FanDuel Pitching Primer: Monday 9/9/19
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. Each day we will highlight a starter to consider from each pricing tier, and we'll also look at one contrarian play for tournaments. Who should you consider on today's main slate?
High-Priced Option
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Price: $10,600
In the realm of expensive arms, there are really only two tonight -- with Shane Bieber facing the tough-to-whiff Los Angeles Angels, it makes for a fairly easy choice to pivot over to stud righty Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets.
Let's not pretend like deGrom is a terrible fall back option, either -- he's been a stud of epic proportions yet again in 2019, owning a 2.76 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 176 innings pitched.
He also leads tonight's main slate in strikeout rate at 31.1%, and he owns the lowest implied allowed run total at 3.08 runs. Don't overthink this one and spend up for the Mets ace.
Mid-Priced Option
Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs
at San Diego Padres
FanDuel Price: $8,500
Now 4.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals with only 20 games to play, the Chicago Cubs will need to play catch-up, and in a hurry -- they are also holding onto a precarious spot in the wild card race. Luckily for them, their best pitcher, Kyle Hendricks, takes the mound tonight against the strikeout-happy San Diego Padres.
Over 154 innings pitched, Hendricks owns a 3.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP -- and while his 9-9 record may not turn a lot of heads, Hendricks has dominated hitters with a ground-ball heavy approach (40.4%).
His opponent may provide all of the strikeouts he needs -- the Friars clock in second-worst with a 25.8% strikeout rate, and are 23rd in team wOBA (.309).
Look for Hendricks to continue his strong run of form tonight in San Diego.
Low-Priced Play
Mike Foltynewicz, Atlanta Braves
at Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Price: $7,300
If the Atlanta Braves can get Mike Foltynewicz back on track, and he's been solid lately, this team could be very dangerous in the playoffs. His strong run on the mound could continue against a struggling Philadelphia Phillies offense.
Despite adding bats like Jean Segura and Bryce Harper this offseason, the Philadelphia offense clocks in only 19th in team wOBA (.319), and they have been strikeout happy as of late -- in the last week, they have whiffed at a 24.3% clip.
And since returning to the Braves in August, Folty has been strong -- he has averaged 29.50 FanDuel points, including notching seven strikeouts or more in three of those outings.
With a poor offense coming to the plate against him, look for Foltynewicz to be a strong play.
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.
