Daily Fantasy Baseball 2015: Best DraftKings MLB Pitcher Picks for July 25

Let's start with a warning. The trade deadline is Friday, July 31. Some big names have already moved (see Kazmir, Scott), and other chips will fall in the coming hours. 

For instance, two of the pricier options for Saturday's slate, Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels, might get moved and consequently scratched from their starts, according to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (h/t IB Times' Anthony Riccobono). I'm not saying it's going to happen, just that you, the DFS player, should keep up with the news and notes by periodically checking Rotoworld, Twitter and/or just performing a simple Google search.

On Wednesday, I wrote about four inexpensive pitchers because I hated the value at the top of the slate. Saturday could not be more different. I'm all about the top of the food chain. Here are four high-priced hurlers I love Saturday.

Chris Sale ($13,400) at Indians

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Sale is a monster, and he's the only one of these four whose team is not projected to win.

But with Sale, it's all about those strikeouts. He's ringing enemies up at an extraordinary pace. Per FanGraphs, he strikes out 11.67 batters per nine innings. That's second in MLB this season but first among mortals (Clayton Kershaw is a robot.)

FanGraphs lists Sale second in the bigs in three more advanced stats: strikeout-to-walk percentage (27.9 percent), xFIP (2.39) and SIERA (2.29).

Simply put, the stats back up the eye test. Sale is fantastic in person and on paper.

Jake Arrieta ($11,900) vs. Phillies

Grantland's Jonah Keri certainly caught my attention when he pointed out in his midseason report that Jake Arrieta was quietly one of the best pitchers in the league. According to FanGraphs, he's sixth in the league in WAR among pitchers since the start of the 2014 season.

And Saturday, Arrieta gets the Phils on the north side of Chicago. The Phillies are terrible. Go to FanGraphs' team batting stats and cycle through the offensive categories. Philly ranks in the bottom three in nearly every offensive statistic, advanced or simple.

One warning: Because of the perfect storm of poor hitting and dominating pitching, Arrieta will be highly owned. If you're playing in a massive DraftKings GPP, it might be advantageous to fade the Cubs righty.

Carlos Carrasco ($10,300) vs. White Sox

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Unfortunately, Carrasco's troops might struggle to put up run support against Chris Sale. Fortunately, the White Sox offense is anemic. They actually rank lower than the Phillies in most offensive categories—with a designated hitter!

And Carrasco is no schlub. FanGraphs states he strikes out 10.08 opposing hitters per nine innings pitched. That's the ninth-best mark in the league among starters. He's also 18th in the league in wins above replacement.

Carlos Martinez ($9,800) vs. Braves

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Per DraftKings, Martinez boasts a stellar 10-3 record with a 2.54 ERA. The Braves can't hit the ball out of the park. Per FanGraphs, through Thursday night, they had just 58 jacks in 95 games. The Cards are heavily favored, and Martinez is likely to pick up that coveted four-point win bonus.