Jared Levitt 
It’s Tuesday and that means we’ll have one really big slate. Tonight, we’ll have a massive 11-game slate of MLB DFS to work with. This is a fun-looking slate that has a mix of both really strong pitching and really solid spots for bats. It also brings us 2 top pitchers in really strong spots. As is the norm, we’ll need to decide to start both or start 1.
Let’s Dig in and make some money!
MLB DFS Aces – Main
Dylan Cease ($11k on DK) vs. Colorado Rockies
I went back and forth with who I wanted to spend up with. Would it be Sonny Gray vs. the Angels or Dylan Cease vs. the Rockies? I’m siding with Dylan Cease as the matchup is a little bit better. The Rockies are being taken out of Coors and they have also struggled mightily vs. righties this season. Against righties in 2024, the Rockies have a 27% K rate and just a .129 ISO. They do little damage against them and that’s something we want to attack.
Tonight, we’ll get to attack them with a pitcher that has returned to form after a disappointing 2023 season. Cease has been brilliant this season. His strikeouts have ticked up a bit but more importantly, his control is back. His BB/9 is down to its lowest level of his career. His HR/9 is also at the lowest level of his career. He’s coming off a 12 K performance against the Cubs and I could see him approaching a similar performance in a great matchup.
Chris Paddack ($6.5k on DK) vs. New York Yankees
I won’t blame you if you can’t stomach using Paddack against the Yankees. The Yankees are a lineup that is playing really well right now. They also have really strong numbers on the year vs. righties. With all that said though, it’s rare that we can get the strikeout upside of a pitcher at this price point. Paddack has multiple games this season with double-digit strikeouts. He’s also given up 2 or fewer runs in all but 2 starts this season.
That includes starts against the Dodgers and Brewers. Can he get shelled here? Absolutely. I wouldn’t touch him in Cash games but he’ll make a great GPP pivot. His K rate for the year is 22%. Between his price point and his K upside, I’m struggling to find a way to not play him tonight or at least keep him in my player pool.
Other pitchers that will be in my pool today will be Sonny Gray vs. the Angels, Hunter Green vs. Arizona, and Chris Sale vs. the Cubs.
MLB DFS Stacks – Main
Cleveland Guardians vs. Jack Leiter
Jack Leiter has now made 2 starts at the big league level. Both were “disasters”. In a combined 8 innings of work, Leiter has now given up 11 ER. It’s been a struggle so far for the #2 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft. So far, and albeit it’s a very small sample size, his stuff has not played well in the Majors. He’s giving up a ton of contact at nearly 80% and he’s rarely striking out guys at just a 14% clip. The matchup today is going to be tough for him as the Guardians are a stingy lineup.
They rarely strike out as they have just a 19% K rate against righties this season. It’s going to be a struggle for him today to bounce back and perform like the top draft pick that he is. I’m going to be concerned about splits here as both sides are crushing him.
Core Bats: Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor,
Secondary Bats: Will Brennan, Andres Gimenez
Value Bats: Estevan Florial, Brayan Rocchio
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Quinn Priester
Quinn Priester has now made 4 starts this season with only one being a solid start. From an xFIP standpoint, his last 2 starts have been his worst. In both of those games, Priester had an xFIP over 5.50. While the number of walks hasn’t been astronomical, he’s been struggling big-time with his command and getting behind way too many hitters. His first strike % is just 50.50% over the last month. That means nearly 50% of hitters are starting the count 1-0, putting the count in their favor. That’s not ideal and if he continues to get behind on that many hitters, he’s going to struggle.
His K rate is also extremely low as he’s k’d just 12.60% of the hitters over the last month. Against a solid lineup like that Brewers, there are just too many red flags for him and it’s going to be a tough go for him. I’m going to prioritize the lefties here. Lefties have a .372 wOBA vs. him this year and a .364 OBP. Both are significantly higher than what righties have against him.
Core Bats: Christian Yelich, Brice Turang, Jake Bauers
Secondary Bats: William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins
Value Bats: Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick
Other stacks I like tonight will be the Cardinals vs. Reid Detmers, Braves vs. Jameson Taillon, and Astros vs. JP Sears
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