FanDuel Pitching Primer: Wednesday 8/11/21
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-Salaried Play
Kevin Gausman, San Francisco Giants
Vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Salary: $10,300
There are two mega options on today's main slate. One of them is Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers ($11,000), who's been absolutely brilliant this season. But there's another, for a touch less salary, that I like even more tonight, and that's Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants.
A big part of my interest in Gausman is the same reason we were so interested in teammate Alex Wood yesterday -- it stems from a juicy matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over the last 30 days, Arizona ranks 24th in wOBA (.307) with the 5th-highest strikeout rate (24.6%). Across the last week, they sport the second-worst wOBA and pair that with a massive 30.3% strikeout rate, the third-highest.
Gausman's season-long numbers check out. He's carrying a 2.91 FIP and 30.3% strikeout rate. With all of this tremendous upside oozing tonight, he could put in a massive score.
Mid-Salaried Play
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks
At San Francisco Giants
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
The mid-range isn't all that appealing today, but one option who catches my eye is Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Kelly sports a tasty 3.78 FIP this season, and while the Diamondbacks have struggled this year, Kelly is certainly not to blame. Some of Kelly's best work has been in the second half this season, as he's allowed only a .302 wOBA while giving up just one home run over 112 total batters faced, which supports his strong 2.88 ERA.
The San Francisco Giants, his opponent, are definitely solid at the plate, but they also swing and miss. A lot. Over the last month, they've recorded a hefty 24.1% strikeout rate, so for all of these reasons, rostering Kelly is a solid move.
Low-Salaried Play
Tyler Anderson, Seattle Mariners
Vs. Texas Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $7,400
If you are looking for a salary-saving option tonight at pitching, Tyler Anderson of the Seattle Mariners is an absolute no-brainer on Tuesday. Let's peep the why.
Over the last 30 days, the Texas Rangers have truly been horrendous. Consider this: over that time frame, the Rangers are rocking a .238 wOBA. The second-worst team in the league over that time frame (the Los Angeles Angels) is nearly 50 points better. That's crazy. The Rangers are also sporting a .123 ISO and a 24.1% strikeout rate over the last month. Yuck.
Due to the matchup, Anderson becomes very interesting.
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.
