FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Monday 7/9/18

Monday's slate brings some notable names at the top of the pitching list, but there aren't necessarily any slam-dunk options tonight. Is there some merit to paying down? Meanwhile, some familiar teams in the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians top the hitting side of things.

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! And don't forget to take a listen to The Solo Shot podcast with Jim Sannes, who breaks down the MLB daily fantasy slate each day.

On that note, let's highlight some of the top options for today's FanDuel main slate.

Pitchers to Target

High-Priced Pitcher

Gerrit Cole ($11,100 on FanDuel): Gerrit Cole hasn't been nearly as dominant lately, but most pitchers would gladly take his 27.4% strikeout rate since the beginning of June. A 10.6% walk rate over the span is more concerning, but this remains a guy who's posted an elite 2.88 SIERA for the season. A matchup against a dangerous Oakland Athletics squad isn't ideal, but there are whiffs to be found in this lineup, and the A's are getting only a 3.27 implied team total at Houston. Cole is your top guy, but it's a hefty salary to pay considering the matchup and his recent form. Clayton Kershaw ($10,500) is in an intriguing spot against the San Diego Padres, but he is difficult to trust given his lower pitch counts and strikeout rate since coming off the disabled list.