FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 9/6/22

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 where 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-Salary Play #1

Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

Vs Minnesota Twins
FanDuel Salary: $11,200

The most expensive option on tonight's main slate may look like he has a challenging matchup against the Minnesota Twins, who rank inside the top-10 in team wOBA for the season, but it actually isn't as tough as you may think.

Recent performance by the Minnesota Twins shows they've been struggling -- and it makes sense. They could field virtually a division-winning lineup with folks on the Injured List, which includes Jorge Polanco, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler. They clock in 20th in team wOBA (.296) in the last 30 days.

Cole, as may seem obvious, brings his own heat. Over 164 2/3 innings pitched this year, the right-hander has logged a 44.0% ground-ball rate, 31.3% strikeout rate, and his 27.7% hard-hit rate would be the second-best mark of his career.

We have Cole as the second-best arm on the evening, making him quite the worthy choice.

*Editors Note: Twins at Yankees has been postponed due to inclement weather.*

High-Salary Play #2

Kyle Wright, Atlanta Braves

At Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Salary: $10,600

While Cole makes for a great play, if you want to save a few bucks, there's a great play in Kyle Wright of the Atlanta Braves, who we project s a top-4 option at 33.1 FanDuel points.

Wright's 3.49 FIP spanning 154 2/3 innings pitched this season shows he's been pretty strong as a starter this season. He's logged a 24.0% strikeout rate this season, and a 54.3% ground-ball rate limits his damage.

Tonight's opponent, the Oakland Athletics, have numbers in the last month that match their poor season-long efforts. They rank fifth-worst in team wOBA, matched up with a .110 ISO mark that puts them among the league's absolute worst offenses.

Wright is certainly a strong play tonight.

Low-Salary Play

Jose Quintana, St. Louis Cardinals

Vs Washington Nationals
FanDuel Salary: $8,200

If you need some space to roster some expensive bats, can I interest you in a little Jose Quintana action?

If you look at the Washington Nationals' recent performance in the last 30 days, the numbers aren't too bad. They rank 13th in team wOBA (.311), but that's maybe where the fun stops. Their ISO mark (.137) is 19th, and their 22.9% strikeout rate is 11th worst.

Now, Quintana hasn't been great lately. He hasn't made it past five innings to qualify for a win in either of his last two starts, and he's got a 1.80 WHIP in the last month (23 1/3 innings pitched).

But, my bet is that he returns to form against a poor Nats offense. The lefty should make for a solid option at a cheaper price point.

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.