Fanduel Top MLB Pitching: Opening Day We Go!

Top MLB Pitching Breakdown

Welcome Guys! We are here on opening day for the MLB Season! We have been excited for this day for awhile now! This is one of the most exciting opening days for the MLB as they are kicking this day off with 14 games! Lets get to the breakdown and what I’ll be doing this season for it!

I’ll be targeting the Fanduel side of pitching for the FantasyCPR team. I’ll be diving in to every slate also as Fanduel (and most DFS apps) break down every slate into the Early, Main, and sometimes Late/Night slate. We’ll be doing it similar like my NBA DFS articles with three different tiers: Top Tier, Mid Tier, and Low Tiers. Each tier will have three pitchers in it (unless it’s a small slate) to give you multiple options to build around.

Now lets recap the scoring for pitchers on Fanduel so we know what to target. So Pitchers will get points based off inning’s pitched, strikeouts, earned runs, quality starts, and for wins. Now obviously we want to target pitchers with a high K rate and gets the average around 85-100 pitches. Depending on the style of contest you’re shooting for, Cash or GPP, we will try and discuss the ownership with these pitchers also.

The final thing I want to cover is that we can go after the Verlanders, Degroms, Scherzer, and Snell’s but if they are facing off against each other, that Win bonus will be difficult to get as both will be in a pitching duel. I usually focus on more of GPP then a Cash contest but I’ll be sure to tag which pitcher I’ll be using and for what contest. Now lets hop in to this Opening Day Slate and get to researching!

Top MLB Pitching – Top Tier

Jacob DeGrom vs. Washington (Salary: $11,500)

Career: K: 27.9% Rate | BB: 6.2% Rate

2018 Season: K: 32.2% Rate | BB: 5.5% Rate

We have a great opening day depth at the Pitcher position where we have multiple top pitchers to choose from which could make it difficult to choose from. But Jacob DeGrom just signed a huge, new deal which he rightfully deserves and is looking to repeat an impressive year, minus the Win-Loss column. DeGrom went 10 and 9 last season but Mets didn’t have the support group like they do now.

DeGrom finished last season averaging 11 strikeouts throughout 9 innings while only giving up near 2 walks. The one difference with DeGrom this season which I believe will help him is that he’ll get more support throughout the games where he won’t be pitching from behind but ahead and with less stress.

Blake Snell vs. Houston Astros (Salary: $10,600)

Career: K: 26.6% Rate | BB: 10.6% Rate

2018 Season: K: 31.6% Rate | BB: 9.1% Rate

Probably one of my favorite pitchers on the slate and of this season, Blake Snell gets to face a tough Houston Astros team after a poor spring training run. Snell dominated the Astros last season for what it’s worth though. Snell is coming off of a huge 2018 campaign with 21 wins and 5 losses out of 31 starts. He averaged 11 strikeouts with 3 walks in 9 innings last year.

In 2 games versus the Astros, Snell went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.26 and 16 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched. Even though this Astros team is healthy and Snell did put up great numbers versus them last season, he may not get the W which we need to consider for today’s slate. At home though, Snell is a different type of pitcher as he averaged 10.69 strikeouts with 2.54 walks per 9 innings and with an ERA of 1.27.

Justin Verlander vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Salary: $11,400)

Career: K: 23.9% Rate | BB: 7.1% Rate

2018 Season: K: 34.8% Rate | BB: 4.4% Rate

Now as a writer and analysts of sports, we dive into stats in a deep way but when it comes to Verlander and his starts, he gets deeper in analytics then anyone, it’s not even close. I also want to void mentioning same pitchers from the same game but Snell and Verlander need to be discussed. He comes in as the third highest priced pitcher today for the slate and it’s for good reasoning.

Last season Verlander averaged 12 strikeouts with 1.56 walks in 9 innings. He also put up 16 wins in 9 losses with a 2.52 ERA. Verlander has the tools to dominate plus has a lineup that will give him more then enough run support. If we’re running anything off of last season then we shouldn’t even tough Verlander but I have to ignore his 4.63 ERA versus the Rays in 2 appearances as I just don’t see him allowing that once again.

Top MLB Pitching – Mid Tier

Jose Berrios vs. Cleveland Indians (Salary: $8,900)

Career: K: 23% Rate | BB: 8.5% Rate

2018 Season: K: 25.4% Rate | BB: 7.7% Rate

Now this is a pitcher that I am targeting and will most likely be heavily targeted on today’s slate due to the Cleveland Indians lineup which is banged up to kick their season off. Berrios comes at a very appealing price also which leaves room to target some nice bats. He finished last season in a spot that leaves room for improvement in his young career.

