MLB FanDuel: Daily Pitching Focus May 13

May 11, 2017; Bronx, NY, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher, a 2017 MLB FanDuel stud, Dallas Keuchel (60) pitches against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

After a lackluster Monday night slate, we’re back with another MLB FanDuel: Daily Pitching Focus column for a more robust Tuesday night Main slate. We will review several top pitching plays, identify the best mid-range salary option, tag a sneaky pick, and find a cheap value for the MLB FanDuel pitcher position tonight. We’ll also discuss pitchers to fade, and target for hitting. Evaluating daily pitching is a vital part of building your MLB FanDuel lineup for a big pay-day.

With eight MLB games scheduled yesterday, and only seven for the Main slate, there were few options to choose from at pitcher last night. But worse, most pitchers on the mound last night had terrible match ups. We finally landed on Perdomo as our top option, and he did provide 40 MLB FanDuel points. I took that and I’m ready to move on to a better set of options tonight.

We have a full 15 game MLB schedule today, 30 pitchers to review, and several very good match ups tonight. Because of all the good options, the ownership percentages of each play should be spread like peanut butter across the MLB FanDuel lineups tonight. Here’s a look at the list of games we’ve narrowed our search down to:

WSH Stephen Strasburg at PIT Chad Kuhl (7:05pm ET)

CIN Bronson Arroyo at CHC John Lackey (8:05pm ET)

COL Kyle Freeland at MIN Phil Hughes (8:10pm ET)

NYM Tommy Milone at ARZ Zack Greinke (9:40pm ET)

MIL Jimmy Nelson at SD Clayton Richard (10:10pm ET)

Let’s start by looking at our top scoring, but also more expensive, MLB FanDuel pitcher for Tuesday night…

Next: Top Scoring Pitcher

May 5, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher, and top MLB FanDuel pitching option, Stephen Strasburg (37) pitches during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Scoring MLB FanDuel Pitcher

Dallas Keuchel ($10,900) is beginning to look like a Cy Young performer again, after a rough year in 2016. With a low SIERA, 3.13, and several games with 46 to 55 MLB FanDuel points, Keuchel should be an attractive option for MLB FanDuel players tonight. Dallas is on the mound in Miami against a struggling Marlins baseball team. But, the Marlins have the 6th best wRC+ against left-handed pitchers in Miami. So paying nearly $11K with some reason seems like a rip-off. There’s upside, but clear downside if Keuchel misses 45+ points.

Yu Darvish ($10,600) has a decent match up, but the Phillies bats have been hot and are around league average against RHP in other ballparks. And Zack Greinke ($10,300) is one of the top MLB FanDuel plays lately, and cheaper than Keuchel or Darvish. But the Mets bats are 8th in wRC+, 107, against

So among the top options today, with the greatest potential for around 60 MLB FanDuel points is Stephen Strasburg ($10,400). After a 55 point result on April 20th, Strasburg has struggled, completing only one quality start in his last three games.

Still, even when struggling Stephen has 30 to 40 MLB FanDuel points, due mostly to a high strikeout ratio, decent ERA, and a higher likelihood of wins each outing. Tonight, Strasburg has a great match up against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, who have a 81 wRC+, 3rd worst in major league baseball against RHP in their home park. Greinke had 64 MLB FanDuel points against the Pirates on May 11th, which makes him so appealing tonight. But, for Tuesday’s Main slate, it’s Strasburg’s turn.

Next: Top Mid-Range Pitcher

Apr 1, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, and top mid-range salary MLB FanDuel pitcher, Jimmy Nelson (52) pitches in the first inning during the game against the Chicago White Sox at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Mid-Range Salary Value & Sneaky Pick

There are several attractive mid-range salary options tonight. Hill has a left-handed advantage in San Francisco over the Giants, Triggs in on fire this season, and Rodriguez matches up well against the Cardinals. But Hill is one bad outing away from the bull pen, Triggs match up isn’t ideal, and Rodriguez is facing an emerging Cardinals offense.

So of all the mid-range salary pitchers tonight, Jimmy Nelson ($7,800) has a clear advantage in the match up. Nelson is taking the mound tonight in a poor hitting Petco Park. The Padres have a good BvP against Nelson, but only 26 at bats is not a good population of results to get excited about.

The Padres have an 84 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers so far this season, 24th in MLB. Even worse at home, they have an 80 wRC+, 28th among 30 teams. Also, the Padres have a 25%+ K ratio against right-handed pitchers, 2nd worst in major league baseball. Nelson has two starts with eight strikeouts already this season, and three games with 40+ MLB FanDuel points. Tonight, Nelson is a reasonable salary for 45 to 50 points.

