FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Monday 4/3/23

Monday gets the week started with a hefty 11-game main slate, and while there aren't any true aces as we work our way toward the back of rotations, we still have some pretty solid options to choose between.

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.

Pitching Breakdown

If we sort tonight's pitchers by 2022 strikeout rate, we won't find anyone cracking 30%, but Nestor Cortes ($10,500) emerges near the top. Last year was Cortes' best as a professional, as he produced a rock-solid 3.48 SIERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate over 28 starts. Given the left-hander's 33.5% ground-ball rate, he was probably a bit lucky to allow just 0.91 home runs per nine innings, but it's otherwise hard to argue with the results.

Cortes is up against the Phillies, and while they have some scary bats atop their lineup, their active roster has produced a 24.7% strikeout rate versus southpaws dating back to last season. Philadelphia also comes in with the third-lowest implied team total (3.31). In terms of upside, the matchup makes Cortes one of our better options.

George Kirby ($10,000) is another top choice after a strong rookie campaign. Over 25 starts, Kirby posted a 3.32 SIERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, and 4.1% walk rate. Bookmakers seem to be buying into him in his sophomore campaign, too, as the Angels have the slate's lowest implied total (3.24). Also helping his cause is T-Mobile Park, one of the league's most pitcher-friendly venues.

Despite having an up-and-down 2022 campaign and getting up there in age, it's actually Charlie Morton ($9,400) who leads the slate in strikeout rate (28.2%). This isn't the easiest spot against the Cardinals, though, and that's reflected by a 4.09 implied total. St. Louis' active roster logged just a 20.4% strikeout rate versus righties since the start of last year. Still, on a slate lacking huge upside, he's under consideration.

Right-hander Jon Gray ($9,700) escaped Coors Field last year, and the result was a sub-4.00 ERA while putting up an encouraging 3.56 SIERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate. But like Morton, this isn't a cupcake matchup against Baltimore, a team with its fair share of lefties and switch-hitters and doesn't strike out often against right-handed pitching (20.2%).

Finally, Hunter Brown ($9,100) deserves a mention at this salary against the Tigers, who were easily one of the best matchups for righties in 2022. Going back to last season, Detroit's active roster is 30th in both wRC+ (80) and strikeout rate (25.0%) in the split. As for Brown, he's an elite pitching prospect who posted a 31.5% strikeout rate and 54.2% ground-ball rate in Triple-A last year and showed promise in his limited MLB action. Projection systems are already pegging him for a 26% strikeout rate despite his inexperience.

Brown is a fantastic play on paper, but the one concern could be whether his pitch count is limited after dealing with a back issue late in spring training.

Hitting Breakdown

For stacks, the Boston Red Sox lead the slate with a 5.10 implied team total against right-hander Johan Oviedo.

Oviedo was miserable versus lefties in 2022, recording a 4.93 xFIP, 17.8% strikeout rate, and 12.9% walk rate. He did have a 25.5% strikeout rate in same-sided matchups, though, making the Boston righties slightly less desirable tonight.

Rafael Devers ($4,000) is the clear top guy if you need a one-off, and then we otherwise get Alex Verdugo ($3,400), Masataka Yoshida ($3,200), and Triston Casas ($2,800) as the other lefties hitting in the top two-thirds of the order.

The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't far behind the Sox with a 4.95 implied total, and you could argue they're the top overall stack versus Ryan Feltner.

Feltner had low marks in both strikeout rate (19.6%) and ground-ball rate (41.3%) last year, and the end result was a whopping 1.48 home runs allowed per nine innings. Add in that he struggled against both lefties and righties, and this stack is a no-brainer.

Freddie Freeman ($3,700) and Max Muncy ($3,200) will have the platoon advantage, but Mookie Betts ($4,000) and Will Smith ($3,700) should be able to take advantage, as well. While there's less pop lower in the lineup, every other batter checks in at salaries below $3,000.

The Houston Astros are another team of interest in a plus matchup against lefty Matthew Boyd. We last saw Boyd as a starter in 2021, and he produced a mediocre 19.9% strikeout rate over 15 starts. But what should really intrigue is that Boyd's given up 1.60 home runs per nine innings over a career that dates back to 2015.

Houston's right-handed bats take center stage, with Alex Bregman ($3,500), Jose Abreu ($3,300), Jeremy Pena ($3,000), and Chas McCormick ($2,600) being the standouts.

For a fourth team that may not get as much attention, the New York Yankees are a possibility. The Yankees are often pretty popular, but with a middling 4.19 implied total against Taijuan Walker, they could fly under the radar more than usual.

Walker was actually a solid pitcher last season, so this is more of a bet on the Bronx Bombers taking advantage of a guy with a low strikeout rate (20.3%). Aaron Judge ($4,500) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,200) always have the two-dinger upside we crave, and both players have homered in two of the first three games. Anthony Rizzo ($3,500) had a .256 ISO in 2022, so we know he can provide plenty of punch, too.

While the rest of the lineup doesn't jump off the page as much, guys like DJ LeMahieu ($2,700) and Josh Donaldson ($2,800) can help round out stacks at a discount.