This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Sunday's afternoon slate on DraftKings should be a lot of fun. There is a great mix of top-tier pitchers and excellent stacks to consider, leaving various strategies to employ when compiling your entry. Let's dive in and try to project how some of the ownership percentages will play out.
Pitching Overview
The biggest name taking the mound will be Max Scherzer ($11,900). Arguably the top starting pitcher in the league, Scherzer has been his dominant self with 21 strikeouts across 12.2 inning over his first two starts. Even though he'll be facing a much improved Mets lineup, he's still likely to be chalk for this slate.
Another popular option figures to be Mike Clevinger ($9,900) against the Blue Jays. He posted a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and a career-best 3.86 xFIP last year, and picked up where he left off by shutting out the White Sox across seven innings in his first start. Not only did he record 12 strikeouts, but he allowed just four total baserunners. The Jays have compiled an ugly .601 OPS across 10 games, making Clevinger one of the top options to target.
Speaking of targeting weak offenses, that's what many people could do when Chris Archer ($9,300) faces the Reds. The Reds only have 16 runs across their first eight games and really miss Scooter Gennett (groin). Despite Archer's inconsistencies last year, his 25.9 career strikeout rate leaves him with plenty of upside for this matchup.
If you're looking for a low-owned option in tournament play, Brad Keller ($7,200) might be your man. Even without overpowering stuff, he allowed just seven home runs across 140.1 innings last year. He's allowed three runs over 13 innings in his first two starts, which came against the White Sox and Twins. Now he gets to face a Tigers team that is tied for the second-fewest runs scored in baseball with 24, so he could out-produce his price point.
Key Values/Chalk
The Mariners have been an offensive juggernaut with 73 runs and home runs across their first 10 games. They'll face the underwhelming Ivan Nova on Sunday, who sports a career 17.2 percent strikeout rate. He's also allowed at least 1.4 HR/9 in back-to-back seasons, so this will likely be a popular matchup for people to exploit. Jay Bruce ($4,100) has already racked up five home runs and should be highly owned at his reasonable price.
Injuries have rally put a damper on the start of the season for the Yankees. Despite a lineup that is a shell of what they had hoped for, they still have some hitters who should be in plenty of lineups against David Hess. Hess allowed a whopping 1.9 HR/9 last year to go along with a 1.38 WHIP. Aaron Judge ($5,600) stands out as the top option on the Yankees while Gleyber Torres ($5,000) and Luke Voit ($4,800) might not be too far behind him in terms of ownership percentage.
The Brewers own some power arms on their staff, but Zach Davies isn't one of them. He finished with a 17.5 percent strikeout rate last year and has posted a WHIP of at least 1.33 in back-to-back campaigns. The Cubs will try to take advantage of his underwhelming arsenal with Anthony Rizzo ($4,900), Kris Bryant ($4,800) and Javier Baez ($5,100) set to be heavily rostered in DFS.
Stacks
A Mariners stack against Nova could be the chalk of the day. Outside of Bruce, Domingo Santana ($4,200) and Mitch Haniger ($4,300) also stand out as players to target. With all three reasonably priced, it makes rolling with them that much more enticing.
A Yankees stack against Hess could go in a couple of different directions. Rostering their best players like Judge, Torres and Voit is an option or you could roll with some cheaper targets in Brett Gardner ($4,300) and Greg Bird ($4,500). For those going with the Cubs, it's hard to just load up on their top hitters considering their lofty price tag. Ben Zobrist ($3,900) is much cheaper and could be a wise player to add to a Cubs stack, considering he normally bats leadoff against right-handed pitchers. Jason Heyward ($4,100) has at least one hit in six of the seven games in which he has played this season and has clobbered the Brewers for three home runs across the first two games of this series.
A stack that might not be highly owned to possibly take a chance on is the White Sox against Wade LeBlanc. Jose Abreu ($4,200) boasts a career 145 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers, making him the top White Sox to build around. Tim Anderson also has a career .341 wOBA against lefties ($4,100) and checks in at a very reasonable price. Rookie Eloy Jimenez ($4,300) is coming off of a three-hit performance on Saturday and also comes with plenty of upside.
