The following Spotlight Pitchers were selected by Awesemo.com writer Jake Hari. For more analysis on the slate, check out Awesemo’s Rankings and Ownership Projections.
Jacob deGrom ($12,200 DK/$11,500 FD)
deGrom is in arguably the best spot on the night at home against the San Diego Padres, who strikeout as much as any team in the MLB. The Padres are striking out almost 26% of the time versus righties this year, which leads the MLB, and they’ve shown little power (.122 ISO) and ability to get on base (.300 OBP) against them as well. deGrom will likely be one of the chalkiest options on the slate, but he looks like a great number 1 pitcher on a very interesting pitching slate.
Jaime Barria ($8,100 DK/$5,900 FD)
While Barria may not be the biggest name, it’s hard to avoid the matchup with the White Sox at a useable $8,100 price tag on DK. The White Sox are striking out over 25% of the time against righties this year, and the numbers get worse when they go on the road, as they are tonight. Barria has been inconsistent, but he has been able to miss bats (11.3% Swinging-Strike rate) and he’s posted some solid numbers against lefties (0.89 WHIP, 22% K-rate, 3.60 xFIP). Seeing 6 lefties tonight in a good pitcher’s park, Barria is a solid GPP play as he may go overlooked with the abundance of options up top.
Daniel Poncedeleon ($5,100 DK/$6,000 FD)
Poncedeleon is coming off 3 AAA starts where he has combined for 20 innings, 20 strikeouts, and 0 runs allowed, and will now get a chance to show his skills at the MLB level. It won’t be an easy spot for him in a hitter’s park with the Reds having a 5 run total, but there’s no doubt Poncedeleon has the ability to miss bats and go deep. He’s gone up to 111 pitches this year in the minors and is coming off a 110-pitch complete game shutout, but he’s also posted multiple games with 15+% Swinging-Strike rates. At this price on DraftKings, he makes for a fun SP2 option with a lot of upside if things break his way.