FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Sunday 4/23/23
Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups. Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!
Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.
| Team | Opp SP | Opp | O/U | Moneyline | Implied Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAK | Jacob deGrom | TEX | 7 | 290 | 2.55 |
| DET | Grayson Rodriguez | BAL | 7.5 | 146 | 3.33 |
| WSH | Bailey Ober | MIN | 8.5 | 215 | 3.39 |
| CHW | Zach Eflin | TB | 7.5 | 136 | 3.4 |
| CHC | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | 7.5 | 114 | 3.56 |
| MIA | Logan Allen | CLE | 7.5 | 100 | 3.68 |
| HOU | Max Fried | ATL | 8 | 126 | 3.7 |
| BOS | Corbin Burnes | MIL | 8.5 | 144 | 3.79 |
| CLE | Jesus Luzardo | MIA | 7.5 | -118 | 3.82 |
| LAD | Marcus Stroman | CHC | 7.5 | -134 | 3.94 |
| NYY | Kevin Gausman | TOR | 8.5 | 114 | 4.03 |
| TB | Lucas Giolito | CHW | 7.5 | -162 | 4.1 |
| BAL | Eduardo Rodriguez | DET | 7.5 | -174 | 4.17 |
| CIN | Vince Velasquez | PIT | 8.5 | -108 | 4.25 |
| PIT | Hunter Greene | CIN | 8.5 | -108 | 4.25 |
| ATL | Cristian Javier | HOU | 8 | -148 | 4.3 |
| TEX | Kyle Muller | OAK | 7 | -360 | 4.45 |
| TOR | Clarke Schmidt | NYY | 8.5 | -134 | 4.47 |
| MIL | Brayan Bello | BOS | 8.5 | -172 | 4.71 |
| MIN | Patrick Corbin | WSH | 8.5 | -260 | 5.11 |
Pitchers
Jacob deGrom ($11,100)
Despite a 4.7% salary increase, the Rangers' ace stands as Sunday's top pitching option with a 36.9 FanDuel point projection versus an Oakland Athletics' lineup ranked 16th in K-rate (23.1%) and 27th in weighted on-base average (wOBA) with a .297 mark.
In his first four starts with his new team, the 34-year old right-hander has outperformed his current 3.48 Earned Run Average when examining his expected statistics (2.14 expected Fielding Independent Pitching rating (xFIP), 2.07 expected Earned Run Average) and comparing his unlucky left on-base percentage (current 54.2%, career 79.1%) and batting average in balls in play (current .318 average, career .286) with his career norms.
With positive regression likely heading his way and an outstanding 19.9% swinging strike rate, DeGrom is a must-play option in all formats especially when observing his slate-high 7.0 strikeout prediction.
Clayton Kershaw ($10,400)
After a 58 fantasy point performance in his last outing, Kershaw's salary has moved up by 4% to his highest point this season against a Chicago Cubs' offense with a vulnerable .293 wOBA and a 21.1% K-rate in this split.
Through 25.0 innings this season, the Dodgers' southpaw has produced at a top level, accounting for a 3.07 xFIP, a 26.5% K-rate, and a 14.0% swinging strike percentage.
In a favorable matchup versus four Cubs' hitters with K-rates between 25.0% and 36.7% and contact percentages lower than 76.1%, the veteran left-hander has an easy path to surpass his 6.32 strikeout prediction and Sunday's second highest fantasy projection at 36.3.
Grayson Rodriguez ($8,500)
At his second highest salary during his rookie season, Rodriguez has a ceiling opportunity versus a Detroit Tigers unit with a .282 wOBA and a 24.5% K-rate including seven hitters with strikeout percentages ranging from 25.1% to 32.0% and contact rates between 62.3% and 79.6%.
While most would be anxious about the rookie's 6.91 Earned Run Average, Baltimore's right-hander is due for a change in luck when analyzing his 3.27 xFIP and his unsustainable .378 batting average in balls in play.
Stacks
In a mouth-watering spot against Patrick Corbin, the Twins are today's top stack with a 5.11 expected run total due to the left-hander's ugly 6.20 expected Earn Run Average and his inability to get outs versus right-handed bats (current .385 wOBA, 12.5% K-rate).
With this main weakness in mind, Byron Buxton (current 15.9% barrel rate), Carlos Correa (current 12.0% barrel rate), Jorge Polanco (12.5% barrel rate, .289 expected average), Ryan Jeffers (6.3% barrel rate), Donovan Solano (.311 expected average) and Michael Taylor (15.4% barrel rate) should be featured first while Joey Gallo (35.0% barrel rate) should also be included with his immense power production.
After an incredible 18-run display on Saturday night, the Rangers have another enticing matchup with a 4.45 expected run total versus Oakland's left-hander Kyle Muller.
In his last seven starts since last season, the 25-year old has pitched at a below-average level through 31.0 innings, recording a 4.76 xFIP, a 11.2% walk rate, and a weak 9.7% swinging strike percentage.
When analyzing his high ground-ball rate (42.% career rate) and his splits against the opposing side of the plate (.329 wOBA, 4.80 xFIP), Adolis Garcia (14.8% barrel rate, 36.1% fly-ball percentage), Marcus Semien (37.3% fly-ball percentage, 6.0% barrel rate), and Jonah Heim (35.9% fly-ball percentage, .307 expected average) rate as top options with their ability to hit the ball in the air from the right side while Robbie Grossman (37.8% hard hit rate, 32.4% fly-ball percentage) and Josh Jung (7.7% barrel rate) can also be mixed in.
Despite recording six runs in their last four games, the Reds deserve some consideration with a 4.25 expected run total against Vince Velasquez and his unsightly 5.67 xFIP in 19.1 innings this season.
To best attack his unique reverse splits (4.77 xFIP, 18.5% K-rate, .332 wOBA last season), ideal Cincinnati combinations should involve their top right-handed bats including Jonathan India (current .276 expected average), Spencer Steer (6.0% career barrel rate), Wil Myers (current 8.5% barrel rate), and Stuart Fairchild (current 15.0% barrel rate).
