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MLB DFS Pitching Primer: Thursday, July 18 – Thor Will Drop The Hammer

By Dan Palyo

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 15: Pitcher Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets runs back out to the mound to pitch the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a game at Citi Field on June 15, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Pirates 11-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 15: Pitcher Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets runs back out to the mound to pitch the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a game at Citi Field on June 15, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Pirates 11-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 04: Dinelson Lamet #29 of the San Diego Padres pitches in the fifth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 04: Dinelson Lamet #29 of the San Diego Padres pitches in the fifth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

MLB DFS Pitching Primer: Early Slate FanDuel

Caleb Smith (8.5k FD) vs. San Diego

We have two good young arms we can target again in this series today as Caleb Smith takes on Dinelson Lamet. Both of these guys are much cheaper on FanDuel which is what makes them attractive options to me on this early slate. We have a positive park factor and two relatively weak offenses in this game, so it sticks out quite a bit as a game that we should want to target for pitching.

Smith has now made two effective starts in a row after being out with an injury for a month. He’s high strikeout pitcher that carries a 30% K rate this year and his fly ball tendency is less of a concern when he is pitching at home in this park. The Padres are more dangerous vs. lefties than righties, but Smith still has solid numbers against right-handers and both a solid floor and ceiling at this price. You could probably even play him in cash if you were going to play cash games on a 4-game slate (not always advisable).

Dinelson Lamet (6.8k) @ Miami

Lamet is a full 1700 dollars cheaper on FanDuel and makes for a compelling play based on his 32% K rate that he has posted in his first two starts. The Marlins strike out a lot against right-handed pitching and Lamet feels like he has a pretty good chance at making value here in this spot. He has only pitched 5 innings in each of his first two starts but has posted 27 and 24 FD points, respectively. He’s just too cheap to pass up in this spot and my favorite GPP target on the early slate if you’re playing on FanDuel.

Also, consider Ross Stripling at 7k as a cheap GPP option.