DFS Picks and Pivots: Bats and Stacks
One of the best parts about going Glasnow/Plesac as your core arms is you get two high K arms with 30+ DK point upside but you also still have $4K per batter for the rest of your lineup and that is key tonight with some seriously big bats on the slate.
20. 13. 10.
Those are the Yankees run totals the last three games with a lineup that is finally back and healthy and tonight against LHP Martin Perez and one of the worst bullpens in baseball, I am going right back to the Yankees bats against Boston.
The Yankees lineup is back healthy with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton now in the middle of this powerful and deep starting nine and a whopping 8 of 9 batters in the projected lineup have a .200+ ISO against LHP since 2019 with 7 of those 8 being above .240.
Perez relies heavily on his cutter to righties, throwing it nearly 40% of the time and all of DJ, Judge, Voit and Gleyber have .200+ISO marks against that pitch type with Gary Sanchez being the best of the bunch with a .375 mark and 50% hard contact rate.
His secondary offering is the change-up – and again it is DJ, Voit, Stanton and Sanchez with the best marks against that pitch type.
Sanchez and DJ become great staples of any Yankee stack because they afford you the opportunity to fill in C/2B with high upside options. After that it becomes more about your secondary stacks and what positions you have left – flip a coin because all of Voit, Gleyber, Judge and Stanton could break this slate and I am going to mix and match 3 of those 4 into my builds and go all-in on the hottest offense in baseball right now.
In order to stack those Yankees with the top pitchers, you need value and that is where the Tampa Bay Rays come in against Alex Cobb and the Orioles.
Cobb checks all the boxes to stack again – a low K rate, single digit swinging strike rate, 47% hard contact rate and .250+ ISO marks to hitters from both sides of the plate since 2019.
The Rays have three players right at the top of the order with .200+ ISO marks against RHP with Tsutsugo and the Lowes (Brandon and Nate) and the best part is Tsutsogo and Lowe are just $3K on DK and offer you the power upside and salary discount we need for our builds.
MLB DFS Picks and Pivots: Wrap up
We have a game in Coors Field tonight with a two touchdown total, and 7 teams as of this writing with 5+ IRT so you better make sure your bats have the power to take you over the cash line because while pitching builds our floor, it is the bats that will determine your cash position!
Stick around in Discord today and let’s talk some baseball!
Let’s get it tonight my friends!
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