MLB

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Wednesday 8/24/22

After going through a rough patch, Shane McClanahan bounced back in his most recent start, and he'll look to build on that against the Angels tonight. Which other pitchers should we consider?

While this slate is lacking in pitching value tonight, there's a solid core of guys above $9,000 to choose between. We shouldn't have a problem making the salaries work with our bats, either, as most of the night's top stacks have plenty of appealing low-salary plays.

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Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Pitchers

Shane McClanahan ($11,200): Following a worrying dip in performance over his last three games, McClanahan looked more like himself last week against the Royals, tallying 8 strikeouts over 7 innings while giving up 2 earned runs (43 FanDuel points). He did issue three walks for the third time in his last four, though, so there are still some concerns about his recent control.

All that being said, no one on the slate can match his season-long marks, which include a 2.53 SIERA, 32.3% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate, and 51.8% ground-ball rate.

The matchup also checks out. The Angels' active roster is showing a 92 wRC+ and 23.1% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitching this year, and their 2.71 implied total is comfortably the slate's lowest.

It's worth noting that McClanahan only logged 90 pitches in his last start, and he continues to be someone with pitch counts that can range anywhere from 80-100 on a given night. But seeing as he reached 7 innings in that outing and has earned 17 quality starts for the season, he usually makes the most of the workload he's given.

While the ace lefty has looked mortal lately, this looks like the ideal spot for him to recapture the brilliance we've seen for most of 2022.

Andrew Heaney ($9,700): Injuries have limited Heaney to just eight starts this year, but he's been fantastic when healthy, posting a 2.70 SIERA, 34.2% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 35 2/3 innings. It may not be an overly large sample, but it sure looks like the Dodgers have unlocked some untapped potential.

However, Heaney's health issues have led to L.A. being incredibly cautious with his pitch counts. Since returning at the end of July, he hasn't gone five full innings in any of his five outings.

The good news is that the southpaw reached 89 pitches in his last start, so theoretically, he ought to be able to now go six innings with a little more efficiency.

He also tallied 10 Ks in that appearance, and it just so happens he's facing that same team. The Brewers are a dream matchup for left-handers, as their active roster owns an 86 wRC+ and 25.9% strikeout rate in the split.

Getting the same team two times in a row is a negative, but Heaney's tantalizing punchout upside is particularly noteworthy on a slate where he and McClanahan tower over the rest in strikeout rate. It's a classic risk-reward play and one well worth considering in GPPs.

Zac Gallen ($10,800) and Brady Singer ($9,500): If you don't want to mess with Heaney -- which is perfectly understandable -- both sides of this Gallen-Singer bout are worthwhile alternatives.

This is a high salary for Gallen, but he's been on a roll lately, scoring 55, 49, and 68 FanDuel points over his last three. He's gone at least seven scoreless innings in each start over that stretch, and one of those gems even came at Coors Field.

Overall, he's posted a solid 3.44 SIERA, 25.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate, and 49.1% ground-ball rate. He's in a good spot to keep his scoreless streak alive against a Kansas City team that presently has an 87 wRC+ and 23.8% strikeout rate against righties after losing stud rookie Vinnie Pasquantino to injury.

Singer has also impressed lately, displaying a 3.18 xFIP, 29.1% strikeout rate, and 8.5% walk rate since the beginning of July. He's notched seven quality starts in nine games over this span, and outside of some occasional walk issues, he's clearly trending in the right direction.

Arizona isn't a plus matchup for strikeouts, but they're a below-average offense overall with a 95 wRC+ versus righties. On a slate that's light on value pitching, Singer might be about as low as you'll want to go at the position.

Stacks

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have a slate-high 5.37 implied total, and it's pretty easy to see why when we look at right-hander T.J. Zeuch's numbers.

In two 2022 starts, Zeuch has been crushed for 12 earned runs and 4 dingers over 8 innings while logging an 11.1% strikeout rate.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, even if we expand out to his 57 career innings, it unveils an ugly 5.40 SIERA, 13.6% strikeout rate, and 10.2% walk rate. He has a 50.5% career ground-ball rate, but that's hardly enough to offset everything else.

Even worse for Zeuch is that the Phillies are one of the teams that knocked him around already, and he now has to face them again only a week later.

Philadelphia has low salaries across the board, making this an even more inviting stack -- although it figures to also boost their popularity.

Kyle Schwarber ($3,200) and Rhys Hoskins ($3,200) are a powerful one-two punch atop the order, and then Alec Bohm ($2,900), J.T. Realmuto ($3,100), and Nick Castellanos ($2,900) round out the top five.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays didn't hit any dingers last night, but they knocked around Josh Winckowski as expected, and they ultimately finished the night with nine runs. A similar result could play out against another inexperienced starter in Brayan Bello. Toronto has one of the night's highest implied totals (5.14).

Bello is coming off a multi-week stay on the injured list, and when we last saw him, the results weren't pretty. Across three starts and two relief appearances (17 innings), the 23-year-old produced a 17.2% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate and was annihilated for an 8.47 ERA.

However, while those strikeout and walk numbers leave a lot to be desired, he wasn't quite as bad as that sky-high ERA. Bello did manage a less egregious 4.42 xFIP, and much of the damage he allowed was due to an unlucky .475 BABIP.

He also produced an eye-popping 65.5% ground-ball rate, which is a skill that can't be ignored.

Bello demonstrated plenty of potential in Triple-A, too, recording a 2.63 xFIP, 33.8% strikeout rate, and 61.2% ground-ball rate. He also put up a 10.0% walk rate, though, showing that his control issues at the next level haven't been a fluke.

All of this is to say that the Blue Jays are absolutely in play, but Bello may be more of a wild card than his early results would suggest.

We're pretty much in the same situation as yesterday when it comes to stacking Toronto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($4,000) and George Springer ($3,900) are great if you can fit them in, but everyone else has affordable salaries.

We can feel pretty good about stacking any of the guys projected to bat first through seventh in the order, and depending on who starts, we could even get a minimum-salaried punt or two at the very bottom.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros are pretty much always in play for stacks, and both have plus matchups tonight. But the St. Louis Cardinals are in an especially intriguing spot against Luke Farrell.

The right-hander is making his first appearance of 2022, and outside of a handful of starts, he's been a reliever his entire career.

Farrell's Triple-A numbers this season don't inspire a lot of confidence. He's posted a 5.03 ERA over 59 innings and that mark is backed by a 5.20 xFIP, 19.0% strikeout rate, and 10.9% walk rate. He's also given up 1.53 home runs per nine innings.

Additionally, if Farrell has a short leash, he'll hand the ball over to a bullpen that was heavily worked in Tuesday's doubleheader and has a bottom-10 xFIP among active rosters.

Paul Goldschmidt ($4,700) and Nolan Arenado ($4,100) are no-brainers when possible, and we can get solid power from guys like Nolan Gorman ($3,300) and Lars Nootbaar ($3,200), both of whom will have the platoon advantage.

Tyler O'Neill ($3,000), Brendan Donovan ($2,500), and Paul DeJong ($2,400) give us plenty of value options to consider, as well. Donovan is a zero in the power department, but he's been batting second against righties.