Daily Fantasy Strategy — July 21 — For Draftstreet

Yesterday in this space, we outlined some of the hitters who gain the most and the least in the switch from DraftStreet scoring to DraftKings scoring, where strikeouts no longer hurt a hitter.

If you haven’t yet, by the way, you can transfer your account here.

For pitchers, things change far less, though there are a few points worth noting. For one, relievers are out – saves and blown saves don’t do anything, and you only have two pitcher spots to work with. For another, strikeouts are slightly more valuable now relative to other stats, gaining 186 percent in value compared to 150 percent for innings pitched and 140 percent for hits and walks allowed. A final note is that losses no longer cost you anything, so pitchers on bad teams with strong matchups can be dialled up with less hesitation.

Like we did on the hitter side, here is a table of the largest and smallest relative gainers in the new format, among qualified starters:

Name	Team	GS	IP	SO	L	DS Pts/GS	DK Pts/GS	Gain
Eric Stults	Padres	19	99.333	59	11	2.59	8.21	316.87%
Kevin Correia	Twins	19	109.333	50	11	2.67	8.32	311.95%
Edwin Jackson	Cubs	20	110.667	100	10	3.69	11.27	305.21%
Ricky Nolasco	Twins	18	103.667	72	7	3.00	9.05	302.04%
Travis Wood	Cubs	20	116	92	9	3.87	11.56	299.09%
Roberto Hernandez	Phillies	17	98.333	67	8	3.70	11.05	298.65%
Justin Masterson	Indians	19	98	93	6	3.50	10.46	298.57%
Ubaldo Jimenez	Orioles	18	99.667	88	8	4.07	12.15	298.29%
Shelby Miller	Cardinals	19	109	73	8	3.96	11.74	296.61%
Kyle Kendrick	Phillies	19	120.667	76	9	3.82	11.30	295.93%
Brandon McCarthy	– – –	20	122.333	105	10	4.63	13.69	295.73%
Jake Peavy	Red Sox	19	117.667	93	8	4.17	12.28	294.45%
Jeremy Guthrie	Royals	19	120.333	75	8	3.87	11.34	293.07%
Zack Wheeler	Mets	19	108.333	105	8	5.29	15.48	292.69%
Roenis Elias	Mariners	19	113	96	8	4.96	14.49	292.35%
—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kyle Lohse	Brewers	20	134	98	4	6.44	17.84	277.16%
Sonny Gray	Athletics	19	125.667	108	3	7.10	19.68	277.10%
Masahiro Tanaka	Yankees	18	129.333	135	4	9.37	25.96	277.02%
Jason Vargas	Royals	19	125	82	4	5.51	15.26	276.97%
Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	15	103.667	83	4	7.28	20.10	276.18%
Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	19	138	115	4	8.91	24.58	276.00%
Alfredo Simon	Reds	19	121.667	79	4	6.21	17.06	274.59%
Scott Kazmir	Athletics	19	117.333	108	3	7.55	20.69	274.03%
Garrett Richards	Angels	20	131.333	134	2	8.22	22.51	273.74%
Felix Hernandez	Mariners	21	151.333	163	2	9.76	26.62	272.67%

And here are the top-25 starters by DraftKings points per start:

Name	Team	GS	IP	SO	L	DS Pts/GS	DK Pts/GS	Gain
Felix Hernandez	Mariners	21	151.333	163	2	9.76	26.62	272.67%
Masahiro Tanaka	Yankees	18	129.333	135	4	9.37	25.96	277.02%
David Price	Rays	21	155.667	173	7	9.12	25.48	279.47%
Johnny Cueto	Reds	20	143.667	141	6	9.10	25.41	279.20%
Yu Darvish	Rangers	18	122	154	5	8.98	25.31	281.87%
Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	19	138	115	4	8.91	24.58	276.00%
Max Scherzer	Tigers	20	132	150	3	8.10	22.57	278.56%
Jon Lester	Red Sox	19	129	134	7	8.01	22.54	281.47%
Garrett Richards	Angels	20	131.333	134	2	8.22	22.51	273.74%
Corey Kluber	Indians	21	140.333	152	6	7.96	22.30	280.05%
Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	21	132	158	7	7.35	20.86	283.68%
Julio Teheran	Braves	20	136.333	116	6	7.39	20.79	281.10%
Scott Kazmir	Athletics	19	117.333	108	3	7.55	20.69	274.03%
Zack Greinke	Dodgers	20	124.333	130	6	7.34	20.63	280.84%
Cole Hamels	Phillies	17	114.333	115	5	7.30	20.50	280.67%
Tyson Ross	Padres	21	136.667	132	10	7.10	20.39	287.03%
Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	15	103.667	83	4	7.28	20.10	276.18%
Madison Bumgarner	Giants	21	133	135	7	7.00	19.76	282.37%
Sonny Gray	Athletics	19	125.667	108	3	7.10	19.68	277.10%
Josh Beckett	Dodgers	17	103.667	95	5	6.99	19.63	280.85%
Ian Kennedy	Padres	21	129.333	137	9	6.51	18.69	286.84%
Jeff Samardzija	– – –	20	130	117	8	6.40	18.17	284.13%
Jason Hammel	– – –	19	115.667	109	7	6.40	18.13	283.15%
Lance Lynn	Cardinals	20	120.667	110	6	6.34	18.00	283.72%
John Lackey	Red Sox	19	123.333	109	6	6.37	17.95	281.70%

The Daily Five
Wily Peralta – $6,700
Why no, Peralta isn’t normally a daily stud, thanks to a K-per-9 under seven, some home run trouble and a middling 4.11 FIP. On Monday, however, he’ll draw the Cincinnati Reds, without Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto. Even with those players in the lineup, the Reds were only a middle-of-the-pack team against right-handed pitchers. The Reds scored six runs over three games this weekend. Factor in Peralta’s appreciable ground ball rate, which makes the home runs less of an issue, and a bottom-10 price is worth the plunge.

Hyun-Jin Ryu – $9,100
Of course you want Chris Sale at $12,100 against the Royals, but for $3K cheaper you can grab Ryu, with an even more favorable matchup. The Dodgers’ southpaw draws the Pirates, owners of the league’s third-worst offense against left-handed pitching and with a top-10 strikeout rate to push the ceiling higher. Ryu’s terrible outing against the Tigers on July 8 may still stick out, but that was the only time in his last six turns he’s given up more than three runs, with 35 strikeouts to just five walks in that stretch. This should be a safe one, but a safe one with upside.

Nationals stack – How I doubt thee, Franklin Morales, let me count the ways. You don’t strike anybody out. You don’t keep the ball down. You also don’t keep it in the park. You have a 5.26 ERA that peripherals suggest has either been lucky (5.80 FIP) or unlucky but you’re still bad (4.49 xFIP), the former of which is true considering you’re playing at Coors Field. We’re not friends, I’m not a fan, now please line my pockets.
Jayson Werth – $5,000 (how is any good player at Coors not even a top-10 priced OF on the day?)
Bryce Harper – $4,700 (still believing, even lefty-on-lefty)
Anthony Rendon – $4,600 (he hits a lot of balls in the air)
Scott Hairston – $2,400 (obviously check the lineups, which I can’t do writing late Sunday, but Hairston has always been a high-FB hitter who does well against lefties)

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