FanDuel Pitching Primer: Thursday 5/12/22
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 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 Option
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers
Vs Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Salary: $9,200
On a funky four-game slate, Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers could be an interesting play.
While the matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies is not an easy one, but it's not a bad one, either. The Phils strike out quite a bit (23.9%), but they have a strong .164 isolated power (ISO) and .321 wOBA marks on the season. It is not a layup matchup.
But Anderson has been outstanding this season. Spanning 22 2/3 innings pitched, he's struck out 24.2% of batters, and hitters have had a rough time squaring him up as he sports a 29.0% hard-hit rate. Anderson quietly had a 11.5% swinging-strike rate last year -- a number he's bumped up to 13.4% so far this campaign.
With Dylan Cease facing the powerful New York Yankees offense and Zack Wheeler drawing a similarly challenging task versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anderson is a pitcher I like today.
Mid-Range Play
Luis Gil, New York Yankees
at Chicago White Sox
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
Parsing through today's pitching slate truly is a challenging proposition, but I think there's a ton of value in Luis Gil.
Gil makes his 2022 season debut for the New York Yankees, and he's been outstanding in Triple-A this year. Over 17 innings, Gil has still struggled with his command a touch (14.5% walk rate), but he's also struck out 30.1% of batters. That follows up a 2021 MLB season in which he finished with a 29.5% strikeout rate.
The Chicago White Sox are dealing with some injuries and have been very rough at the plate. While they do strike out less than 20% of the time, the Pale Hose also post ugly batting marks such as a .129 ISO and .286 wOBA. All of that makes Gil a solid play today if you're looking to save some coin.
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.
