This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
I have written two monthly articles this season for value pitching on DraftKings, which you can find here:
April Value Pitchers – Matthew Boyd, Joe Musgrove, Max Fried, Caleb Smith, Brad Keller
May Value Pitchers – Martin Perez, Luke Weaver, Brandon Woodruff, Zach Davies, Tyler Mahle, Lance Lynn (Road), Wade Miley (Home)
Most of these have paid off as SP2's when paired with an ace. To qualify for the list a pitcher must have at least four starts and average salary of $9,000 or less. Currently, 45 pitchers on DraftKings have a salary of $9,000 or greater.
Let's dig into the value pitchers for June.
Adrian Sampson, Rangers
Since May 18, Sampson has had four starts (three home, one road). He has averaged 27.1 points in those four starts against the Mariners (twice), Royals and A's. His salary has ranged $4,800-$6,900, making him an extreme value play. Sampson's recent improved performance can be contributed to his increased fastball velocity and slider usage, which generates a 10 percent swinging-strike rate.
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Alcantara was one of the worst pitchers from April to mid-May, but then a 43.5 point performance against the Mets on May 19 started a turnaround. In three of his next four starts, he had at least 14.7 points, including 24.2 points at Milwaukee. However, his other road start in that stretch, at Washington, was a stinker in which he posted 1.9 points.
Alcantara is definitely
I have written two monthly articles this season for value pitching on DraftKings, which you can find here:
April Value Pitchers – Matthew Boyd, Joe Musgrove, Max Fried, Caleb Smith, Brad Keller
May Value Pitchers – Martin Perez, Luke Weaver, Brandon Woodruff, Zach Davies, Tyler Mahle, Lance Lynn (Road), Wade Miley (Home)
Most of these have paid off as SP2's when paired with an ace. To qualify for the list a pitcher must have at least four starts and average salary of $9,000 or less. Currently, 45 pitchers on DraftKings have a salary of $9,000 or greater.
Let's dig into the value pitchers for June.
Adrian Sampson, Rangers
Since May 18, Sampson has had four starts (three home, one road). He has averaged 27.1 points in those four starts against the Mariners (twice), Royals and A's. His salary has ranged $4,800-$6,900, making him an extreme value play. Sampson's recent improved performance can be contributed to his increased fastball velocity and slider usage, which generates a 10 percent swinging-strike rate.
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Alcantara was one of the worst pitchers from April to mid-May, but then a 43.5 point performance against the Mets on May 19 started a turnaround. In three of his next four starts, he had at least 14.7 points, including 24.2 points at Milwaukee. However, his other road start in that stretch, at Washington, was a stinker in which he posted 1.9 points.
Alcantara is definitely a Jekyll and Hyde pitcher who has control problems on the road. He has a 7.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 at home versus 4.3 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 on the road. He also struggles against left-handed hitters, so avoid lineups with a heavy concentration of lefties, and avoid his road starts.
Zach Plesac, Indians
While Plesac only has a three-start sample (one road start, at Boston) since his promotion to the majors, I like what I have seen from him. Young pitchers usually struggle at first in the majors, but Plesac had incredible control in the minors, which is a strong indicator for success at the big league level.
He posted 24.75 points at the White Sox ($5,000) and 21.55 points at home against the Yankees ($7,000). He should be available for a few more starts at less than the $9,000 SP2 threshold.
Eric Lauer, Padres
Lauer is a perfect guy for this list because he is often overlooked. Also, he had one brutal outing at Coors for -13.3 points, which is killing his overall numbers. His home/road splits are significant, but he is just rock solid steady at Petco and the definition of a SP2 in cash games. He has scored at least 12.5 points in every home start except one. And even though that Coors game does kill his road splits, his last four road starts were for 19.3, 10.5, 17.8 and 19.0.
Zach Davies, Brewers
Most DFS players will look at his 48 strikeouts in 74.2 innings and immediately move on from Davies. But again, when looking for value pitching on DraftKings, you have to dig and dig for that data to give you an edge over the field.
While Davies does not strikeout a ton of batters, he also does not walk many. He rarely gets blown up as he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 of 14 starts. Davies has significant home/road splits, especially since 2017. His home era has been 5.02 vs. 2.36 on the road, along with a 1.47 WHIP at home vs. 1.18 on the road. You can get Davies in the $6,500-$7,900 range.
