FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Monday 8/21/23

While we have a handful of notable names at pitcher, it's a Monday slate lacking many high-upside options. For stacks, an elite offense we often lock in has an implied team total exceeding six runs tonight. Note that tonight's game between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels has been postponed.

Our daily fantasy helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.

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Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Pitching Breakdown

On a slate without many top-tier options, Luis Castillo ($10,700) is the guy we have to begin with in a plus matchup against the Chicago White Sox.

Over 25 starts, Castillo is enjoying another fine campaign, entering the day with a 3.62 SIERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate. He's logged quality starts in just over half of those outings (13), resulting in 40 or more FanDuel points in all but one of those performances.

That's a solid level of consistency, and he's a good bet to add another quality start versus the White Sox. Despite an impressive campaign from Luis Robert, Chicago's active roster has the fourth-worst wRC+ versus righties (90) and the fifth-worst ISO (.151).

Put it all together, and we see the Pale Hose getting just a 3.70 implied team total, one of the night's worst marks.

Paul Blackburn ($7,800) isn't a guy we often consider in DFS, but on a night where the top pitching score could be lower than usual, he has some potential at this value salary.

Blackburn's underlying numbers are thoroughly average across the board, but he's quietly logged seven-to-eight punchouts in three of his last four starts, and he most recently put up a season-high 55 FanDuel points against the St. Louis Cardinals.

This is a good spot to keep it up versus the Kansas City Royals. Against righties, Kansas City's active roster has produced a 93 wRC+ this season. Their 4.02 implied team total is the slate's third-lowest mark, too.

For a contrarian option, James Paxton ($10,000) is worth a look despite an unappealing matchup against the Houston Astros.

While Paxton's 2023 campaign has to be considered an overwhelming success, his strikeouts have become much more inconsistent since late June, owning just a 21.3% rate over his last nine starts.

That doesn't inspire confidence when facing a low-strikeout team like Houston, and the left-handed Paxton will likely have to contend with seven right-handed batters, too.

Still, Paxton's velocity remains around his career average, and he's managed to hit 40 or more FanDuel points twice in his last five outings. The left-hander's season-long strikeout rate (26.3%) is still one of the best on the board, and it's always possible that he returns to the dominant form we saw early on.

Hitting Breakdown

The Atlanta Braves boast a slate-best 6.06 implied team total against a struggling David Peterson. Since rejoining the rotation in early August, the left-hander has posted a 5.58 xFIP, which is due in large part to his inability to find the plate off an absurd 22.9% walk rate.

If we look at Peterson's season as a whole, he actually has some promising peripheral numbers, including a 4.17 SIERA and 56.3% ground-ball rate. Both his .371 BABIP and 23.9% homer-to-fly-ball rate point to a whole lot of poor luck leading to his 5.45 ERA.

That being said, it's not like the lefty doesn't deserve his share of blame for his middling results. Poor control has followed him all year (11.0% walk rate), and he's also given up a ton of hard contact that's resulted in a 5.05 xERA.

Facing a patient lineup with power from top to bottom like Atlanta doesn't bode well for him.

Ronald Acuna ($4,800), Austin Riley ($3,900), and Sean Murphy ($3,900) are the top righties, and then we can also drop down to Marcell Ozuna ($3,000) and Orlando Arcia ($2,700) on the value end.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a hefty implied team total (5.40), as well, facing a pitcher with one of the night's lowest strikeout rates.

While it sounds like he'll follow an opener, left-hander Bailey Falter should be the main guy the Cardinals see tonight. Falter was just recently called back up from Triple-A at the beginning of August, and he's struck out just 16.9% of batters over three starts. That's actually a slight step up from the 16.0% strikeout rate he posted when we last saw him in April and May.

It wasn't like Falter was crushing it in between his MLB stints, either. Over his 11 Triple-A starts, he put up a 6.28 xFIP, 17.4% strikeout rate, and 10.9% walk rate.

We should see an entire lineup of righties for the Cardinals, and other than the usual duo of Paul Goldschmidt ($3,600) and Nolan Arenado ($3,400), all other St. Louis hitters come in at below $3,000 apiece. Switch-hitter Tommy Edman ($2,900) gives us a value leadoff man, and then Willson Contreras ($2,800), Tyler O'Neill ($2,700), and Jordan Walker ($2,600) are a trio of low-salaried sluggers with some pop.

The Texas Rangers are facing Slade Cecconi in what will be just his fourth MLB appearance. While Cecconi's results have been respectable thus far, a 15.9% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate suggest that they won't last, and his minor league numbers left quite a bit to be desired. Over 20 Triple-A starts before his call-up, the righty put up a 6.38 ERA and 5.52 xFIP.

We obviously can't read too much into Cecconi's big league splits, but early returns against left-handed batters haven't been great for him. Out of the 20 lefties he's faced thus far, just one has struck out.

This should have us especially excited to roster Corey Seager ($4,400), and both Nathaniel Lowe ($3,400) and Jonah Heim ($3,200) could also benefit. Of course, given Cecconi's modest overall profile, we shouldn't hesitate to stack the power righties, too.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners are other top-notch choices to stack.

The Pirates are getting 23-year-old Drew Rom, who's making his MLB debut for the Cardinals. In Triple-A, Rom has been lights out in two starts since being acquired by St. Louis, but his overall 2023 results have been mixed, including a double-digit walk rate.

Touki Toussaint has far and away the slate's worst walk rate (16.7%), something the Mariners should be able to take advantage of. Toussaint particularly struggles versus lefties (6.11 xFIP; 15.3% strikeout rate).

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.