FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 7/30/22
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!
Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.
Pitchers
Joe Musgrove ($10.600)
Despite a 6% salary spike to his second highest salary this month, San Diego's right-hander currently rates first among Saturday's 18 pitchers with a 37.9 fantasy projection and 6.8 expected strikeouts.
In his fourth largest sample size as a starting pitcher, the 29-year old is on pace for his best all-round season through 109.1 innings, accounting for a 3.33 expected Fielding Independent Pitching rating (xFIP), a 11.3% swinging strike percentage, and a 24.4% K-rate.
Considering today's matchup against a Minnesota Twins' lineup with a projected 3.6 run total and his current form, the Padres' veteran should be able to capitalize versus seven projected hitters with strikeout rates ranging between 20.7%-28.3% and contact percentages from 68.2% to 78.2%.
Framber Valdez ($10,400)
After a 6.1% jump to his third highest salary point this season, Houston's left-hander still ranks first in value with a 3.61 rating and second overall with a 37.6 fantasy expectation and 6.3 projected strikeouts.
While Valdez potentially has a pesky rematch versus a Seattle Mariners' team with a projected .294 weighted on-base average (wOBA) and a 17.5% K-rate, the Astros' left-hander is coming off an impressive stretch in his last four starts, producing a 2.89 xFIP and a 26.5% strikeout percentage in 26.2 innings including a 45 fantasy point performance against his divisional rivals last week.
Ranger Suarez ($8,400)
With Coors Field on tonight's main slate, Philadelphia's lefty is an intriguing salary-saving option with a 3.88 xFIP and a 8.2% swinging strike rate in 89.0 innings this season.
In a matchup against a weak Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup with a .236 wOBA and a 39.5% K-rate, Suarez currently ranks eighth in value with a 3.01 rating and seventh overall with a 25.3 FanDuel point projection.
Stacks
After a 16-run output in their first two games at Coors Field, the Dodgers' explosive offense has another premier opportunity against Colorado's left-hander Kyle Freeland.
In his fifth season representing the Rockies, Freeland profiles as an average starting pitcher through 762.2 career innings, recording a 4.51 xFIP, a 17.8% strikeout percentage, and a 47.7% ground-ball rate.
To best counter Freeland's ability to keep the ball on the ground, Los Angeles' correlations should include their most dangerous power fly-ball hitters from the right side of the plate in Mookie Betts (42.8% fly-ball percentage, 10.1% barrel rate), Will Smith (44.7% fly-ball rate, 11% barrel percentage), Trayce Thompson (15.8% barrel rate, 39.3% fly-ball percentage), and Trea Turner (.455 expected slugging, 8.3% barrel rate) while Freddie Freeman (.414 expected wOBA, 10.8% barrel rate) stands as a potential contrarian option batting from the left.
In a great spot versus Corbin Martin, Atlanta's 6.2 expected run total really stands out versus a regressing right-hander with a wild 13.4% walk rate and a scary 5.08 xFIP.
Atlanta hitting combinations can involve their most patient power hitters in the outfield including Ronald Acuna (12.9% barrel rate, .372 expected wOBA), Marcell Ozuna (.343 expected wOBA, 13.6% barrel percentage), and Michael Harris II (10.2% barrel rate, .451 expected slugging) while Dansby Swanson (.352 expected wOBA, 11.5% barrel percentage) and Matt Olson (12.7% barrel rate, .337 expected wOBA) provide upside from the infield.
After a six run outburst with their two best hitters back in the lineup, the Cardinals have another underrated opportunity to reach their 5.2 expected run total against Paolo Espino.
In his second largest sample size pitching for Washington, Paolo has profiled as an average arm, accounting for a 4.51 career xFIP and a 19.7% K-rate in 201.2 total innings.
With most of his troubles occurring versus left-handed hitting (16.3% K-rate, 4.68 xFIP in 94.2 innings) the most ideal Cardinals' hitters for stacking include Nolan Gorman (.505 expected slugging, 14.4% barrel percentage) and Lars Nootbaar (9.6% barrel percentage, 43.8% hard hit rate) while MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt (.489 expected slugging, 12.2% barrel rate), Tyler O'Neill (10.1% barrel rate), and Nolan Arenado (8% barrel rate, .422 expected slugging) can also be mixed in.
