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.
Lance McCullers Jr.
One of the best "Juniors" we have seen in the game (at least in my lifetime), McCullers comes in as the chalk option for tonight's 12-game slate. He is a MASSIVE -235 favorite against a Mariners team that is projected for just 3.75 runs. Lance is coming off one of his worst outings of the season, where he surrendered five earned runs and allowed 11 baserunners (9 hits, two walks) over just 4.1 innings of work against the Blue Jays. Even with that lackluster performance, he owns solid marks on the season (2.73 xFIP, 3.06 SIERA). He also owns the best K/9 on tonight's slate by a mile (10.45), and handled this same Mariners lineup just a few weeks ago with a 5-inning, 8-strikeout performance in which he allowed just one earned run. The only knock on McCullers this season is his propensity to drive up pitch counts and not pitch deep into games (he has finished seven frames just three times this season). However, his strikeout upside cannot be ignored on this slate that is mostly devoid of pitching upside. He has done a phenomenal job of limiting hard contact over the last 30 days (17.4%), all while allowing a unsustainably high .413 BABIP. Looks like he is in line for some positive regression in that regard. He profiles as the top option on the board, especially on FanDuel, where he isn't even the most expensive pitcher.
FanDuel
GPP Ownership: 30-35%
Cash Game Ownership: 60-65%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
DraftKings
GPP Ownership: 40-45%
Cash Game Ownership: 65-70%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
Yahoo!
GPP Ownership: 40-45%
Cash Game Ownership: 65-70%
Verdict: Cash/GPP Option
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