FanDuel Pitching Primer: Tuesday 8/1/23

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

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves ($11,300)

Not many pitchers in baseball have the upside that Spencer Strider does this season.

He has a strikeout rate that is just under 40%, currently sitting at 39.6%. Only one other pitcher on this slate is above a 30% rate on the season. This is a big reason why his expected FIP (xFIP) is the best in baseball.

Strider will face the Los Angeles Angels at home tonight. The Angels strike out 23.6% of the time against right-handed pitchers and now will have to face by far the best strikeout pitcher in the game this season.

He will be popular tonight, but Strider is the best option on the slate. LA has an implied team total of just 3.63 runs, one of the lowest totals on the board.

Framber Valdez, Houston Astros ($10,000)

Perhaps the best pitcher in the American League this season, Framber Valdez takes the hill tonight with a lot of things going for him.

Valdez has the second-lowest xFIP on the slate. His ground-ball rate is lower this year than it has been in the past, but it's still above average at 53.4%. This in turn with a strikeout rate up to 26.0% has made him an ace for the Houston Astros.

Houston is facing the Cleveland Guardians, who have struggled against lefties this season. They have the second-lowest wRC+ against southpaws and the lowest hard-hit rate.

Valdez is a fairly safe option that we can feel comfortable rostering in cash games.

Value Plays

Lance Lynn, Los Angeles Dodgers ($9,400)

The Lance Lynn experience this season has not been for the faint of heart. Hopefully, we can get a bit more stability now that he's with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lynn's ERA of 6.47 is ugly to look at, but his peripheral numbers are much better. His expected ERA (xERA) is much lower at 4.83. He has a very solid 26.9% strikeout rate, and even has the best swinging-strike percentage of his career at 13.9%.

Another reason we'll want to consider him tonight is because of the matchup. He'll face the Oakland Athletics, the worst team in baseball. The A's have the lowest wOBA against righties and strike out at a 24.5% clip.

Lynn is very interesting for tournaments, and perhaps the change of scenery will do him well.

Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers ($7,900)

Going a bit further down from Lynn, we can save a lot by rostering Andrew Heaney.

Heaney hasn't quite matched last season's career year when he struck out 35.5% of batters in 72.2 innings. Instead, he's struck a respectable 23.5%. His xFIP is also worse than last season but still not terrible 4.68.

The main reason to want to roster Heaney tonight is because he has a solid chance to win in a decent matchup. The Texas Rangers are currently -188 favorites, according to the MLB odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Rangers will play the Chicago White Sox. Chicago strikes out 23.1% of the time against lefties, and their 104 wRC+ isn't anything to be scared of when considering Heaney.

If you need the salary, Heaney is a fine option all the way down at $7,900.

Tournament Option

Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants ($9,200)

With Lynn potentially being popular, Alex Cobb is an interesting pivot.

He might not offer the same upside as Lynn does with strikeouts, but Cobb is probably a safer option. He has both the highest ground-ball rate (57.4%) and lowest fly-ball rate (20.4%) of pitchers on this slate. That combined with pitching at Oracle Park should mean it will be difficult for opponents to hit home runs off him tonight.

Cobb is carrying an xFIP of 3.30, the fourth-best among pitchers on the slate. He also has the fourth-highest projection, according to numberFire.

It's not the best matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which should keep Cobb's popularity down even more. If you can't stomach Lynn, Cobb definitely makes sense as an alternative.

Quick Hits

Pablo Lopez ($10,500): He's pitched well lately, with six games above 40 FanDuel points in his last nine starts.

Johan Oviedo ($8,800): Oviedo has a reasonable salary against the Detroit Tigers , who have an 86 wRC+ and .294 wOBA against righties.

Carlos Rodon ($7,900): Things have been fairly ugly for him since returning from injury, but if you want to take a chance on a pitcher who was among the best in baseball the last two seasons, this is a bargain of a salary.

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.