FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Monday 7/17/23

Monday's 10-game slate doesn't necessarily have an obvious first choice for either pitcher or stacks, which could lead to more spread out roster percentages.

Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups. Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!

Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Pitching Breakdown

Logan Gilbert ($9,900) typically doesn't profile as a top choice in DFS due to the lack of an elite strikeout rate, but in the context of this particular slate, he might be our guy.

Over 18 starts, Gilbert has amassed a 3.68 SIERA, 24.8% strikeout rate, and 4.4% walk rate, and he was enjoying a bump in workload entering the break, logging 94, 100, 105, and 94 pitches over his last four outings. That recent pitch count increase has helped him go at least seven innings in three of his last four, including a complete-game shutout that went for 58 FanDuel points.

That volume should improve his upside moving forward, but tonight's matchup should also give him a nice boost. While the Twins' offense packs some punch, their active roster has an alarming 28.0% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitching. Minnesota's 3.51 implied team total is one of the night's lowest marks, further enhancing Gilbert's appeal.

While Gilbert feels like the safest overall choice, I wouldn't have any issue with opting for Jesus Luzardo ($10,300) over him in tournaments. Luzardo boasts a 3.39 SIERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate, and he's been tearing it up lately, scoring 50 or more FanDuel points in four straight starts.

The risk is that this isn't the easiest matchup against a Cardinals team that's sporting a decent 4.29 implied team total on a warm night in St. Louis. Luzardo is typically held below 100 pitches despite his excellent numbers, too. That being said, the lefty racked up eight Ks against this team earlier this month, and his latest fantasy scores show that his ceiling is fantastic when everything clicks.

Between a slate-high salary, possible rain, and hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, Logan Webb ($10,500) arguably slots in after Gilbert and Luzardo.

But Webb has been fantastic this season, coming in with a 3.14 SIERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 4.6% walk rate, and 60.3% ground-ball rate. The righty routinely goes deep into games, leading the league in innings pitched, and despite the unspectacular strikeout rate, he's reached double-digit punchouts four times, including his last two starts before the break. Like Gilbert, he also achieved a complete-game shutout this month (67 FanDuel points).

The value range isn't super exciting, but MacKenzie Gore ($9,200), Griffin Canning ($8,800), and maybe even Nick Pivetta ($7,000) could have some appeal tonight.

Gore brings the good (27.8% strikeout rate) with the bad (10.1% walk rate), making him a boom-or-bust option versus the Cubs. Canning may not be a super exciting pitcher, but the Yankees' active roster is remarkably down to an 81 wRC+ versus righties. Assuming there's confirmation that Pivetta will be the bulk reliever against Oakland, he could be worth a dice roll, as he racked up eight strikeouts against the A's in his last appearance, and his pitch count has been on the rise.

Hitting Breakdown

The San Francisco Giants have the night's highest implied team total (5.10) versus Brandon Williamson, and it's easy to see why.

Not only will the Giants benefit from a positive park factor shirt in Cincinnati, but Williamson has struggled mightily over 10 starts. The southpaw has been knocked around by right-handed batters, posting a 5.31 xFIP, 17.8% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate in the split. He's allowed 1.91 home runs per 9 innings off a 44.4% fly-ball rate to righties, as well.

The trouble with San Francisco is that they love to play matchups, so several of their players could be lifted for pinch hitters later in the game. In particular, projected leadoff man Austin Slater ($2,600) has been consistently subbed out in his starts.

The good news? There isn't a single Giants hitter with a salary above $3,000 tonight. J.D. Davis ($2,900) and switch-hitter Patrick Bailey ($2,900) should play the whole game as regular starters. Wilmer Flores ($2,700) is a fairly safe bet and bats second versus lefties. Additionally, it might not be bad to include lefties like Michael Conforto ($3,000) or Mike Yastrzemski ($2,900) if they start in case Williamson is chased from the game early.

The Baltimore Orioles face 23-year-old Emmet Sheehan, who has a rough 5.13 SIERA, 19.5% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate over four starts. Add in a sky-high 55.2% fly-ball rate, and there's a lot to like about the Orioles as a stack -- especially when it will be almost 90 degrees at Camden Yards.

Much like the Giants, we don't need to allocate a lot of cap space to roster Baltimore's bats. Gunnar Henderson ($3,000), Adley Rutschman ($3,000), and Anthony Santander ($3,300) are top options with the platoon advantage.

If you want to be a little more contrarian, you could consider the Texas Rangers against Shane McClanahan.

While this could obviously fail miserably against a top pitcher like McClanahan, this is the lefty's first start since landing on the injured list with a back issue at the end of June. Before the layoff, McClanahan had struggled in back-to-back starts, and it's always possible that he won't be at the peak of his powers in his return.

The Rangers' salaries are way up there, but that should only further reduce their popularity. Adolis Garcia ($4,200), Marcus Semien ($3,700), and Josh Jung ($3,600) are the top righties, and Mitch Garver ($3,000) is a nice value lower in the lineup. McClanahan curiously has a 4.64 xFIP versus lefties this season, so Corey Seager ($4,300) could be a sneaky add, as well.

The Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays are other teams to have on the radar.

The Tigers are a poor offense, but they have the night's second-best implied team total (4.99), which says a whole lot about opposing pitcher Jordan Lyles. The Angels get Luis Severino, who has a 5.05 SIERA and has been crushed in his last two starts. The Dodgers need little explanation against an inexperienced Grayson Rodriguez, a 23-year-old with control and home run issues. Dane Dunning might be one of the luckiest pitchers in baseball (2.84 ERA vs. 4.72 SIERA), so perhaps regression hits against the Rays.