FanDuel Pitching Primer: Wednesday 8/23/23

When building a daily fantasy baseball lineup on FanDuel, nailing your pitcher is crucial to succeeding in any contest. Strikeouts are king -- although, innings-eaters and win potential can't be ignored.

With a pitcher serving as the backbone of your lineup, we don't want to mess around. Let's take a look at some of the top pitcher options and values, as well as some honorable mentions for today's main DFS slate on FanDuel.

Statistics are via FanGraphs unless otherwise stated.

Top Options

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays ($11,000)

Kevin Gausman will look to continue his bid for the American League Cy Young today, and he's a top play for DFS lineups.

The Toronto Blue Jays' ace has been masterful again this season as he continues to make batters swing and miss more and more. Gausman currently has the second-highest strikeout rate of his career as it sits at a 31.7% clip.

It is worth noting, though, that the month of August hasn't been kind to him as his strikeout rate in three starts this month is just 22.2%. Still, his season-long output shows he has the punchout power to pair with his immaculate 3.17 SIERA and 2.84 FIP.

He should be rocking tonight in his matchup against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles have packed an offensive punch en route to taking over the AL East from the Tampa Bay Rays -- August alone has seen them hit to the tune of a .332 wOBA. While that looks good, the power numbers haven't been all too high in the month as they have just 21 home runs, which is slightly below average.

Baltimore is a good offense, but they have the third-worst implied total on the day (4.07), according to numberFire's heat map, so oddsmakers are backing Gausman. The projections at numberFire, are, too, as they list Gausman with the day's top projection (35.9 FanDuel points).

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers ($10,800)

At the age of 35, Clayton Kershaw might be the favorite for the NL Cy Young if it wasn't for an injury that held him out over a month.

He has been sensational this season. The long-time Los Angeles Dodgers' ace is sporting a 2.48 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate. Over his last seven starts, Kershaw hasn't allowed more than two runs in a start, which paints a good picture of how great he is these days.

Now, the one concern in using Kershaw is his pitch count. He's made two starts since returning from injury, and the Dodgers have held him at just five innings in each game (67 and 72 pitches) -- which caps his DFS upside. With this being his third start, Kershaw could have a longer leash today, and he's got a nice matchup against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Guardians have nine home runs in the month of August. Nine. That's seven fewer than the next-lowest team. Add in that they also have a .271 wOBA in August, which is second-worst in the month. Not an ideal run here for the Guardians, and that makes Kershaw all the more enticing. The only good thing we can say about Cleveland is that they don't strike out all too much (20.1% strikeout rate), but Kershaw might be able to get a lot of quick outs in this one.

numberFire's model has Kershaw projected for 30.3 FanDuel points.

Aaron Civale, Tampa Bay Rays ($9,700)

In my eyes, Aaron Civale edges out Charlie Morton as the third-best option to seriously consider today.

A lot of that has to do with the matchup as the Colorado Rockies have been, well, bad. Over the last 30 days, the Rockies have a 20th-ranked .314 wOBA. They also have the fourth-highest strikeout rate in that period (26.7%). Civale isn't a huge strikeout pitcher (18.4% strikeout rate), but he can come through in this matchup.

Colorado is unsurprisingly not all that great when they're away from Coors Field as their 27.4% road strikeout rate is the highest in the split. Their road ISO is in the gutter, too (.135). These are numbers to take advantage of.

Civale has a 2.44 ERA but hasn't been quite that good as his xERA sits at 3.61. The Tampa Bay Rays' hurler also has a 3.32 FIP and is limiting barrel percentage to 4.7%.

All things considered, numberFire sees Civale having a great outing as he has the second-highest projected output of any pitcher at 33.5 FanDuel points.

Value Play

MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals ($8,900)

There aren't a lot of true value plays today. Most of the starters you want are high in salary, but MacKenzie Gore should at least give you an option if you're trying to save with a potential value.

Gore is having a decent first full season with the Washington Nationals. He's put together a 4.10 SIERA to go along with his impressive 27.0% strikeout rate, 12.6% swinging strike rate, and 141 strikeouts. The 24-year-old has a .186 batting average against him in the month of August and is coming off the best start of his season -- tossing 6 1/3 frames of one-run ball against the Boston Red Sox.

The matchup against the New York Yankees is a perfectly timed one as New York is riding a nine-game losing streak.

In the nine-game losing streak, the Yankees are not-so-surprisingly dead last in wOBA (.253). They have only 21 scored runs in that stretch, as well. This couldn't be better timing for Gore. The Yankees are a team that hits southpaws well (.334 wOBA vs. lefties over the last 30 days), but with how bad they're going, Gore is worth having on our radar.

Gore is projected for 27.6 FanDuel points, per numberFire.

Honorable Mentions

Charlie Morton ($10,000): Morton is certainly a name worth considering as the New York Mets are often a good matchup. However, the Mets have been better than their record shows, at least offensively (.324 wOBA in the last 30 days). The Atlanta Braves' starter is still a fine play, but at this salary, it's better to look at the other top options on the slate.

Chris Sale ($9,300): Sale has shown signs of his old self this season, but going against the Houston Astros isn't all too exciting. While he's just coming back from injury (again), the Red Sox left-hander is rocking a healthy 28.5% strikeout rate. But the Astros have gone nuclear on offense the past three games -- with 6, 9, and 7 runs scored. The bats are hot in Houston, so it's best to look the other way when it comes to Sale.

Looking to build some MLB DFS lineups? Check out FanDuel’s daily fantasy baseball lobby to see all the offerings for today’s slates.

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.