Berrios finished last season with 12 wins and 11 losses with an ERA of 3.84. He also averaged 9 strikeouts with 2 walks per 9 innings. The only reason we are targeting him is due to the Indians lineup today and he makes for a great cash option but I would look for a more “sneakier” pitcher for GPP contests.

Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Salary: $8,500)

Career: K: 21.8% Rate | BB: 6.1% Rate

2018 Season: K: 27.5% Rate | BB: 4.6% Rate

We would not be discussing Hyun-Jin Ryu if the Dodgers didn’t take so many hits to their pitching rotation already. Ryu is here due to events he could not control but that isn’t a bad thing. Ryu is coming off of a season where he spent time on the DL due to a groin strain and looks to improve on a season that was paused early in the season and finished pretty strongly.

Ryu is coming off of a 7 wins and 3 losses season in 15 starts while holding a 1.97 ERA. He averaged 9 strikeouts with 1 walks per 9 innings. Ryu will have the home field advantage to kick off his opening day which can give him a boost. I also see Ryu having low ownership which could make him a great SP today.

Madison Bumgarner vs. San Diego Padres (Salary: $9,300 – Risk Play)

Careeer: K: 23.9% Rate | BB: 5.8% Rate

2018 Season: K: 19.8% Rate | BB: 7.8%

Now this is a major risk play for DFS purposes and my job at FantasyCPR because everyone hates Bumgarner now as he is on what seems to be a decline after his dirt biking injury. We saw flashes of the old Bummy last season but not enough to make us be in awe. He has lost his touch apparently and now gets a Padres team that added heavy artillery like Manny Machado. But I will have some Bummy in a lineup but not two as I’m not that type of fanboy (maybe).

Bumgarner ended his injury filled 2018 season with 6 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 3.26. He also averaged a career low 7 strikeouts and a career high 3 walks per 9 innings. But in his one appearance versus the Manny-less Padres, Bumgarner went 1-0 with a 0 ERA while K’ing up 8 batters in 8 innings. Once again, he is an EXTREME RISK play and you should avoid using him too heavily.

Top MLB Pitching – Low Tier

Brad Keller vs. Chicago White Sox (Salary: $6,200)

Career (Only MLB Season Logged): K: 16.5% Rate | BB: 8.6% Rate

Brad Keller gets to kick of his second professional season on opening day for the Kansas City Royals and against a White Sox team that struggles against righty’s. Keller has spent a good amount of time in his career in the minors but finally made it up last season. He finished with 9 wins and 6 losses in 20 games started while holding an ERA of 3.08.

Keller also averaged a low 6 strikeouts with 3 walks per nine innings. Usually we want to target pitchers with a K rate of 20% or higher which Keller does not. But with him facing this White Sox team, a team that led the league in strikeouts versus right handed pitchers, we should be ready to roll with him.

Marcus Stroman vs. Detroit Tigers (Salary: $6,900)

Career: K: 19.3% Rate | BB: 6.7% Ratee

2018 Season: K: 17.2% Rate | BB: 8% Rate

Stroman is making a case to be one of the pitchers to target today and I’m on the fence about him since last season he would get my hopes up in the first few innings and then turn in to a garbage fire for me. But he gets to face a Tigers lineup that will be filled with right handed hitters and like @ThunderDanDFS says about Stroman, he limits contact and tends to get the ground-ball versus righty’s.

Now in his 2018 season, Stroman finisheed with a career low of 4 wins and 9 losses while holding a career high ERA of 5.54. He averaged 6 strikeouts and 3 walks per 9 innings. But on another note, Stroman also finished his season with a career 17.2% K rate. I just mentioned we are looking for pitchers who can average or hold a 20% or higher K rate, with Stroman we know he can limit the damage he takes today versus the Tigers.

Eric Lauer vs. San Francisco Giants (Salary: $7,200) 

Career (Only MLB Season Logged): K: 19.8% Rate | BB: 9.1%

Today will probably be the only day where I target two games and both pitchers but Eric Lauer could be an extreme low owned play due to him facing a San Francisco Giants squad that has no true identity once again. With no McCutchen, the Giants are back to relying on the Brandon duos, Buster Posey and Evan Longoria. Lauer may also get heavy run support if Bumgarner can’t fix his issues and Manny Machado has his way in his debut as a Padres.

Lauer finished his first career season as a MLB pitcher last season with 6 wins and 7 losses in 23 games started while holding an ERA of 4.34. He also averaged 8 strikeouts with 3.7 walks per 9 innings. Now I don’t believe Lauer will be heavily owned today but if everyone believes that Bumgarner and the Giants can’t do anything, then he may be. He will find his one in one of my lineups most likely.

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all of your DFS needs. We are riding the NBA season out with you, but we have tons of baseball, the NHL, PGA, and NASCAR going too!