Welcome everyone to Ben’s Pitching Preview! This season I will be getting back to my roots and focusing on my top SP options for each slate. After all, a SP breakdown was my first ever regular article on this site when I started providing content many years ago.
Our Core Plays have been great to start the season! You can pick up a package here.
Let’s get into it!
Trevor Bauer
We have a small five game slate on tap today, with one clear ace at the top in Trevor Bauer. He has been just as great this season as last, generating over 14% swinging strikes, and over 37% strikeouts. He will be massively owned on this small of a slate, but I believe he is worth it given his matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers. Since the start of 2020, this lineup projects for a 24% strikeout rate and a combined wOBA below .320. Outside of Kolten Wong, everyone in this lineup owns a strikeout rate north of 22%. Bauer will take a large chunk of your salary at $11,300, but there aren’t any options that can match his ceiling on Thursday night.
Kyle Gibson
It’s early in the day, so I’m not sure where ownership will fall in the SP2 category on DK. There are some better projections in this price range, which has me hoping we get somewhat lower ownership on Kyle Gibson. He draws the Boston Red Sox tonight, which isn’t a team people love to attack with pitchers in DFS. Gibson has quietly been really good for the Rangers this season, pitching to a sub-4.00 xFIP with over 13% swinging strikes. He also owns a ground ball rate well over 50%, which can prevent him from getting blown up even if he doesn’t have the strikeouts working on a given night. Outside of Alex Verdugo and Christian Vazquez, there are some K-heavy bats towards the bottom of this Red Sox order. He also gets to face them at home, which is a pretty pitcher-friendly venue as long as the roof is closed. Gibson is a solid pivot in the mid-tier tonight and I like him in all formats.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
