This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Tuesday's main DraftKings slate won't be quite a full one, but we'll still have 11 games worth of players to choose from. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. EDT. The slate features a fairly large group of excellent pitchers at the top but has plenty to pick on at the bottom, as well.
Pitching
Jacob deGrom, NYM vs. CHC ($11,800): Those who like to anchor their lineups with a true ace have excellent options to choose from Tuesday, but I'll go with deGrom over the slightly cheaper Gerrit Cole for a few reasons. I'd prefer the pitcher in Citi Field to the one in Fenway Park, and I'd prefer the pitcher facing the Cubs to the one facing the Red Sox, but most importantly I'd prefer the one with deGrom's simply laughable numbers. Through seven starts, he's struck out 63 batters over 43.1 innings while walking just four, leading to a well-deserved 1.66 ERA.
Michael Kopech, CWS vs. COL ($7,100): In this price range, you typically find unreliable pitchers on a hot streak or talented pitchers in a slump. Kopech fits the latter category. He stumbled to a 5.24 ERA in August before a brief trip to the injured list with a knee strain, and his return last week in Seattle was far from convincing. Still, we're talking about a pitcher who regularly cost north of $9,000 when things were going well earlier in the year, and a date with the Rockies should help get him back on track. Colorado hitters struggle greatly away from Coors Field, posting a 29th-ranked .629 OPS.
Ken Waldichuk, OAK at TEX ($6,200): If you're really trying to save to fit in deGrom, Waldichuk is as cheap as I'd go (Yonny Chirinos would be an exception but is only stretched out to three innings). Waldichuk's main appeal is his apparent strikeout upside. It hasn't manifested through the young lefty's first two big-league starts, in which he's whiffed eight in 10 innings, but his 34.5 percent strikeout rate in the upper minors this season suggests double-digit totals are possible. No other pitcher this cheap has that kind of ceiling.
Top Targets
I'm interested in quite a few Orioles against Nationals righty Cory Abbott, who owns a 5.11 ERA in 49.1 career innings as a swingman. Cedric Mullins ($5,100) is the name to grab if you're shelling out for just one, as he'll enjoy both the leadoff role and the platoon advantage Tuesday. Through the end of July, it looked as though a repeat of his breakout 2021 campaign wasn't on the cards, as he was hitting a modest .256/.317/.381, but he's since caught fire to hit .289/.349/.489 since the start of August.
Speaking of outfielders on fire, that certainly describes Eloy Jimenez ($4,500). It looked like another frustrating season for the 25-year-old, who missed two and a half months with a hamstring injury in the first half and struggled initially after his return. Over his last 45 games, however, he's been one of the best hitters in the league, slashing .369/.436/.605, a performance which deserves a much higher price tag. Chad Kuhl and his 5.38 ERA are unlikely to slow Jimenez down.
Bargain Bats
Lane Thomas ($2,700) isn't anything special, but his respectable .255/.309/.425 slash line (good for a 102 wRC+), 15 homers and six steals justify his modest price tag well enough on their own. Toss in some secondary factors and he suddenly looks like one of the day's better bargains. He's primarily interesting because he bats leadoff and because he'll face Dean Kremer, whose 3.23 ERA isn't backed up by his uninspiring peripherals, including an 18.5 percent strikeout rate.
Can anyone think of a good reason why Vinnie Pasquantino ($2,100) should cost anywhere close to the minimum? Even judging by just his surface numbers, including a .261/.353/.433 slash line (123 wRC+) and eight homers in 51 games, he looks significantly underpriced. Statcast suggests the gap is even bigger than that, as he's underperformed his xSLG (.488) by 55 points. I'd gladly pay double this price for Pasquantino, even against a decent opponent in Joe Ryan.
Stacks to Consider
Athletics at Rangers (Cole Ragans): Sean Murphy ($4,400), Ramon Laureano ($3,700), Chad Pinder ($2,000)
Stacking a lineup that ranks last in the league with a .626 OPS might be hard to stomach, but passing on the opportunity to pick on Ragans would be even tougher to take. The rookie lefty has escaped with a respectable 3.80 ERA through his first five MLB starts, but his ERA estimators could hardly be uglier. He owns a 6.26 FIP, 5.91 xFIP and 6.17 SIERA. Those marks reflect the fact that his walk rate (14.0 percent) is higher than his strikeout rate (12.9 percent), and he's also allowed 1.7 HR/9. We'll go with Oakland's two most expensive bats here against the young southpaw, pairing them with minimum-priced lefty masher Pinder, who's unusable against righties (.585 OPS) but perfectly playable against lefties (.725 OPS)
Twins vs. Royals (Kris Bubic): Carlos Correa ($4,900), Jose Miranda ($3,100), Kyle Garlick ($2,300)
If stacking the league's worst lineup isn't for you, picking on another unimposing young left-hander may be more your style. Bubic has taken a step back in his third major-league season, with his ERA jumping almost a full run to 5.40. His 17.5 percent strikeout rate and 41.4 percent groundball rate are both career lows, while his 10.7 percent walk rate is a career high. He's technically coming off a pair of quality starts, but his combined 5:5 K:BB in those outings makes it hard to argue that he's pitched particularly well. We'll go here with a trio who have hit first through third against the last two lefties the Twins have faced. Correa is the star of the group, but Miranda's .777 OPS in his rookie season is good value for his price range. Garlick owns a career 63 wRC+ against righties but has a 134 wRC+ against lefties, nearly as good as Correa's 137.
