Tired of spending too much on pitching in your Draftstreet daily fantasy baseball leagues? Consider some lower-cost alternatives to free up more of your budget on a third starter or more hitting. Start by taking a look at these guys for today.
Best Bet
Edinson Volquez – $12,009
Maybe it’s the new way of the Pirates: turning someone else’s pitching trash into treasure. But whether or not you think Volquez’s start to the season is a fluke or not, the numbers speak for themselves. He started out strong, and he has only gotten better since. In his four appearances (three starts), he has gone deeper into the game each time, topping out at seven innings on Thursday. He gave up just two runs to the surprising Brewers and picked up his first win of the year. In 21 innings, Volquez has a 1.71 ERA, which puts him eighth in the National League, and his 0.95 WHIP is ninth-best. Those rank among his best stats of his career, as does his 3.25 K/BB rate. He’s not picking up a bunch of strikeouts, but you have to like the consistency. Feel good about starting him against the Reds.
Double Down
Ian Kennedy – $14,489
Like Volquez, Kennedy has been getting better as he’s gone along. He followed up his five-inning first start of the year with two six-inning outings, leading up to seven-inning performance most recently. He has given up three runs or fewer in all but one start so far this year, and he had seven strikeouts in each of his last two. Even though he is only 1-3, that is little fault of his own. Batters are hitting just .222 against him, and his strikeout rate is higher than his career average and his walk rate is lower. Milwaukee’s offense has relatively been held in check for the last couple games, so now is a good time for Kennedy to strike.
Roll the Dice
Tommy Milone – $10,715
Milone hasn’t pitched as poorly as his 0-2 record would have you believe. He’s given up a total of five earned runs in his two starts so far, and he’s coming off a six-inning quality start in his last outing. He should have had his first win that night, but his bullpen let him down. So he’ll get another crack at that tonight against Texas at home. This will be his first game in his own ballpark this year, which should help. Last year, his ERA was 1.25 runs better at home than it was on the road, and batters didn’t hit as well against him.
