FanDuel MLB DFS Picks and Helper: Thursday 8/1/24

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

Be sure to incorporate our MLB DFS projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- into your research process. numberFire also has the latest starting lineups and weather as well as heat maps to help you find the best matchups.

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

Note: All MLB odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

MLB DFS Picks

Pitcher Breakdown

Seth Lugo ($10,300) and Sonny Gray ($10,000) are the lone pitchers with a salary of $10,000 or higher on Thursday's five-game main slate. Lugo gets to face a Detroit Tigers team that has sixth-worst wOBA (.270), seventh-worst wRC+ (73), and seventh-highest strikeout rate (24.7%) versus right-handed pitching in the last 14 days. The Kansas City Royals are -152 favorites on the road.

Gray has cooled off recently, scoring 34 or fewer FanDuel points in four of his last five starts while surrendering three-plus earned runs in each of those contests. Even though the Chicago Cubs have the 10th-highest strikeout rate (23.8%) against righties this season, they are capable of doing damage at Wrigley Field.

There is always ceiling-game potential from Shota Imanaga ($9,700) as he ranks in the 97th percentile in both walk rate (3.8%) and chase rate (35.4%). Imanaga's 9.2% barrel rate can get him into trouble at times, but the St. Louis Cardinals do have the ninth-highest CSW percentage (28.1%) in 2024.

Both Charlie Morton ($8,800) and Max Meyer ($8,700) carry upside in Thursday's NL East clash between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. The Braves have the third-highest strikeout rate (26.1%), and the Marlins are logging the sixth-highest strikeout rate (25.2%) against right-handed pitching in the last 30 days. However, Atlanta has the shortest odds to win (-200) on Thursday.

Weather appears to be a major concern across today's main slate, so keep tabs on updates throughout the day before deciding on a pitcher and which teams to stack.

Stacks to Target

• Baltimore Orioles (4.73 implied total) -- Ben Lively owns an uninspiring 8.4% swinging-strike rate and 44.5% fly-ball rate while sitting in the 5th percentile in average exit velocity (90.9 MPH) and 18th percentile in hard-hit rate (42.8%). Aside from having the seventh-lowest strikeout rate (19.6%), Baltimore has the third-best wOBA (.376), second-best wRC+ (148), and fourth-best ISO (.212) against right-handed pitching in the last 14 days.
• Kansas City Royals (4.60) -- The Royals may have the best matchup on the board on Thursday against Keider Montero, who ranks in the 6th percentile in xERA (5.35), 5th percentile in xBA (.288), and 31st percentile in barrel rate (8.7%). Targeting right-handed bats from Kansas City's lineup could be the way to go as Montero is permitting a .437 wOBA, 1.70 WHIP, and 3.52 HR/9 to righties this season.
• Los Angeles Angels (4.59) -- Ryan Feltner could become a somewhat popular salary-saving option at pitcher, but he's tallying a 40.3% fly-ball rate and 4.49 xFIP on the road, compared to a 28.3% fly-ball rate and 3.56 xFIP when taking the mound at Coors Field. Additionally, Feltner is giving up a .355 wOBA, 1.51 WHIP, and 1.25 HR/9 to lefties, which provides a boost for the left-handed bats of the Angels.
• Colorado Rockies (4.41) -- Carson Fulmer is in the 13th percentile in walk rate (11.6%) and 17th percentile in barrel rate (9.7%), and he's been pulled before the sixth inning in each of his first three starts for the Angels. Los Angeles' bullpen has registered the fourth-worst xFIP (4.61) and the highest fly-ball rate (45.5%) over the last 30 days, while Colorado has the 5th-best wOBA (.344), 12th-best wRC+ (107), and 6th-best ISO (.197) versus right-handed pitching in the same 30-day span.

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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.