Sneaky Pick: Clayton Richard ($6,800). Follow Fantasy CPR expect, Brian Tulloch, highlight’s, in his FanDuel MLB Picks & Pivots column, the value potentially available from Richard. I prefer Nelson more tonight, I think his match up is slightly better, but Richard has performed well at home, and if he can stay away from Thames, he’s a solid option for 40 MLB FanDuel points tonight. Clayton is the perfect pivot option from Jimmy.

Next: Cheap Value

May 5, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher, and cheap value MLB FanDuel option tonight. Phil Hughes (45) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Cheap Value

Last week I plugged Phil Hughes ($6,100) as a great cheap value in Chicago against the White Sox, after he had a great ROI producing 33 MLB FanDuel points against the Red Sox less than a week before. However, the White Sox had six hits, two walks, and four runs in just 4.2 innings, giving me only 8 MLB FanDuel points to add to my robust hitting lineup. I’m giving him one more chance.

At first, I liked Kyle Freeland ($7,300) more as a cheap value tonight. But $7.3K seemed a little pricey for Freeland. He has 4.35 SIERA, not drastically better than Hughes rough 4.92 SIERA. Also, the Twins haven’t been great against left-handed pitchers at home. But as I looked at the comparison to Hughes for the win, I was immediately concerned the Twins were more likely to win this match up.

The Rockies have been great against left-handed pitchers this season, especially at home. But their lineup is seriously struggling against right-handed pitchers. And when away from Coors Field, their offensive value against RHP’s plummets to a 72 wRC+, 5th worst in major league baseball. While Hughes isn’t a big strikeout guy, the Rockies have a 25% K ratio in this scenario. So Phil is most likely to get five or six strikeouts against a team like the Rockies in Minnesota. There’s clear risk here, Hughes isn’t having a great year, but given the match up, he’s a very cheap 35 to 40 MLB FanDuel points in a juicy hitting slate, which we’ll visit next.

Next: Offensive Pitching Target

Apr 30, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher, and MLB FanDuel hitting target, Chad Kuhl (39) is injured on a play during the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Offensive Pitching Target

Now that we’ve found several great pitching options for tonight, we’ll turn our attention to the pitchers we believe you should fade the most, and which lineups to stack for tonight.

Nationals vs. Chad Kuhl

If you’ve played MLB FanDuel most of this season, you know the Yankees and Nationals are the top bats to own. The Nats have three hitters, Harper, Zimmerman, and Murphy, who are in the top 20 in almost every offensive category. Against RHP on the road, the Nats haven’t been as great as they have at home. And they’re even better against LHP. But Kuhl is a rookie prospect for the Pirates and has struggled significantly in the majors so far this season. Currently with a 5.81 ERA, Kuhl’s biggest problem is walks, over 10%, and with the Nats OPS around .800, expect them to be on base often, and the runs to pile up.

Diamondbacks vs. Tommy Milone

Against right-handed pitchers in Chase Field, the Diamondbacks are hitting over a .300 batting average with .526 slugging percentage and astronomical .895 OPS. They’re also 8th in wRC+, with 123 against RHPs at home. The D-Backs catchers have been cheap and would be an easy way to help afford an Arizona and Washington stack along with a value pitcher like Nelson tonight. Milone also has a nearly 20% FB/HR ratio, so expect a few Diamondback home runs. Tonight, Goldschmidt and Lamb should earn over 20 MLB FanDuel points for your lineups, and there’s plenty of other value at catcher and plays like Owings at shortstop.

Cubs vs. Bronson Arroyo

The Red’s have surprised many with their offensive production. But even though Arroyo has a 3-2 record, his season isn’t going well. Bronson has a bad 5.94 ERA, and 4.81 SIERA. And unfortunately for Arroyo, the wind is blowing around 20-30 miles per hour toward center field tonight. So his 17% HR/FB ratio is at risk of climbing significantly after this outing. Stack as many Cubs as you can afford tonight.

Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots

Always check MLB lineups throughout the day when playing MLB FanDuel. You can typically find starting pitchers a few days, or day before, each game. But as the season progresses, pitchers develop injuries, sometimes only hours, or less, before a game. So stay tuned for changes before locking in your lineup. Also, weather events can cancel a game, crushing your entire lineup. So it’s important to become a weather geek, like me, if you want to stack that cash in MLB FanDuel.

MLB FanDuel: Daily Pitching Focus May 16

By Matt Rogers | May 16, 2017