FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Monday, April 30

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Welcome into the Monday edition of the FanDuel MLB daily fantasy column! We have a nice sized 10 game slate tonight so let’s dig right in.

As always, we’ll give a quick check on the previous day results and it was a good one. We closed in on 170 FanDuel points even though our third baseman got scratched about 30 seconds before lock. Danny Valencia fortunately was highly owned since the scratch came so late and the mini stack of the Seattle Mariners came through. The only other player in single digit points was Steve Pearce, but he was super chalk. Gerrit Cole once agains was a world destroyer for fantasy and he’s likely going to finally reach $11,000 next time out. Let’s get into today’s slate!

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 08: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch in the top of the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 8, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Marlins defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High End Spend

Jake Arrieta, $8,800

.118(4 for 34), 16.2 strikeout rate

Maybe it’s my inner Pittsburgh Pirates fan, but it feels a little gross writing up Arrieta. There’s just no telling what you’re going to get. His penchant for walks at this stage of his career can be a little frightening to play for cash games but the high end options tonight aren’t great. Even Arrieta has plenty of pros and cons. The Miami Marlins have started to strike out a bit more which helps the cause for Arrieta. His strikeouts have really disappeared which isn’t good for fantasy. Other than one game against the Pirates when he struck out 10 and looked like the Cy Young, he hasn’t totaled more than five in any game. Miami ranks poorly in basically any offensive category out there and Arrieta gets to pitch in Miami. I’m not sure how much Arrieta I’ll have, but he’s likely the best of the high priced options tonight despite his flaws. You should get a quality start and likely a win if nothing else.

Also Consider – Zach Grienke, $9,100

Mid-Range

Eduardo Rodriguez, $7,400

.294(10 for 34), 14.6 strikeout rate

I might find myself living in the middle ground for starting pitching tonight since the high end options all have some flaws. When that happens, I’d rather spend less to take the chance and Rodriguez fits that profile perfectly. He gets to face the Kansas City at home and the Royals are vulnerable against southpaws. They strikeout over 25 percent of the time against lefties, which is a huge plus for a pitcher with the strikeout upside of Rodriguez. Other than batting average, the Royals rank in the bottom half of the league in many offensive metrics. Rodriguez has never been the most consistent pitcher. He’s actually a little similar to Arrieta in that you feel like you should get a quality start and a win. The biggest differences are that Rodriguez is $1,400 cheaper and has more upside. I like that combo a lot.

Also Consider – Jeff Samardzija, $7,900

Value

This does not appear to be the slate to go diving into the dumpster to try and find a good start. The only two options are Jake Faria($5,900) just because he can strikeout batters when he’s on and the Tigers offense can be hit or miss. Aaron Sanchez($6,500) has a limited track record against the Tigers but it’s excellent and he’s a talented pitcher. Neither player is anything else but a GPP dart throw.