Today there is a monster 14-game offering of daily fantasy baseball heading into the weekend with an assortment of starting pitchers comparable in depth to a Cheesecake Factory menu. Making good use of Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool and daily fantasy point projections, we’ll pin-point two of the better pitchers in the upper price tiers on both DraftKings and FanDuel, such as Gerrit Cole drawing a superb matchup with the Detroit Tigers at home in Yankee Stadium. Provided a number of expensive roster options to chase on today’s seismic slate, a worthy salary relief option like Brady Singer will also come in handy.
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Top Daily Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers | April 30
Gerrit Cole: NYY vs DET — DraftKings $10,500; FanDuel $12,200
Gerrit Cole takes the mound for Yankees in the first of a three-game homestand against the Tigers. Cole has been dominant as ever in 2021, averaging 31.4 DraftKings and 52.2 FanDuel points over five starts while striking out batters at the highest rate of his career. On top of that, Detroit opponent on Friday night offers potential to produce the best fantasy totals on the slate.
Awesemo’s daily fantasy baseball projections of 26.47 DraftKings and 43.33 FanDuel points for Cole make him the highest projected pitcher on Friday’s 14-game affair. Given the lofty asking price on both sites, Cole has an 11% chance of being a top-two value on DraftKings, though just a 0.60% chance of being the top value on FanDuel. Cole’s MLB DFS ownership projections of 49.2% DraftKings and 28.1% on FanDuel make him the highest-owned pitcher on the slate as well.
Cole is slated to face a mixed bag of five switch-hitters and three righties. He had a 33.1% strikeout rate and .1.00 WHIP against lefties last year, though his 2.70 HR/9 and 5.52 FIP remain unsettling. There are few threats coming from the Detroit order, but young lefty Akil Baddoo has a .970 OPS, .423 ISO and 163 wRC+ against right-handed pitching in his first year in the majors. As a whole, however, the Tigers have just a .222 batting average, .281 on-base percentage and 79 wRC+ against righties over the last year. It doesn’t get much better than this for Cole, and he should pay off his asking price with ease.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value C
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value A
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Shane Bieber: CLE at CWS — DraftKings $10,700; FanDuel $12,000
Shane Bieber heads to Guaranteed Rate Field to take on the White Sox. Despite sustaining damage, at times this season, Bieber has averaged 34.6 DraftKings and 56.4 FanDuel points in five starts. He will try to replicate his 11-strikeout performance from just two weeks ago against a tough White Sox lineup.
Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Bieber a 31.9% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 10.6% top-pitcher on FanDuel. Bieber comes in every bit as costly as Cole on both sites, resulting in a 9.5% chance of being top-two value pitcher on DraftKings and just 0.70% chance of being the top value on FanDuel. He is also nearly matching Cole in Awesemo’s MLB DFS ownership projections.
The White Sox have six right-handed hitters and two switch-hitters. Bieber dominated righties last year, striking out 41.9% and allowing just 0.91 WHIP and 1.36 HR/9. Lefties struggled just as much, and Bieber was better at keeping the ball in the park against opposite-handed hitters. The White Sox, however, have quality bats throughout, starting with lead-off hitter Tim Anderson‘s .327 batting average, Adam Eaton‘s .224 ISO and newcomer Yermin Mercedes‘ 1.110 OPS against right-handed pitching this season. Yet the White Sox carry a 24.8% strikeout rate since last season against righty pitchers collectively, and at two-thirds the ownership of Cole, Bieber provides every bit as much promise.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value C
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value A
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Nathan Eovaldi: BOS at TEX — DraftKings $8,200; FanDuel $7,800
Nathan Eovaldi takes the mound in Texas for the Red Sox tonight. He is averaging 17.1 DraftKings and 30.6 FanDuel points in five starts this season, and a matchup with Texas at a fair salary for appears to be among the best bargains for Friday’s pitching selection.
Awesemo Top Pitchers Tool gives Eovaldi a 10.6% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings with a 4.8% projection of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. His lower salaries on both sites give him a 9.5% chance of being a top-two pitching value on DraftKings and a 4.4% chance of being the top value on FanDuel. His daily fantasy baseball ownership projections are also far lower, with 8.3% projected on DraftKings and 4.4% on FanDuel.
The Rangers will have five lefties tonight. When facing left-handed hitters last year, Eovaldi allowed a .191 average, 0.86 WHIP and a 3.61 FIP. He gave up a concerning 2.08 HR/9 and .355 average against righties, though he only walked 2.1%. The heart of the order with lefty Nate Lowe‘s .295 average and Adolis Garcia‘s .441 ISO off right-handed pitchers this season looms, but should he maintain his command and exploit Texas’ league-leading 30.8% strikeout rate, the price tag could appear much cheaper in hindsight.
Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value A
Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value A
To find the best daily fantasy baseball picks to pair with the top starting pitchers, check out EMac’s Spotlight Hitters & Top Stacks article, as well as our MLB DFS picks cheat sheets.
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