It’s truly a loaded pitching pool tonight for this 13-game main DFS slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings. We have a somewhat top-heavy group with several aces in good matchups that appear to be ahead of the field. However, I always try to give you some different options at various price points, so I will never just recommend the pitchers that are the most expensive on any given slate.
RotoBaller has all your fantasy baseball and DFS needs! Check our probable pitchers page to see all of today’s starters, and be sure to utilize our MLB DFS Optimizer to create unique lineups for tonight’s slate!
When we're looking for pitchers, we want to target guys who can limit runs and pitch deep enough into games to pick up wins. That said, we don’t always need to target pitchers on heavily favored teams. In fact, we want strikeouts more than anything whenever possible, as the scoring system on both FanDuel and DraftKings really rewards pitchers who rack up Ks. Let’s see who cracks the top five on my list this week!
MORE ROTOBALLER: Get any full-season RotoBaller MLB and DFS Premium Pass for 10% off using code SPORTING and gain exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, premium articles, daily matchup rating projections, 15 lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, research stations, lineup optimizers, and much more!
Best starting pitchers, sleeper SPs for Friday's MLB DFS contests
By Dan Palyo
Spencer Strider, Braves vs. Giants ($12,700 DK, $11,500 FD)
Strider bounced back nicely against the Mets after his weird hiccup against the Pirates two starts ago. He only whiffed six Mets but shut them out over seven strong frames. His walks have crept up from two to three to four over his past three starts, and that’s my only real concern he’s still bringing the heat and missing bats pretty regularly.
This is a matchup we can’t pass up, even if Strider is as expensive as any pitcher has been all season. The Giants are 29th in K percentage against RHP (29 percent) over the last month and seventh in BB percentage at just six percent. They have the third-worst wRC+ at just 62. This offense is struggling and strikeout-prone, if Strider has his control tonight, he could mow them down and end up being the highest-scoring pitcher on the slate.
Pablo Lopez, Twins vs. Pirates ($10,600 DK, $10,800 FD)
Lopez offers a big enough discount from Strider on DraftKings, and you might even consider him over Strider as your SP1 in cash games.
He comes into this matchup in excellent form, having allowed two earned runs or fewer in four straight starts, piling up 28 strikeouts in his past 26 innings. Like Strider, he’s a heavy home favorite here with a favorable matchup as the Pirates have been pretty bad against RHPs lately, too. Pittsburgh is whiffing at a 25-percent rate with just a 68 wRC+ against RHPs over the last month and they could end up with five righties in the lineup tonight. That would bode incredibly well for Lopez who has dominated RHHs this season.
MORE ROTOBALLER: Get any full-season RotoBaller MLB and DFS Premium Pass for 10% off using code SPORTING and gain exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, premium articles, daily matchup rating projections, 15 lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, research stations, lineup optimizers, and much more!
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins @ Dodgers ($9,600 DK, $10,000 FD)
The Marlins ace has finally started to look like the Cy Young winner that we remember from last season. He is coming off his best start of the season, a complete game against the Yankees with 10 strikeouts, and he's now tossed two complete games in his past four starts, as he had one against Tampa Bay, too.
The strikeouts have been what’s missing for Sandy for most of the season, but he’s increased those nicely (seven-plus now in four of his past five) and he continues to be an innings-eating workhorse, going six-plus innings in eight straight.
The Dodgers are an elite offense, but Alcantara is in such good form that it might not matter much. He’s quite a bit cheaper than our top two aces on DK and should be considerably less rostered in contests, too, as many players may fear the matchup and look elsewhere.
J.P. France, Astros vs. Mariners ($8,700 DK, $9,700 FD)
I was very skeptical that France was anything more than an average pitcher, but lately, he’s been set on proving me wrong. The Houston rookie has reeled off four quality starts over his past five outings, going seven innings in each. He beat up on the lowly Athletics, but he also handled an elite Texas offense and pitched well against Cleveland and the Angels.
France is not a big strikeout pitcher, but he does have a very good K matchup. Seattle has been among the league leaders in strikeouts for much of the season, especially against RHPs. France checks a lot of boxes here, as he’s pitching at home and a strong Vegas favorite. He’s also backed by one of the hottest offenses in baseball, giving him some strong win equity.
I think he’s a bit overpriced, especially on FanDuel, but I won’t be surprised if he pitches well again and produces a very usable score for DFS.
Zack Thompson, Cardinals vs. Mets ($5,600 DK, $6,200 FD)
Here’s our punt of the night, and it comes courtesy of the Cardinals. Zack Thompson is being converted from a reliever to a starter and has gone four strong innings in each of his first two starts against the Rockies and Royals.
Thompson is slowly getting stretched out and could be pushed to 80-85 pitches tonight against a Mets team that has been pretty poor offensively since the trade deadline. Thompson has shown some decent strikeout potential and is so cheap that he doesn’t need to do much in order to make value. Pairing him with an expensive ace on DraftKings is going to allow you to spend up for more hitting and might just be the winning combination for tournaments tonight.
Honorable Mentions: Brandon Woodruff vs. TEX, Michael Lorenzen vs. WAS (DK only), Luis Medina vs. BAL
