FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 4/23/21
Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary studs. These guys take up by far the biggest chunk of your cap space, but they also offer the highest ceiling. And in the case of pitchers, the high-salary options typically come with the highest floors, too.
For hitters, we're looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and with players around them that are likely to produce well, too, increasing our chances for runs and RBI. For pitchers, we want big strikeout numbers, while the ability to go deep in a game and pick up a win is also valuable.
With your high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you need to be right on these guys, so let's take a look at a few top-end options you can count on to anchor your lineup today.
High-Salaried Option
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
Vs. Washington Nationals
FanDuel Salary: $12,500
More than a third of the salary for your entire roster. That's what it will cost if you want to lock in Jacob deGrom. Is he worth it, and are you ready for that kind of sacrifice?
I can't really answer the latter for you, but the answer to the former is a resounding yes. If you thought deGrom was ballin' in previous seasons, peep this -- it's early fam, but in three starts this year, the right-hander has struck out 15.9 batters per nine innings pitched. That's not a typo. He's got a 48.6% strikeout rate and 1.39 SIERA.
It could be tempting to look down to Clayton Kershaw or Tyler Glasnow, and I won't quibble too much given that it's a Coors slate. But our algorithm projects deGoat, I mean deGrom, for a slate-best FanDuel 42.3 points.
Mid-Salaried Play
Sonny Gray, Cincinnati Reds
At St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
Stop me if you have heard me say this before -- the St. Louis Cardinals' offense stinks.
I'm sorry, but it's true -- there's no chance of accusing me of being a hometown homer. This team is terrible at the dish. Despite trading for Nolan Arenado in a monster offseason move, this lineup cannot hit. Their trashy attack cost them wins in arguably two of the best pitching performances of the season against the Washington Nationals this week. The Cards own a .137 ISO and 24.0% strikeout rate.
Sonny Gray will face St. Louis tonight. He is making his second start of 2021 after getting a late jump with a back issue. Gray pitched to a 30.6% strikeout rate last year and should be able to work deeper into the game today after going just 71 pitches in his debut.
If you are looking for an arm in the mid-range, Gray is a good pick. We peg him for a solid 35.5 FanDuel points.
Low-Salaried Play
Mike Minor, Kansas City Royals
at Detroit Tigers
FanDuel Salary: $6,400
I'm not sure if it's because he's a vet or because he doesn't post eye-popping velocity numbers like we are frequently seeing, but Mike Minor's salary is too low. He could be a huge asset tonight on a loaded DFS slate.
Minor got banged around the yard in his previous start against the Toronto Blue Jays, who look to be emerging as one of the top attacks in the league. But Minor's first start in 2021 gave us a glimpse of what he can be. In that one, he went six innings, allowing four runs but striking out six in a win.
He draws a great matchup against the Detroit Tigers, who have a measly 3.85 implied total.
If you're trying to stack Coors, Minor is a guy who can help you do so. We project him for 29.0 FanDuel points and rank him as the second-best point-per-dollar arm.
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.
