With DraftKings having two roster spots for pitchers, it creates an opportunity to take a stand in a limited player pool. To play it safe, the majority of users like to roster the chalkiest pitchers in hopes of their bats being the main focal point of their lineup. While in theory it is a great strategy, it limits a lineup’s ability to stand out from the rest and ultimately land in the top 5 of a large-field GPP. That’s why we need MLB DFS pivots.
The goal in this breakdown is to find which pitchers can give lineups the opportunity to return massive ROI while being undrowned across the field. Using Stokastic’s Top Pitchers Tool, we are able to determine the pitchers that are expected to be chalk, along with the pitchers that are projected for high leverage in contests. The correlation of high leverage but low ownership is a crucial piece to unlocking a lineup’s potential.
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Let’s dive into which pitchers stand out in both of these categories to find the best MLB DFS pivots for today.
Best MLB DFS Pivots Today: Bryce Elder and More (April 22)
Jonathan Cannon ($6,000)
Almost a punt play, Cannon is the third-cheapest pitcher today and gets to face the Twins, who have a 23.7% strikeout rate in the last seven days, 10th highest in the league. Cannon makes for a very safe pivot option in Stokastic’s Top Pitchers Tool, where he has the third-highest chance of being a top-2 value pitcher (15.2%) while being the fourth-lowest-owned pitcher tonight (4.6%).
Cannon is a pivot off of Albert Suarez ($4,000), who is projected for 21.6% ownership tonight, third highest for pitchers. If Suarez fails, we could be looking at a night where Cannon becomes the top value play at pitcher.
Bryce Elder ($7,500)
Continuing on with the ugly plays, Elder has the third-highest leverage percentage at 5.1% and is only projected for 6.9% ownership in a matchup against the Marlins. This will be Elder’s season debut after being called up from the minors, where he had a respectable 27.7% strikeout rate in three games.
There are a few interesting ways you can go when rostering Elder tonight. One route is using him as a pivot off of Chris Paddack ($7,400), who is projected for around 15% ownership, more than double Elder’s. If you like Paddack tonight, you can use them together as two mid-tier pitchers who both have positive leverage in Stokastic’s Top Pitchers Tool. With there being multiple routes for Elder becoming a top pivot, I look to get to at least 15% of him in my lineups tonight, a safe exposure while still being overweight compared to the field.
Get started finding the best MLB DFS pivots by using Stokastic tools today! Check out all we have to offer here!
