FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 10/1/21
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
Lance Lynn, Chicago White Sox
Vs. Detroit Tigers
FanDuel Salary: $10,000
Lance Lynn has been ballin' (on a not-so-friendly DFS budget), and he deserves some serious eyeballs tonight.
Lynn is my preference at the top end of this slate. Over 152 frames this year, he's fanned 27.6% of batters, and he's done a good job limiting walks with a 7.1% walk rate.
The matchup is a good one, too. Lynn faces a Detroit Tigers offense that isn't imposing. In the last month, they rank 16th in team wOBA (.319), and their 23.3% strikeout rate is the 12th-highest. The Tigers' 3.32 implied total is a number we can attack.
We project him for 37.0 FanDuel points, the top score of the night.
High-Salaried Play
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies
At Miami Marlins
FanDuel Salary: $9,000
While the playoffs are all but gone for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ranger Suarez cannot be blamed.
Over 99 innings pitched this year, the southpaw has absolutely baffled hitters. He's recorded a 25.1% strikeout rate on the season and is giving up just 0.36 homers per nine. His 2.80 FIP is among the league's elite, and it's strengthened by a delightful 60.6% ground-ball rate. He literally checks all of the boxes and has done a great job with the jump to the rotation.
Suarez couldn't ask for a better matchup than the Miami Marlins. They sport a league-worst 27.5% strikeout rate and .242 wOBA over the last 30 days.
Suarez makes for an outstanding play.
Mid-Salaried Play
Nestor Cortes, New York Yankees
Vs Tampa Bay Rays
FanDuel Salary: $7,900
Has anyone received less publicity than Nestor Cortes, especially considering his outright excellence?
A favorite of this piece, the southpaw has been flat out filthy. He sports a 27.5% strikeout rate on the season, and he's struck out five or more in six of his last eight starts. That's the outstanding upside we want to see.
And his opponent tonight provides plenty of juice for us. The Tampa Bay Rays have really struggled against southpaws this year, recording a 25.5% strikeout rate.
I like Cortes as a modest-salaried option.
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.
