MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Monday 9/23/19

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Sep 23rd, 2019
Patrick Corbin has been outstanding in 2019, and he gets a strong matchup tonight against the Phillies. What other pitching options should we consider?

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

Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals

vs. Philadelphia Phillies

FanDuel Price: $10,500

If the Washington Nationals can get into the playoff race, they will be a formidable opponent to deal with thanks to their outstanding pitching rotation. Free-agent signing Patrick Corbin has been a huge part of that rotation.

Over 191 2/3 innings pitched, the southpaw has posted a stellar 3.87 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), including a hefty 28.4% strikeout rate. For Corbin, his strength has also come from a very strong 34.6% hard-hit rate, which is down significantly from last season.

Attacking a Philadelphia Phillies offense, which has struggled this season to the tune of a .318 wOBA (18th), Corbin is locked in for a big scoring night.

Mid-Priced Option

Steven Matz, New York Mets

vs Miami Marlins

FanDuel Price: $8,900

It's a funky slate with only four contests, and Steven Matz of the New York Mets sits smack in the middle of the pitching options, primed for a big evening.

While Matz has been strong down the stretch, it's the opponent that gives you major excitement. Against lefties this year, the Miami Marlins rank second-worst in team wOBA (.289), last in isolated power (.136, ISO), all while striking out a decent clip of 22.6%.

Prior to a rough outing in Denver, Matz is coming off a six-inning blanking of Arizona, so expect him to return to that brilliant form tonight.

Low-Priced Play

Alex Young, Arizona Diamondbacks

vs St. Louis Cardinals

FanDuel Price: $7,500

While the St. Louis Cardinals have plenty to be excited about after clinching a playoff berth, they turn their attention to the NL Central crown, but they will have their hands full with rookie arm Alex Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Despite sweeping the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, it still doesn't hide the fact that this is a bad offense. Save for a come-from-behind win, over their last six contests, the Birds have scored a combined 21 runs over those games.

To add fuel to the fire, they rank 20th in team wOBA against lefties (.317), making Young all the more interesting as a contrarian 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.