Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Friday, April 13th

By Adam Strangis

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 11: Gary Sanchez
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 11: Gary Sanchez /
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Welcome to the Friday edition of the FanDuel MLB daily fantasy column! We have a huge 13 game slate tonight so let’s dig right into it.

Now that every team has had their Opening Day, we’re starting to settle in to a normal schedule. Tonight sees 13 games on the slate and that obviously leaves us with a ton of routes to take. It’s a big switch from yesterday, which was only five games. We did well on that one, scoring 142.3. That score should have easily hit 50/50’s and dipped into any tournaments. It took forever but our Yankee stack finally paid off in the ninth inning. My concerns about Jose Berrios were totally wrong as he put up a massive 60+ point effort last night. It’s just too bad he was mega chalk. That shouldn’t be an issue tonight so let’s get rolling on this giant slate.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 07: Vince Velasquez #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action during a game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 07: Vince Velasquez #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action during a game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High End Spend

Gerrit Cole, $10,000

.077(2 for 26), 40.0 strikeout rate

Cole has taken the mound twice so far for the Astros and so far the results have been utterly dominant. He’s averaging 59.5 FanDuel points and Houston has seemingly unlocked his entire potential. There was an article on Baseball Prospectus that’s worth the read but the short version is Cole is throwing his fastball differently and is throwing his curve and slider with more frequency. Cole wasn’t the number one overall pick for no reason. So far in 2018, the Rangers rank 28th against the fastball, 15th against the slider, and ninth against the curveball. There’s no reason to think Cole can’t provide us with at least 40-45 points and the ceiling is much higher. The price for an ace like Cole is typically at least $1,000 higher as well.

Also Consider – Zack Grienke, $9,000

Mid-Range

Andrew Triggs, $8,000

.400(6 for 15), 18.8 strikeout rate

I’m not sure I ever thought I’d be ok paying this type of price for Andrew Triggs but he’s shown improvement so far in two starts. His strikeout rate is over a strikeout per inning and he draws the Seattle Mariners. Missing Nelson Cruz has hurt them so far in 2018. They rank 16th in wOBA, and middle of the pack in batting average, OPS, and ISO. They’re not striking out a ton but it’s still over 20 percent. Triggs likely won’t push for a 50 point performance, but he does offer a significant discount from the high end this evening.

Also Consider – Marcus Stroman, $7,100

Value

Tyson Ross, $6,400

.273(38 for 139), 20.4 strikeout rate

Ross has basically been off the map in baseball for quite a while due to injuries. He’s working his way back into form and he hasn’t had the easiest road this season. He’s squared off against Colorado and Houston so far. The strikeout were there in his last start and he just missed posting a quality start in Houston. Now he gets to face the San Francisco Giants, who have been a favorite target of ours for pitchers. The Giants cannot hit right handers. They strikeout at the fifth highest rate, are 28th in average, 24th in OPS, 23rd in ISO, and 25th in wOBA. this is definitely a tournament play but the factors line up quite nicely for Ross. If he’s healthy, he can still be a very good pitcher.

Also Consider – Vince Velasquez, $6,700