MLB

FanDuel Pitching Primer: Wednesday 9/16/20

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Sep 16th, 2020
The regular season may be winding down, but there's still plenty of great DFS matchups to play, including at the pitcher slot. Who should we consider rostering?

In daily fantasy baseball, success starts with nailing the starting pitcher spot in your lineup.

When compared to hitters, pitching performance tends to be much more predictable and stable throughout the course of the season. You know what you're getting from a top-level ace when you roster him: probably a dominant effort with only one or two implosions per season. In contrast, even the game's best hitters have days at the plate when they go 0-for-4.

As a result, lineup construction should begin with the starting pitcher. Which pitchers should you consider on today's main slate?

High-Salaried Option

Dylan Bundy, Los Angeles Angels

Vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Salary: $9,800

A day after ex-Angel Kole Calhoun popped his teammates for a few long balls, Dylan Bundy will take the bump and hope to slow the Snakes down a bit.

Bundy, after a change of scenery from the Baltimore Orioles to the West Coast, has been downright brilliant this season. Over 9 starts and 58 1/3 innings pitched, he's posted a 29.3% strikeout rate to match that sparkling 2.48 ERA.

The Diamondbacks aren't a perfect matchup -- they do have a lowly 21.2% strikeout rate, but against righties this season, they have only logged a .300 wOBA and .160 ISO. Expect another stellar Bundy outing tonight.

Mid-Salaried Play

Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals

At Detroit Tigers

FanDuel Price: $8,000

It's been a bit of an odd week for the Kansas City Royals -- they were all lined up to start Danny Duffy yesterday, and then he went and missed his team flight. 2020, y'all.

The good news is that rookie right-hander Brady Singer gets the ball, and that's outstanding for two reasons -- the first is that while he may be flying under the radar to some, he's been really solid as of late, recording a 52.4% ground-ball rate this season.

The second reason is that the Detroit Tigers, Singer's opponent, have stunk against righties this year. They sport the league's highest strikeout rate in this split (27.6%), and their .294 wOBA and 32.6% hard-hit rate are nothing to be afraid of.

Play Singer with confidence tonight.

Low-Salaried Play

Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

Vs. Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $6,400

We are going to be treated to not one but two rookie hurlers with a ton of promise, and that includes Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.

While fellow prospect Casey Mize gets a lot of the shine, it's Skubal who possesses what we want more for DFS purposes. He's got plenty of swing-and-miss upside, as evidenced by his double-digit strikeout rate at every stop of his professional career.

In addition, the Royals have been dreadfully bad in this split in 2020 -- they own a 27.4% hard-hit rate against lefties. It's not even close to a spicy take to tell you that's not good.

This play isn't without risk -- Skubal's allowed 2.08 home runs per nine (HR/9) and he gives up a lot of fly balls. But, if he can control those two problem spots, he makes for an intriguing choice for a low salary.


Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.