FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 7/2/22
Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.
Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!
Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.
Pitchers
Dylan Cease ($10,700)
After consecutive double-digit strikeout performances in his last two starts, Cease's FanDuel salary has skyrocketed 11.4% to his highest point this season.
While his matchup against a San Francisco Giants' lineup with a 10.2% walk percentage promotes some reason for concern when examining Cease's main weakness (career 10.7% walk rate), Chicago's right-hander has clearly elevated his skill-set in his fourth big league season, accounting for a career-best 2.75 expected Fielding Independent Pitching rating and a 35.5% strikeout percentage in 81.0 innings.
With seven projected hitters with K-rates over 20.0%, Cease currently ranks second with 6.25 strikeouts and first with a 31.0 FanDuel point projection.
George Kirby ($8,500)
Through 53.0 innings this season, Kirby has slightly over-performed his 4.08 Earned Run Average when comparing his expected metrics (3.68 xFIP) with his rookie production.
Despite recent home-run concerns (11.4% barrel rate), Seattle's 24-year old has a decent opportunity to rebound from his worst career start last week versus an Oakland Athletics' team with a weak .279 weighted on-base average and a 23.3% strikeout percentage in their last 140 plate appearances in this particular split.
At his third lowest point, Kirby's decreased salary offers plenty of value with a 3.31 rating and a 28.1 fantasy expectation.
Spencer Strider ($7,700)
Atlanta's 23-year old right-hander is another mid-range salary option to consider with an eye-popping 34.1% strikeout percentage and a 2.70 xFIP in a starting role against a Cincinnati Reds' lineup with a projected .286 wOBA including six hitters with contact rates under 76.4%.
Among Saturday's 18 pitchers, Strider currently rates third with 5.89 expected strikeouts and second in value with a 3.85 rating.
Aaron Ashby ($6,800)
Since May 25th despite recording an ugly 5.06 ERA, Ashby remains an optimal value consideration when evaluating his slate-high 4.21 rating and 2.61 xFIP in his last five starts .
In a great spot versus a Pittsburgh Pirates' team with a low .226 weighted on-base average and a 37.6% K-rate, Milwaukee's lefty currently rates sixth overall with a 28.7 projection and 5.2 strikeouts.
Stacks
After a 14-run outburst on Friday night, the Phillies' offense will be a crucial decision point versus St. Louis' young left-hander Matthew Liberatore.
While the 22-year old lefty displayed some ability to produce strikeouts in Triple-A (23.7% in 2021, 25.4% in 2022), Liberatore has struggled at the highest level of baseball, recording an ugly 5.34 xFIP and a 7.1% swinging strike rate.
With obvious struggles versus bats from the right side of the plate (career 5.84 expected FIP), core Philadelphia stacks can start with Rhys Hoskins (11,7% barrel rate, .513 expected slugging), Alec Bohm (.345 expected wOBA, .467 expected slugging), and Nick Castellanos (8% barrel percentage, .466 expected slugging) while J.T. Realmuto (.406 expected slugging) and Kyle Schwarber (21.5% barrel rate, .645 expected slugging) are secondary options.
In a matchup versus Bryse Wilson, Milwaukee's lineup offers several power hitters from the left side against a below-average right-hander with a career 5.14 xFIP and a 16.1% K-rate.
To best counter Wilson's trouble versus lefty hitters, Milwaukee correlations should include Rowdy Tellez (.575 expected slugging, 12.9% barrel rate), Christian Yelich (9.9% barrel percentage, .353 expected wOBA), and Jace Peterson (8.4% barrel rate, .431 expected slugging) while Andrew McCutchen (7.9% barrel rate, .475 expected slugging) and Willy Adames (15.8% barrel percentage, .376 expected wOBA) should also be mixed in.
