FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 8/27/21
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
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
At Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Salary: $11,200
On a mega slate, it's always interesting looking through the pitching options, but it's hard to not roster a guy like Gerrit Cole.
Cole has been brilliant since returning from the injured list -- fanning 15 over 11 2/3 frames of one-run ball -- and his season-long marks have been pretty awesome, including a 34.3% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate.
Now, what could scare you today is Cole's opponent, the Oakland Athletics. Over the last 30 days, they have just a 20.3% strikeout rate, but Cole can thrive in just about any matchup if he's on. Our projections have Cole blowing the field away at 41.0 FanDuel points, 3.3 more than the next highest hurler.
Mid-Salaried Play
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
At Kansas City Royals
FanDuel Salary: $8,000
Wanna get a little spicy in the mid-range? Let's look at Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners.
Gilbert has been pretty darn good in his rookie season. In 82 innings pitched, he's recorded a 26.6% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate, including a 26.4% called-plus-swinging-strike rate so far this year. That's pretty darn good.
Oh and the Kansas City Royals? Yea, they've struggled lately at the plate. Over the last month, they rank fifth-worst in team wOBA (.290), and their .131 isolated power (ISO) is pretty ugly, too.
Gilbert is worth a look in the mid-range.
Low-Salaried Play
Dallas Keuchel, Chicago White Sox
Vs. Chicago Cubs
FanDuel Salary: $7,100
If you're looking for a low-salary arm, Dallas Keuchel needs to be at the top of your wishlist.
The veteran left-hander doesn't boast a lot of metrics we typically target -- his 14.1% strikeout rate is one of the league's lowest marks among qualified starters -- so a high ceiling may not be in play here.
But his 55.8% ground-ball rate often limits the damage, and the offense he is facing is one he can succeed against. Over the last 30 days, the Chicago Cubs have struck out at a 29.6% clip. They also rank eighth-worst in teams of team wOBA (.296), and their .144 ISO is pretty paltry.
Keuchel isn't a bad dart throw if you want to load up on high-salary sticks.
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.
