FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Friday 8/18/23

We get both Spencer Strider and Coors Field on tonight's main offering, but the big question is whether we can combine to two in the same lineup.

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Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Pitching Breakdown

It's a Spencer Strider ($11,500) slate, so -- I know this will be shocking -- he's the guy to start with tonight at pitcher.

Strider's 37.9% strikeout rate continues to run laps around all other qualified starters this season, and his 2.77 SIERA also paces the field. He leads the league in games with double-digit strikeouts (nine); only four other pitchers exceed even four such outings this year.

The San Francisco Giants are an above-average offense versus righties, but their active roster also has a fairly high 23.7% strikeout rate that Strider can take advantage of. Predictably, the Giants have one of the night's lowest implied team totals (3.73), too.

But as we saw a couple of starts ago when Strider was shelled by the Pittsburgh Pirates, even he will have his share of off nights, so we always need to be open to alternatives in tournaments -- particularly at his lofty salary.

Pablo Lopez ($10,800) has the second-highest salary, yet dropping down to him still nets us $700 back in our pockets, and his matchup versus the aforementioned Pirates should help him keep pace with Strider.

Similar to San Francisco, Pittsburgh is by no means a bad offense -- after all, they did get to Strider recently -- but their active roster also carries the fifth-worst strikeout rate (24.7%) against right-handers. Even better, when we look at the Pirates' typical lineup when facing righties, that strikeout rate actually projects to be even worse. Their 3.51 implied team total is the slate's lowest mark.

As for Lopez, he comes in with a cool 3.32 SIERA, 30.0% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate, which are all numbers that are easy to get behind. In Strider-less lineups, Lopez looks like our next-best choice.

Outside of maybe banking on Brandon Woodruff ($10,500) to get a full workload and overcome a tough Texas Rangers matchup, or taking a shot on Kyle Gibson ($9,900) in a plus spot against the Oakland Athletics, I have a hard time getting too jazzed about the other high-salaried options.

So, if we're looking to spend more on our bats, it might be wise to hop all the way down to the value range for alternatives.

Seth Lugo ($8,800) is one such possibility against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lugo had a modest fantasy performance against these same D-backs last weekend and was rocked by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the start before that, but prior to those outings, he had notched quality starts in five of his last six appearances, netting him 40-plus fantasy points four times.

While the repeat matchup isn't ideal, Lugo has a respectable 23.2% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate, and despite likely facing a lineup that could have as many as six lefties, that might not be a bad thing. The right-hander has handled his business facing lefty sticks this season, with both his xFIP (3.37) and strikeout rate (24.8%) actually being better against that side of the plate.

If you're willing to take on a riskier option, Andrew Heaney ($8,600) could be worth a gamble at roughly the same salary.

Heaney hasn't been anywhere near as effective as he was last year, but his 24.4% strikeout rate is still among the better marks on the slate, and he occasionally spikes for big fantasy scores.

We saw that just a few starts ago when the southpaw racked up 11 Ks versus the Chicago White Sox, helping him to a season-high 61 FanDuel points. He also logged 9 and 10 punchouts earlier this season. The ceiling nights are few and far between -- but they're there.

This is roughly a neutral matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Heaney tends to have a short leash, so we probably can at best expect 90 or so pitches. But if Heaney can keep the ball in the park and pitch efficiently -- a big if -- a tourney-winning score is in the range of outcomes.

Hitting Breakdown

The Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox are combining for a 12.0-run over/under at Coors Field -- no other game hits double-digits. The matchup is also close to a pick 'em, giving both teams implied team totals right around six runs apiece.

If that wasn't enough, both sides have pretty muted salaries outside of a handful of top bats, making them easier to pair with the likes of Strider and Lopez.

The Rockies are facing Michael Kopech, who's experienced a rollercoaster campaign with flashes of brilliance -- but it's been far more bad than good lately.

Over his last nine starts, his already poor walk rate sits at a comically-high 20.9%, and both a 7.08 xFIP and 16.6% strikeout rate paint an even uglier picture. He's also coughed up 10 dingers during this stretch. Yikes.

In such a juicy matchup, we can cast a wide net for stacks, but there are a handful of standouts. Ryan McMahon ($3,700) and Nolan Jones ($3,400) will both have the platoon advantage, and while they have the two highest salaries, they're easily our best power options. Fellow lefty Charlie Blackmon ($2,900) recently returned and stands out as a value leadoff man.

On the other side, Chicago should do their share of damage versus Peter Lambert. Lambert has been lit up for 1.82 home runs per nine innings, and the dingers are coming from lefties and righties alike.

Luis Robert ($4,400) is the crown jewel of this lineup -- he leads the team in home runs (32) and stolen bases (16) -- and then Eloy Jimenez ($3,500) and Andrew Vaughn ($3,400) are the other notable sources of pop.

Additionally, Lambert's overall numbers take a significant hit versus lefties specifically, propping up Yoan Moncada ($3,000) and Andrew Benintendi ($3,100) as solid value plays. Lambert has a 5.80 xFIP, 15.3% strikeout rate, and 12.7% walk rate in the split.

If we're looking to fade Coors -- despite all the positives above, the Rockies and White Sox aren't exactly the cream of the crop -- the Philadelphia Phillies are one way to go.

Right-hander Joan Adon has spent the vast majority of 2023 in Triple-A, and a 4.79 xFIP, 20.7% strikeout rate, and 10.4% walk rate at that level suggest he still isn't ready to excel at the next level. There have been some positives in his limited MLB stints this year, but at the end of the day, we're talking about someone with a career 6.54 ERA over 84 career innings.

Given that Adon has historically performed worse against lefties, Kyle Schwarber ($3,500) and his .239 ISO is a no-brainer, and Bryce Harper ($3,500) has been heating up this month. Bryson Stott ($3,100) will also enjoy the platoon advantage, and then Nick Castellanos ($3,200) and J.T. Realmuto ($3,100) offer us some righty power at reasonable salaries.

The Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Baltimore Orioles are other top options.

The Braves can be stacked pretty much every night, and tonight is no different versus Alex Cobb. Cobb has an annoying 56.6% ground-ball rate that tends to suppress home runs, but he's actually struggled with dingers lately, so he's hardly impervious. Cobb's much weaker against lefties this year (4.39 xFIP; 14.8% strikeout rate).

The Cardinals will face left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who has a 4.96 SIERA and 18.3% strikeout rate over five starts -- way back in April and May. He's since put up a mere 4.69 xFIP in Triple-A along with a 10.6% walk rate.

Luis Medina has gotten better results lately, but his advanced metrics have pretty much remained the same, putting Baltimore in an ideal spot. For the year, the right-hander has a 4.67 SIERA, 22.1% strikeout rate, and 11.5% walk rate.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.