MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 5/7/21

Zach Plesac has gotten off to a bad start, but he's got a solid matchup tonight at a reasonable salary. Which other arms should we consider?

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 Play

Trevor Rogers, Miami Marlins

Vs. Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Salary: $10,400

If you haven't taken notice of rookie sensation Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins, it might be the time to come worship at the pulpit.

Miami seems to have no end to a superfluous influx of young pitching talent. They already traded Zac Gallen away, but they still sport Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, and Sixto Sanchez in this stable of young arms. That ish cray.

Rogers has been an absolute monster on the season. He's whiffed 44 batters in 33 innings, and he could add to that total this evening against the Milwaukee Brewers, who rank fourth-worst in Major League Baseball in team strikeout rate (27.2%).

Now, Fridays usually mean big main slates -- and today is no exception. With Julio Urias, Jack Flaherty, and Carlos Rodon available at our disposal, there are many places where you can go, but Rogers stands out for me. Our algorithm projects Rogers for 29.0 FanDuel points, giving him solid value.

Mid-Salaried Play

Zach Plesac, Cleveland Indians

Vs. Cincinnati Reds
FanDuel Salary: $7,600

2021 hasn't gotten off to the start that Zach Plesac has exactly hoped for. While he was brilliant in the shortened 2020 campaign, the right-hander has hit some bumps this season, hence the lofty 4.78 ERA.

But in his last outing, Plesac ramped up that fastball velocity, averaging 95 mph in the start, and the results came with it, including a season-high in strikeouts.

That's good to note, as Cincinnati has whiffed plenty this season with a 25.0% strikeout mark. Now, this is a solid offense -- their .331 wOBA mark is one of the best in the league -- but away from Great American Smallpark, I'd expect a big night from Plesac.


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.