FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 8/4/20
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
Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
At Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Price: $9,400
Yesterday was a gorgeous slate of pitching, and Tuesday is certainly not devoid of good pitching options, either.
Patrick Corbin is the most expensive option on the slate, but for my money, I'm betting on Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox.
While Giolito was roughed up in his first start, that comes with a major asterisk -- it was against the juggernaut Minnesota Twins offense, who rank in the top-10 of nearly every statistical category.
His last time out? Back to pure domination. Giolito fired six innings, striking out six, allowing only four hits, and a 16.5% swinging-strike rate. Pair that with a struggling offense that is striking out 26.3% of the time this season, and Giolito could be a monster.
Mid-Priced Option
Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
Vs. Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Price: $8,500
Despite the fact that Max Fried has apparently turned into Sandy Koufax for the Atlanta Braves, his price point is very affordable at a mere $8,500 on today's slate. That could have him go relatively unnoticed with so many big names on board.
But if you are sleeping on Fried, that's at your own peril. Fried's opponent tonight, te Toronto Blue Jays, clock in only 21st in team wOBA (.297), all while whiffing at a healthy 23.3% clip.
The 9.0 run over/under may scare you, but in peeping our heat map, Fried actually sports the fifth-lowest total for a starter (3.93). Pretty good, fam.
Save some coin and consider a cheaper Fried.
Low-Priced Play
Jesus Luzardo, Oakland Athletics
Vs. Texas Rangers
FanDuel Price: $6,100
Because he has pitched as a reliever so far this season, Jesus Luzardo of the Oakland Athletics has an arbitrarily reduced price point for tonight's contest. That's a big buying opportunity for DFS players.
Not only has Luzardo struck out seven batters in his first 6 2/3 innings, but he also attacks a Texas Rangers team that has been downright putrid at the dish. They are fourth-worst in team wOBA (.288), and they strike out at a decent clip of 22.8% while showing little pop at the dish (.152 isolated power).
He won't be this cheap for long, so take a shot at Luzardo in tonight's contest -- his slate-best 3.39 implied run total will be a big play tonight.
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.
