FanDuel Pitching Primer: Wednesday 8/26/20
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. Which pitchers should you consider on today's main slate?
High-Priced Option
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
vs Miami Marlins
FanDuel Price: $10,700
Last night, our top-ranked arm, Lucas Giolito, twirled a no-hitter. Can we replicate the same success with Jacob deGrom this evening?
A double no-no would certainly be an impressive feat but is very unlikely. If there is anyone that could duplicate it, it's the New York Mets righty. We peg him as our top-scoring option on the evening, and the Miami Marlins, his opponent, are certainly no world-beaters at the dish.
The Marlins sport poor marks across key offensive categories like wOBA (.307) and isolated power (ISO, .128), all while benefiting pitchers with a 24.8% strikeout rate.
Some other top-end options include Sonny Gray, who tries to salvage the series from being swept against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Clayton Kershaw ($10,700), who's been brilliant this season but takes on a San Francisco Giants offense that has surged recently. For my money, deGrom is the pick to click.
Mid-Priced Play
Elieser Hernandez, Miami Marlins
at New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $8,200
Say what, girl? Two arms from the same game? As crazy as that may sound, the Marlins and Mets sport an implied combine run total of only 7.0 runs, by far the lowest on the slate. And while deGrom gathers the lion's share of attention, Elieser Hernandez ain't too shabby, either.
From an offensive perspective, the New York Mets stand out strongly with their .342 team wOBA mark and are walking at a 10.2% clip. However, their hard-hit rate (40.2%) and fly-ball rate (32.0%) are pretty poor, leaving room for Hernandez to be in a good place.
On the season, the right-hander earned his first win of the season but has been excellent all year, racking up a 32.9% strikeout rate along the way. If you are in a salary crunch, peep Hernandez.
Low-Priced Option
Taijuan Walker, Seattle Mariners
at San Diego Padres
FanDuel Price: $7,900
This one is kind of fringy from a salary perspective, but the bottom, which includes Colten Brewer, Michael Fulmer, Jake Junis, and Asher Wojciechowski, gets pretty mucky.
Staying above that fray will be key, and Taijuan Walker looks to be in a solid spot. So far this season, in 27 innings pitched, Walker's been solid with a 4.00 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, and he's posted 37 or more FanDuel points in three of his last four outings.
Part of the juice with Walker is his strikeout ability -- he's recorded eight whiffs twice this season, and while #SlamDiego has a lot of pop, they have struggled, particularly against-right handed pitching, with a 22.1% strikeout rate. If you need a slightly cheaper option, Walker should be on your mind.
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.
