FanDuel Pitching Primer: Monday 8/21/23

When building a daily fantasy baseball lineup on FanDuel, nailing your pitcher is crucial to succeeding in any contest. Strikeouts are king -- although, innings-eaters and win potential can't be ignored.

With a pitcher serving as the backbone of your lineup, we don't want to mess around. Let's take a look at some of the top pitcher options and values, as well as some honorable mentions for today's main DFS slate on FanDuel.

Statistics are via FanGraphs unless otherwise stated.

Top Options

Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners ($10,700)

There's not much of a question when it comes to who is the top guy today; Luis Castillo is the one you're firing up.

Castillo's pitching for the hottest team in baseball right now as the Seattle Mariners have won six straight and looking for seven on the back of their ace tonight.

The righty has the Chicago White Sox ahead of him, which is always one to be excited about when it comes to a pitcher putting up big numbers. In the second half, the White Sox are at the bottom of the league in almost every way. Their .292 wOBA ranks second to last and the 32 home runs are third to the bottom. Chicago is also striking out at a 24.0% rate, so yeah, this should be one to fire up Castillo with no problem.

If you need any reason to believe Castillo is worth the pricing outside the White Sox being terrible, then just look at the line he's put up this season. The Mariners starter has a 27.3% strikeout rate -- a respectable number that can lead to big points -- as well as a respectable mark of a 3.62 SIERA. The only concern is that he is sporting a 21.0% rate in August, which is down a bit from his full-season mark. This could be his get right game against the Pale Hose.

Projected at 37.0 FanDuel points on the day via numberFire's model, Castillo is easily the top dog for tonight's slate.

Michael Wacha, San Diego Padres ($9,700)

The other top option for the night is Michael Wacha, who has been one of the bright spots in a tough season for the San Diego Padres.

Wacha is sporting an impressive 2.68 ERA on the year and his strikeout rate is up to an improved 21.5% in 2023. In his last five starts, he's only allowed three total runs, making him an enticing, high-floor option.

The matchup against a Miami Marlins lineup that has struggled to piece much together should make for another quality start out of Wacha. The Marlins aren't doing much in the second half; their wOBA is at a .300, and they only have a .155 ISO over 33 games. There's not much worry here in terms of offensive damage, but the one thing of note is that the Marlins have been able to avoid the strikeout for the most part, having just a 21.3% strikeout rate on the season.

Still, numberFire has Wacha projected for 32.0 FanDuel points on the night, the second most of any pitcher. Fire him up in lineups.

Value Plays

Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics ($7,800)

Going to an Oakland Athletics player -- let alone starting pitching -- is always a tough choice, but at least Paul Blackburn has done his job well this season.

The A's righty has the best strikeout rate of his career (22.9%) so that alone should at least have you considering Blackburn if you're looking for upside out of a value option today. His 4.09 ERA and 3.50 FIP are also very respectable. He can get you by tonight if you're not spending big.

Blackburn is also coming off one of the best starts of his season as he went seven strong with eight strikeouts and no runs allowed against the St. Louis Cardinals.

A Kansas City Royals matchup is also what we like to see. All the Royals have to show this season is a .301 wOBA (26th in MLB) and 121 home runs. That's not all too worrisome, we'd say.

Blackburn is a good value for tonight's slate; numberFire's model has him projected for 28.6 FanDuel points.

Allan Winans, Atlanta Braves ($6,500)

The top value of the night could just be a flash in the pan, but it's hard to go away from Allan Winans following his first two starts for the Atlanta Braves.

Winans made his MLB debut at 27 years old and has been sensational thus far. The Braves starter has pitched just 11 1/3 innings but is coming off an outing where he went seven strong with nine strikeouts. In his limited sample size, Winans has a 30.4% strikeout rate and 3.14 SIERA plus a 57.1% groundball rate. That's undeniably impressive.

He had a 2.79 ERA in AAA this year, so it's not out of the realm he can keep up the good work. However, his AAA strikeout rate was 22.7% clip, so it may be unfair to expect that number to stay over 30%.

The New York Mets haven't been special as the struggles continue for the team overall. The numbers in August include a .314 wOBA and .165 ISO while they're striking out at a 20.8% rate. None of these numbers are particularly scary.

Winans is a value for good reason as we just don't know what player he's going to be, but he's such a value tonight that it feels like it's worth utilizing for DFS lineups. numberFire has Winans projected for 30.0 FanDuel points, the third-most among all pitchers on the day.

Honorable Mentions

Jordan Montgomery ($10,300): Montgomery has been a stud since joining the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline. The lefty has a 3.06 SIERA and 27.0% strikeout rate though his first three starts with the club. The only reason he is just an honorable mention is due to the potential of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have had one of the best offenses in the league this year despite the recent struggles. If you're looking for a high-salaried starter, Montgomery is still an option but buyer beware with better matchups to choose from.

James Paxton ($10,000): Overall, Paxton has had a good bounce back season with the Boston Red Sox, but with the Houston Astros finding their way in August (.344 wOBA, 120 wRC+), it's best to look the other way for another option tonight.

Cristian Javier ($9,400): The Red Sox are coming off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees that included them scoring six-plus runs in all three games. They're red-hot, and that should steer anyone away from firing up Javier and his 4.82 SIERA.

Lucas Giolito ($9,100): Since joining the Los Angeles Angels, Giolito hasn't been all too good. The bloated 4.84 SIERA and shockingly low 19.6% strikeout rate have both missed the mark of what the Angels expected from him when they went out of their way to add him to the team. He remains an option due to the Cincinnati Reds not being all too good in their own right lately (.305 wOBA in August), but it's tough to have confidence here like you would have had with Giolito even a month ago.

Looking to build some MLB DFS lineups? Check out FanDuel’s daily fantasy baseball lobby to see all the offerings for today’s slates.

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.