MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Monday 4/26/21

It's Corbin Burnes day. Are we ready to buy in for another brilliant outing from the ace?

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

Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers

Vs. Miami Marlins
FanDuel Salary: $11,100

It's almost as fun to write about Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers as it is to wax poetically about Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets. It's also a bit odd, as a dude that's straight out balled, to talk about him as the second-best pitcher in baseball. Yup, he's THAT good.

So far on the season, Burnes has been a legit monster. Over 24 1/3 innings, he hasn't walked nary a batter. Yup, NO ONE. Over those innings, he's whiffed 40, and no walks. Pretty crazy.

It could be tempting to look down to Julio Urias ($9,900), and I won't quibble too much given his brilliance. But our algorithm projects Burnes for a monster night. Pay up, friends.

Mid-Salaried Play

Sean Manaea, Oakland Athletics

At St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $8,100

So far, Sean Manaea has honestly been far better than expected this year -- not that he hasn't had the pedigree.

The Indiana State product and number seven overall pick in his draft class comes with plenty of fanfare -- but truly, a lack of results, as well. This season, however, has been an exception. He's averaged 34.25 FanDuel points per game thanks to averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.

And his opponent, it's just the Tampa Bay Rays, who strike out 26.7% of the time this season. For a mid-range play, Manaea could be your dude.

Low-Salaried Play

Austin Gomber, Colorado Rockies

At San Francisco Giants
FanDuel Salary: $6,000

Yes, I get it. Austin Gomber is a member of the Colorado Rockies. As Aaron Rodgers likes to remind us, just relax, friends.

But if you are really paying close attention to the southpaw, the dude has been legit. Over his last three starts, including ones against the solid Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros offenses, he has averaged 35 FanDuel points per game.

Okay, so what now? Well, he leaves the hitter-friendly confines of Coors, and he gets to drive that nasty sinker against a 25.0% strikeout offense like the San Francisco Giants. Spend low, but with major reward.


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.