FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 7/30/19
In daily fantasy baseball, success starts with nailing the starting pitcher spot in your lineup.
When compared to hitters, pitching performance tends to be much more predictable and stable throughout the course of the season. You know what you're getting from a top-level ace when you roster him: probably a dominant effort with only one or two implosions per season. In contrast, even the game's best hitters have days at the plate when they go 0-for-4.
As a result, lineup construction should begin with the starting pitcher. Each day we will highlight a starter to consider from each pricing tier, and we'll also look at one contrarian play for tournaments. Who should you consider on today's main slate?
High-Priced Option
Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
at Chicago White Sox
FanDuel Price: $10,600
In what could be his last start as a member of the New York Mets, Noah Syndergaard is scheduled to start tonight, and assuming he is still in uniform by this evening, he could be primed for a massive day.
First, let's peep Thor's last three starts, which have been brilliant. He's averaged 46 FanDuel points per start, and he's whiffed eight or more batters in each of those outings. It's no surprise that each one of those outings registered as a quality start for Syndergaard.
Let's now turn to his opponent, who also provides some significant upside for the Met hurler. The Chicago White Sox strike out fourth-most in the league (25.6%), and their team wOBA mark of .302 clocks them in sixth-worst.
If you are looking to spend up at pitcher, consider Syndergaard.
Mid-Priced Option
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs
at St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel Price: $8,300
Has anyone noticed how good Yu Darvish has been in the last six weeks? Dating back to June 15th, the right-hander owns a 3.79 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and has struck out 51 batters over 42 innings.
Darvish has exhibited control issues, but over that span, he's greatly helped out his own cause with only seven free passes over that time frame, which has led to his 35-point FanDuel average over those seven starts.
He could add to that stellar run tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals, who are one of the league's worst offenses. They rank eighth-worst in the league in team wOBA (.310) and isolated power (.166, ISO), and he will get to throw in pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium.
Syndergaard makes for a great option, but a costly one -- for someone that provide similar upside at a much lower price point, think about playing Darvish.
Low-Priced/Contrarian Play
Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels
vs. Detroit Tigers
FanDuel Price: $6,700
Let's discuss the elephant in the room immediately -- Griffin Canning has been absolutely terrible for the Los Angeles Angels recently. In his last four starts, Canning has failed to top 30 FanDuel points, averaging 9.5 FanDuel points while getting bashed around the yard for 16 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings. Not great, Bob.
While Canning has been hurt by a bout of wildness, walking 11 batters in that time frame, it's good to see that he has maintained that strikeout juiciness by whiffing 16 batters. The strikeout upside is still available.
That's the key to understand when you look at his opponent, the Detroit Tigers, who struggle at the plate.They lead the league in team strikeout rate (26.4%) and rank third-worst in ISO (.149). It's not a robust offense by any stretch.
It may be tough to stomach rostering Canning given how badly he has fared lately, but with a dream matchup and showcasing strong strikeout ability, he should still be considered.
Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
