MLB Pitching Pulse 8-11-17

By: Jason Guilbault, Updated August 11, 2017

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.

Carlos Carrasco

We tend to lean on pitchers at home, but Carlos Carrasco is an odd exception. He has allowed a .284 wOBA with a 3.44 ERA on the road, compared to a .338 wOBA and 4.80 ERA at home. His recent starts have been horrendous, allowing five earned runs in three of his last five starts. Is this the time to jump off of Carrasco? No, this is the time to get on board. Like Carrasco, Tampa Bays offense has been going in the wrong direction. They rank bottom ten in wOBA against right-handed pitching over the last 30 days, and have a 25% strikeout rate against right-handers. Carrasco is still one of the better arms on this slate, and is a small road favorite. His 3.56 xFIP and 3.61 SIERA best his over four ERA. Carrasco has a ton of strikeout upside in this matchup, with a 26.8% strikeout rate, and over a 23% strikeout rate against both sides of the plate this year. He has struggled a bit against lefties, so Logan Morrison, Corey Dickerson, and Lucas Duda are of concern, but they also tend to strikeout as well. Carrasco is someone I don't mind in tournaments or cash games, which may come at a surprise given his recent form. We tend to lean on in form pitchers for cash games, which you can with Rich Hill too if you are not comfortable rostering Carrasco.