FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Wednesday 7/26/23

Wednesday's main slate comes in at a modest six games and starts a little earlier at 6:40 pm ET. Note that the weather could be messy in Detroit, potentially taking that game off the board.

Our daily fantasy helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups.

Be sure to also incorporate numberFire's great tools into your research process, including daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, and batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups.

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

Pitching Breakdown

Spencer Strider ($11,200) has been a beast in fantasy this season, and he continues to be a top option every time he takes the mound.

Armed with a strikeout rate that's a hair under 40%, Strider has amassed 189 punchouts this year, which is 27 more than the next-highest mark. He shows no sign of slowing down and has logged double-digit strikeouts in four of his last five starts.

What's even scarier for opposing batters is that Strider's walk rate -- which was an issue early in the season -- has dropped to 7.4%.

While Strider is still not a pitcher who tends to go much beyond six innings and will give up the occasional long ball, the abundance of strikeouts makes up for it far more often than not.

This isn't an easy matchup against the Boston Red Sox on what's expected to be another warm night at Fenway, and the Sox even have a 4.46 implied team total. But given Strider's ridiculous strikeout upside, none of that should deter us from rostering him as our first choice.

Another reason to side with Strider is that the alternatives on this slate all have bigger question marks.

Framber Valdez ($10,300) is the first name that comes to mind as an alternative, but his matchup is a tough one against the Texas Rangers. Valdez is likely to face nearly an entire lineup of right-handed batters, and Texas' active roster boasts a frightening 130 wRC+ when facing southpaws this season. There's no question that he'll have his hands full.

That being said, Valdez is tied for the second-shortest AL Cy Young odds for a reason.

Over his 19 outings, the left-hander has produced a 3.33 SIERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, and 53.6% ground-ball rate. Although Framber doesn't possess anywhere close to the same rate of punchouts as Strider, it's hard to nitpick that profile.

The Rangers have one of the night's lowest implied team totals (3.70), another sign that Valdez could still come through in a difficult spot.

Lance Lynn ($9,400) remains a launching pad for home runs, yet his 27.3% strikeout rate can lead to the occasional fantasy gem.

The opposing Chicago Cubs are a solid matchup for strikeouts, but weighing whether to roster Lynn or not will mostly boil down to how many lefties are in the Cubs' lineup. Left-handed batters have crushed Lynn for 3.28 home runs per 9 innings, and his strikeout rate drops to 23.4% in the split.

On the other hand, in same-sided matchups, Lynn has an encouraging 3.41 xFIP, and his K rate leaps to a fantastic 30.8%.

Given that three of the first four batters in the lineup are projected to bat left-handed, including a resurgent Cody Bellinger, this might not be the night to ride with Lynn -- but see how the rest of the Cubs' order shakes out.

If Lynn's woes scare you, Marcus Stroman ($9,600) in the same game is a possible alternative.

Stroman is often a pass in DFS due to his uninspiring 21.1% strikeout rate, but if Boston is able to get to Strider, we may not need a very high score at pitcher to get by.

The 32-year-old's 57.8% ground-ball rate is the second-best among qualified starters, and he ought to be able to go six-plus strong innings in a soft matchup versus the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox's active roster has posted an 89 wRC+ and 23.3% strikeout rate against right-handers this year.

In the value range, Carlos Rodon ($7,600) hasn't exactly lit the world on fire over his three 2023 starts, but at this salary, he could be worth a leap of faith.

Make no mistake, Rodon has horrific numbers across the board, so we're really just rolling the dice that the old Rodon emerges one of these days -- you know, the one who posted a 2.83 SIERA and 33.4% strikeout rate in 2022.

While his control was all over the place in his last start, Rodon did generate a 16.1% swinging-strike rate, and he recorded a six-punchout performance at Coors Field the start before that. It's not much, but this feels like the type of slate where a dart throw could pay off.

The New York Mets are below average versus lefties, and it's telling that they have just a 3.88 implied team total in spite of Rodon's struggles.

Hitting Breakdown

The Atlanta Braves were held in check by the Red Sox last night, but they're expected to bounce back. They once again check in with the slate's highest implied team total (5.54).

This isn't a perfect spot against Brayan Bello, who's been a bright spot for Boston this year, but Bello's numbers take a nosedive when facing left-handed batters. In that split, the young righty has put together a 5.02 xFIP and 14.4% strikeout rate while allowing 1.66 home runs per 9 innings.

That places Matt Olson ($4,200) and Ozzie Albies ($3,800) at the top of the wish list, and Eddie Rosario ($2,700) and Michael Harris II ($2,900) get a bump as value plays. The top righties still deserve a place in stacks but just know that they'll have a much tougher time getting to Bello, who has a 26.4% strikeout rate and 59.7% ground-ball rate in same-sided matchups.

Despite Rodon's possible appeal as a value pitcher, we should absolutely also consider stacking against him with the Mets. That's because if we get this same 2023 version for a fourth start, we're looking at a pitcher with an ugly 5.93 SIERA, 16.9% strikeout rate, and 13.8% walk rate.

This isn't a bad salary to get in on Pete Alonso ($3,500), our usual starting point for Mets stacks, and the same can be said of Francisco Lindor ($3,400). Tommy Pham ($2,900) is a potential value if he's back in the lineup, and Mark Canha ($2,400) will also have the platoon advantage.

The Houston Astros are facing left-hander Andrew Heaney, so you know the drill -- attack Heaney with righties. Against right-handed batters, Heaney's coughing up 1.87 home runs per 9 innings off a 46.3% fly-ball rate, which falls roughly in line with what we've seen over his career.

We should see nearly an entire lineup of righties for Houston, with Alex Bregman ($3,300) and Chas McCormick ($3,700) being two of our best righty candidates to cash in with a dinger. While McCormick's salary is on the higher side, his .249 ISO is Houston's best among active players.

Mauricio Dubon ($2,700) and Jeremy Pena ($2,800) give us some value atop the order, and Yainer Diaz ($2,800) offers decent pop if he starts. Lefty Kyle Tucker ($4,000) still deserves a place as one of the Astros' best all-around hitters. We could see Yordan Alvarez ($4,300) make his return, too.

The Cubs and San Francisco Giants are other offenses to consider. As previously noted, Lance Lynn is taking a beating from lefties, and stacking the top of the Cubs' order is appealing. The Giants have one of the slate's highest implied team totals (5.03) against struggling lefty Hogan Harris (4.71 SIERA), but there's always some pinch-hit risk when stacking this offense.

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.