Each day of the MLB season will bring us some major price differences among starting pitchers on all sites. These price discrepancies and the site's roster differences can alter the way we use pitchers on each site, as well as how the field of opponents will use them. Listed below are five of today's top pitchers, each with their salary listed as well as the cafe value that takes into account both the total salary cap on the site and points-per-dollar. We've also provided some betting info for you reference. The higher the cafe value, the better the points-per-dollar play is.
Clayton Kershaw
I am still not exactly thrilled with Clayton Kershaw's strikeout numbers this season, given the price tag on him is still fitting him to be the highest ceiling pitcher in baseball. Now the Cardinals are not a huge threat against left-handed pitching, but have some notable bats for Kershaw to work through. They rank 19th in wOBA against southpaws, and have a generous 22.4% strikeout rate. The K% is certainly something I am hoping for Kershaw to exploit tonight. Kershaw has churned out great outings this season, and his only real ugly start came in Coors, allowing four earned runs. That qualifies is as an ugly start for Kershaw. Over the last few seasons, Kershaw has been in the 30% range and above for a strikeout rate. This season, he sits at 26.1%. His SwStr% is down 4% from each of the last three seasons which were above 14-15%. Kershaw is still a tremendous cash game option, and you know what you are going to get out of him. But there are ways to fade Kershaw in tournaments to get bigger strikeout upside at a cheaper price tag.
FanDuel
GPP Ownership: 20-30%
Cash Game Ownership: 60-70%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
DraftKings
GPP Ownership: 15-25%
Cash Game Ownership: 50-60%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
Yahoo!
GPP Ownership: 15-25%
Cash Game Ownership: 50-60%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
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