MLB DFS: Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn Top Leverage Pitchers for Monday

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Pitchers seeing the most leverage: Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn

Miles Mikolas finds himself near the top of the leverage board for tonight’s slate in his matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. In his recent outing against the Phils, Mikolas did not have the best day, allowing four runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings pitched with only a single strikeout. Mikolas has been reliable for the Cardinals for the most part, but nothing spectacular by any means as his xERA and xFIP are in the high 3.00 range with a strikeout rate below 20%.

The Phillies have been playing great over the past couple of weeks, led by Kyle Schwarber on an unreal home-run campaign in Bryce Harper’s absence. Over the past two weeks, the Phillies are in the 7-11 range in ISO, wOBA, wRC+, and HardHit%, along with a top-four Barrel%. The Phillies are a dangerous offense, but Mikolas can game manage enough to give his squad a chance to pull away. Single-digit ownership with Mikolas is desirable, but there might be better options on the slate and staying away from the Phillies’ offense is often intelligent. 

We’re seeing Lance Lynn in a leverage spot as well as he faces the Cleveland Guardians tonight. Lynn has not been dependable for an underachieving Chicago White Sox squad in need of his 2021 numbers when he returned last month. Over five starts, he compiled a rough 5.33 ERA while having dropoffs in his strikeout production and ability to limit hard contact. Less than ideal from a DFS standpoint, but we know what Lynn’s ceiling can be, which he showed in a scoreless six-inning outing two starts ago against the San Francisco Giants. Can we get that same performance again tonight against Cleveland?

The Guardians have not been great at the plate this season and rank in the bottom eight in ISO, wOBA, and wRC+ over the past two weeks. At $8200 on DraftKings with a 5% ownership expectation, taking a shot on getting the old, dominant Lynn against a pretty mediocre offense can be a high-upside play if you are willing.