It most certainly isn’t the best selection of pitchers for Saturday’s slate of daily fantasy baseball contests. In fact, I could easily write more about what pitchers you shouldn’t pick more so than pitchers you should pick for your cash or GPP lineups. Many of the hot pitchers are in unfavorable situations (German Marquez), and many of the cold pitchers have good matchups (Jason Vargas).
All but two games on Saturday’s slate of games begin in the evening, and pitching-wise, you won't miss much from the starters in the afternoon games (Cardinals-Cubs and Padres-Giants). Jon Lester isn't the worst pick, but he’s 0-1 in three outings against the Cardinals this year with one quality start, and trusting an inconsistent Adam Wainwright against the hot-hitting Cubs is a bold strategy.
For the evening schedule, David Price has been strong since mid-June and is the best pick. The Angels struggle to hit for power and get on base against lefties, ranking third worst in the league in OPS. Other good options are Sean Manaea and Rich Hill, the latter of which has 29 strikeouts in his past three outings. Opposite of Manea is Zack Wheeler, a guy who has high strikeout potential against an A's team with the second highest strikeout percentage.
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Up and down the rest of the starting pitchers, there are many boom-or-bust options. Chris Archer has been teetering the quality start line lately, reaching the minimum limit three of his past four outings, but he has been striking out a ton of hitters and goes against the Rangers, who have the fifth highest strikeout percentage against righties. Other all-or-nothing options include Tanner Roark, Julio Teheran, Jordan Zimmermann, and two pitchers coming off the DL, Danny Salazar and Collin McHugh. All have favorable or semi-favorable matchups, but they can excel or explode in a turn of a second.
Daily Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Pitchers
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Price, LHP | BOS | @LAA |
| 2 | Marcus Stroman, RHP | TOR | @CLE |
| 3 | Sean Manaea, LHP | OAK | @NYM |
| 4 | Rich Hill, LHP | LAD | vs ATL |
| 5 | Chris Archer, RHP | TB | vs TEX |
| 6 | Jon Lester, LHP | CHC | vs STL |
| 7 | Zack Wheeler, RHP | NYM | vs OAK |
| 8 | Danny Salazar, RHP | CLE | vs TOR |
| 9 | German Marquez, RHP | COL | vs. PIT |
| 10 | Tanner Roark, RHP | WSH | @ARI |
| 11 | Adam Wainwright, RHP | STL | @CHC |
| 12 | Julio Teheran, RHP | ATL | @LAD |
| 13 | Jason Vargas, LHP | KC | vs CWS |
| 14 | JC Ramirez, RHP | LAA | vs BOS |
| 15 | Collin McHugh, RHP | HOU | @BAL |
| 16 | Brent Suter, LHP | MIL | @PHI |
| 17 | Luis Perdomo, RHP | SD | @SF |
| 18 | Jordan Zimmermann, RHP | DET | @MIN |
| 19 | Kyle Gibson, RHP | MIN | vs DET |
| 20 | Chad Kuhl, RHP | PIT | @COL |
| 21 | Masahiro Tanaka, RHP | NYY | @SEA |
| 22 | Andrew Cashner, RHP | TEX | @TB |
| 23 | Ariel Miranda, LHP | SEA | vs NYY |
| 24 | Matt Moore, LHP | SF | vs SD |
| 25 | Chris O'Grady, LHP | MIA | @CIN |
| 26 | Chris Tillman, RHP | BAL | vs HOU |
| 27 | Mike Pelfrey, RHP | CHW | @KC |
| 28 | Robert Stephenson, RHP | CIN | vs MIA |
| 29 | Jeremy Hellickson, RHP | PHI | vs MIL |
| 30 | Anthony Banda, LHP | ARI | vs WSH |
Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks: Saturday, July 22
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Saturday’s DFS MLB action will be centered on tonight’s 13-game slate that has a roster lock of 7:05 p.m. ET. Tonight’s pitching options are not going to include many premium pitching plays, so it’ll definitely be important for us to dissect what’s out there.
Houston's Collin McHugh and Cleveland's Danny Salazar return tonight. I will tell you now that McHugh only threw 69 pitches in his last start, so he is absolutely not in play. As for Salazar, his pitch count hasn’t been too high either. In his last start, he threw 84 pitches through six shutout innings, which keeps him in play tonight.
Weather may end up being a factor today, and if you’re turned off by the new reality series called DFS Weatherman Twitter Wars, I’ll just give you a heads up that Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati all have rain in the forecast. It looks like the the Phillies game is the most in danger postponed, but check out the Fantasy Alarm Weather Center for updates throughout the day.
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