FanDuel Pitching Primer: Friday 9/18/20
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
Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
at Houston Astros
FanDuel Salary: $9,700
After being one of the league's best offenses for the last several years, the Houston Astros have really struggled at the dish, logging a mediocre .312 wOBA mark and not-so-nice .169 isolated power (ISO) metric.
While the Astros are not striking out a ton with a 20.0% rate, those whiffs can hopefully be supplied by Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over 10 starts and 60 innings pitched, the right-hander has been fantastic with a 27.4% strikeout rate and a 29.8% hard-hit rate.
With Max Fried returning from injury -- and some uncertainty about how deep he will work into games -- and a lack of swings-and-misses from other top-tier arms like Kyle Hendricks, Gallen seems like a strong choice at the top.
Mid-Salaried Play
Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals
At Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Price: $8,300
After missing his flight and his start earlier this week, Danny Duffy of the Kansas City Royals is expected to start tonight which should be a strong matchup for the left-hander.
On the season, the Brewers have been pretty poor at the dish, logging a .309 wOBA and lofty 26.0% strikeout rate. And so far this season, Duffy has been solid in his own right with a 23.9% strikeout rate.
Lock in Duffy for your mid-priced pitching option.
Low-Salaried Play
Rich Hill, Minnesota Twins
At Chicago Cubs
FanDuel Price: $6,900
The Minnesota Twins have been slowly ramping up Rich Hill to get ready for the 2020 postseason, and he is scheduled to make his next start tonight.
While does not work particularly deep into games (maxing out at five innings pitched), those are very high-quality innings. He's struck out five or more in three of the five starts, and the Cubs have been a quirky offense -- they walk a hefty amount (10.5%), but they also have a 26.0% strikeout rate matched with only a .173 ISO.
If you need a cheap arm, peep Hill.
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.
