MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 6/7/22

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Jun 7th, 2022
With other arms struggling on Toronto's staff, Alek Manoah has been a true stud, and he's blessed with a great matchup tonight. Which other top arms should we peep?

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 where 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-Salary Play

Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays

at Kansas City Royals
FanDuel Salary: $11,000

There are quite a few tempting options at the high end of the fantasy slate, and the first one that comes to mind immediately is Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Spanning 63 2/3 innings pitched this year, the young right-hander has been ballin' -- like a 2.52 xERA, 19.0% K-BB rate, and a 19.8% hard-hit rate kind of ballin' this year. By traditional or advanced metrics, Manoah stands out amongst the crowd.

Then there's the matchup which couldn't get much more tasty than the Kansas City Royals. The natives of the Midwest clock in third-worst in team wOBA, and fourth-worst in isolated power (ISO, .122). A team that doesn't get on base much or without a ton of pop? Okay, sure!

We project Manoah for 33.5 FanDuel points (second-best on the slate), and he's got plenty of room for more upside on top of that figure.

High-Salary Play

Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

at Pittsburgh Pirates
FanDuel Salary: $10,400

If an $11,000 price tag for your ace is a bit concerning, or you are simply just trying to pivot for a few more quality bats, look no further than Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.

Skubal has showcased a profound change in pitch mix this season, and the results seem to be paying off. He's thrown about 10% fewer heaters with more sliders mixed in, and it's led a scintillating 2.01 FIP over 58 2/3 innings pitched, including only 0.31 HR/9 allowed this season.

And the Pittsburgh Pirates? Like Manoah's matchup, it's equally juicy. Pittsburgh has been downright brutal at the dish, logging a .134 ISO and .293 wOBA this season. The main reason that we want to highlight Skubal is that the Pirates whiff at a 24.2% strikeout rate -- something we definitely like to target.

All of this makes Skubal a pretty robust play.

Value Play

Mitch White, Los Angeles Dodgers

at Chicago White Sox
FanDuel Salary: $5,600

If you need to find some of that cheap cheap fun fun, Mitch White of the Los Angeles Dodgers makes for a very intriguing option.

One thing I don't think fantasy experts were expecting in the 2022 season was a complete and utter collapse by the Chicago White Sox offense. While they may be tough to whiff (19.9% strikeout rate), their .292 wOBA and .124 ISO ranks them among the league's worst teams this season.

Like a fresh set of offerings at Williams Sonoma during the holidays, White offers a ton of spice. He's sporting a 25.2% strikeout rate this year, and hitters have particularly had a hard time squaring him up with a 30.4% hard-hit rate.

If you want to load up on costlier bats, White could be your guy.


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.