MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 9/17/19

Yu Darvish has been on a tear and gets to face a slumping Reds lineup. Which other arms should be on your radar?

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

Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs

vs. Cincinnati Reds

FanDuel Price: $10,400

So I guess Yu Darvish may not be washed up after all.


After a rough start to the year, Darvish has been absolutely on fire since the All-Star break. In 11 starts following the break, Darvish has posted a 2.44 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with a 36.6% strikeout rate. Whew.

Facing an offensively challenged Cincinnati Reds team, an offense that ranks only 22nd in team wOBA (.313), Darvish could be primed for a big scoring night.

Mid-Priced Option

Chris Paddack, San Diego Padres

at Milwaukee Brewers

FanDuel Price: $8,700

Rookie Chris Paddack has enjoy a sensational rookie season. Even with his innings being managed, he's averaged over a strikeout per inning while logging a solid 3.38 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

With the Milwaukee Brewers missing middle-of-the-order bat Christian Yelich, they have gone a little cold at the dish. Over the last 14 days, they rank 16th in wOBA (.316), and they are striking out at a 24.8% clip.

For a solid mid-priced option, peep Paddack.

Low-Priced Play

Nathan Eovaldi, Boston Red Sox

vs San Francisco Giants

FanDuel Price: $6,600

The cheap pitcher with the most upside on the slate may be Nathan Eovaldi of the Boston Red Sox.

While he isn't pitching very deep into games, he is throwing well -- as evidenced by his one earned run allowed over five frames against the Minnesota Twins -- and he's managed to strike out 17 batters over 13 1/3 innings.

He also gets the added benefit of taking on a struggling San Francisco Giants, an offense that ranks dead last over the last 14 days in both isolated power (.127, ISO) and wOBA (.273). For a very different option on the slate, consider Eovaldi.


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.