MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 9/9/22

Josh Shepardson  —  @BChad50 Sep 9th, 2022
Charlie Morton has been excellent lately and makes for a strong tournament play against Seattle tonight. Which other pitchers stand out on the main slate?

Pitchers lay the foundation for daily fantasy baseball teams. So it's not coincidental they have the highest salaries in FanDuel contests. Of course, it's possible to overcome a bad outing from a starter, but it's markedly easier to cash in contests with a good or excellent start.

Simply nailing your pitcher can cover up for a miss or two among your hitter selections. Thankfully, pitchers are less volatile to project than their hitting counterparts. First, pitcher skills such as walk rate and strikeout rate help separate the genuinely talented pitchers from their lesser peers. In addition, park factors and the offensive strength of the opponent are integral considerations for picking your FanDuel pitchers.

Weighing the importance of a pitcher's skill, park factors, opponent, and accounting for their salary is the game within the game on FanDuel. This piece is your home for my favorite pitcher picks for FanDuel's main slate every day. So, let's get to today's top hurlers.

High-Salaried GPP Play

Charlie Morton, Atlanta Braves

At Seattle Mariners
FanDuel Salary: $9,300

Charlie Morton has been outstanding during the dog days of summer. In his previous 11 starts totaling 66 innings, he's had a 3.14 ERA, 3.03 SIERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 32.1 percent strikeout rate.

The 38-year-old righty has also shown that his elite strikeout upside is tailor-made for tournaments, striking out at least seven batters in 5 of his 6 games and reaching double-digit strikeouts in 5 of 15 starts since June 11.

There's an upcoming righty I prefer to use instead of Morton in cash games, but Morton's ceiling is tantalizing in GPPs.

Moreover, the betting info supports Morton's case for tournament consideration. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Atlanta Braves are -116 favorites, and the game's total is only 7.0 runs.

Morton's salary isn't obstructive to stacking my favorite offenses tonight, too, such as the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros.

Mid-Salaried Pick

Ross Stripling, Toronto Blue Jays

At Texas Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $8,700

Ross Stripling is my top choice in cash games, but he's also an exciting selection in GPPs.

Stripling has been in good form. In his previous nine starts spanning 49 1/3 innings, he's had a 2.92 ERA, 3.33 SIERA, 0.99 WHIP, 3.6 percent walk rate, and 24.5 percent strikeout rate. Additionally, Stripling has had four consecutive quality starts and five in his previous seven turns.

The matchup is great for the veteran righty, too. The Texas Rangers are a non-threatening matchup, tying for 22nd in wRC+ (93) against righties. They've also had the seventh-highest strikeout rate (23.8 percent) against them.

Additionally, the betting info is excellent. The Toronto Blue Jays are -166 favorites, and the game's total is merely 7.5 runs. So, Stripling's recent excellence, superb matchup, and favorable betting info are grounds for locking him into all formats.

GPP Dart

Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox

At Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Salary: $11,000

It's been a rocky road for Lucas Giolito in 2022, but he's been quite unlucky. Giolito's 5.21 ERA is higher than all of his ERA estimators, such as his 3.68 xFIP and 3.77 SIERA. The 28-year-old righty has also had a fantasy-friendly 25.3 percent strikeout rate.

Additionally, Giolito's home and road splits are encouraging for his outlook tonight. He's been crushed for a 6.61 ERA at home but twirled a palatable 3.91 ERA on the road. Giolito has an opportunity to lower his road ERA in an awesome matchup tonight.

The Oakland Athletics are 27th in wRC+ (83), with the eighth-highest strikeout rate (23.7 percent) against right-handed pitchers in 2022. Further, Giolito's inclusion makes it a clean sweep for featured favorites. The Chicago White Sox are -164 favorites, and the game's total is 7.5 runs.

Giolito is a stellar tournament pick despite his struggles this year.


Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.