Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: MLB DraftKings Pitcher Studs and Duds for June 7

Picking starting pitchers for daily fantasy lineups revolves around the pursuit of strikeouts. Strikeouts lead to points, and points lead to money.

Now that the transitive property has concluded that strikeouts are money, gamers will appreciate many pitchers occupying Sunday's schedule. Among the day's 30 probable starters, seven have struck out at least one batter per inning.

There's more than one way to profit, as showcased by Sunday's last two possible pitching plays. Yet chasing the K's is largely the way to go.

Studs

Chris Archer ($10,400), Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

While the Seattle Mariners manufacture power, they also rank among the bottom five in strikeout percentage and on-base percentage versus righties. Somehow, they decided Mark Trumbo was the man to fix those flaws.

Anyone who uses Chris Archer no longer walks anywhere near the danger zone. His 2.01 ERA is legit, backed up by 11.49 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) and a 2.29 fielding independent pitching (FIP).

Player	K/9		Player	FIP
Danny Salazar	11.74		Max Scherzer	2.18
Chris Archer	11.49		Corey Kluber	2.23
Clayton Kershaw	11.32		Chris Archer	2.29
Corey Kluber	11.16		Michael Pineda	2.41
James Shields	10.99		Gerrit Cole	2.43

Along with missing bats, he has issued a frugal 2.37 walks per nine (BB/9) and generated a 50.3 ground-ball percentage. Just don't expect to be the only one playing him after earning 27 strikeouts through his last two outings. ESPN went back over 30 years to place Archer's recent dominance into perspective:

Gerrit Cole is also enjoying a substantial breakout season, but Sunday's most expensive choice above Archer receives a peskier opponent in the Atlanta Braves, an average offense that rarely strikes out against righties. While Cole warrants too much respect to fall under the "dud" column, Archer is the ace to employ. 

Carlos Carrasco ($9,500), Cleveland Indians vs. Baltimore Orioles

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Carlos Carrasco's 3.92 ERA is a dirty, filthy liar. Also the owner of a 10.35 K/9, 2.10 BB/9, 47.9 ground-ball percentage and 2.57 FIP, he's the real deal.

Perhaps getting drilled in the head by a line drive contributed to his early struggles, but Carrasco has bounced back beautifully with four runs, 23 strikeouts and five walks through his past 21 innings pitched. He has tallied at least five strikeouts during each of the last five outings, most recently earning eight against the contact-savvy Kansas City Royals.

After slaying a tough opponent in Kansas City, Carrasco is money well spent against the Baltimore Orioles, a solid offense not worth targeting or avoiding. He hasn't yet earned the household notoriety of Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto, but he's a better source of strikeouts.

Mike Fiers ($8,100), Milwaukee Brewers at Minnesota Twins

Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

A quick glance shows the Minnesota Twins leading the American League Central while producing 4.5 runs per game. Yet their struggles against righties makes Mike Fiers an ideal high-upside choice for cash and tournament competitors.

The Twins have posted a mediocre .292 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers, striking out 21.6 percent of the time while mustering a 6.1 walk rate. Recovering from an ugly start, Mike Fiers has recorded a 2.57 ERA during his last five starts to accompany a stellar 10.77 K/9 rate on the season.

GS	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB	FIP
11	57.2	4.06	1,49	69-19	3.45

While the matchup and strikeouts make him a strong play, he does come with two negatives. First, he has yet to go seven or more innings in a start this season, and each inning hurled nets 2.25 DraftKings points. Also, his 40.5 hard-hit percentage defies the notion of his 4.06 ERA amounting solely to poor luck on batted balls. 

But if those problems didn't exist, someone with his strikeout prowess would cost far more than $8,100.

Jordan Zimmermann ($8,700), Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs

Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Jordan Zimmermann doesn't fit the strikeout theme. Although solid as ever with a 2.80 ERA, the Washington Nationals hurler wields a boring 5.90 K/9 rate. Yet the Chicago Cubs can help on that front.

The Cubs dubiously lead the pack with a 25.5 strikeout percentage, and their lineup card gets ugly fast after Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. On May 26, Zimmermann allowed nine baserunners and one run through seven innings, during which he collected five strikeouts. Not the most impressive outing in the world, but he's a safe and affordable option for cash contests.

Ryan Vogelsong ($6,400), San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Anyone looking to punt his or her second pitcher will turn to Ryan Vogelsong, who has the hot hand and matchup to draw mass appeal.

The 37-year-old has allowed seven earned runs over his last six starts, giving him a 1.67 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Will it last? No. Soft-tossers with a 4.93 FIP, 6.79 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9 don't dominate over the long haul.

Fortunately, daily gamers just need one more solid start against the putrid Philadelphia Phillies, who possess the worst on-base percentage, slugging percentage and weighed runs created plus (wRC+) by a wide margin versus righties. 

Duds

Lance Lynn ($9,200), St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

Michael Thomas/Getty Images

Nothing personal against Lance Lynn, who is every bit a top-line starter with a 3.03 ERA, 2.97 FIP and 9.48 K/9 ratio. Unfortunately for him, the Los Angeles Dodgers lead MLB in on-base percentage and slugging percentage against right-handed pitchers. 

The St. Louis Cardinals also face Zack Greinke, who allowed one run in each of his last four starts before getting shelled at Coors Field. Then again, Greinke's 7.40 K/9 also makes him a suboptimal play on Sunday against the Cardinals, who rank second behind the Dodgers in on-base percentage versus righties.

Collin McHugh ($7,500), Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Collin McHugh's season went south in a hurry. After carrying over his breakout 2014 through April, he became much more hittable in May.

Stat	April	May
IP	24.2	39.0
ERA	2.92	5.08
OPP SLG %	.333	.520
K/9	8.39	6.69
FIP	1.74	5.22
GB %	54.8	43.2

The righty has registered reverse splits this season, meaning righties have raked (.290/.337/.477) against the fellow right-hander. Even if Edwin Encarnacion sits out after leaving Saturday's game, the Toronto Blue Jays still carry some dangerous righties in Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Russell Martin.

Pitching at Rogers Centre, a park conducive to home runs, the slumping McHugh is too dangerous to trust against Toronto's sluggers.

All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs. 

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