Daily Fantasy Baseball Top Starting Pitchers Projections & Ownership for DraftKings & FanDuel Lineups on Thursday

Daily fantasy baseball is giving us two slates of Thursday MLB DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel, with a five-game early slate at 12:20 p.m. ET followed by a six-game main slate at 7:10 p.m. Corbin Burnes is returning from an asymptomatic COVID-19 absence, while Cristian Javier draws a strikeout-heavy Rangers team in a Texas showdown at Minute Maid. With double-duty DFS on the itinerary, here are the Spotlight Pitchers for Thursday, May 13.

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Top Daily Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers | May 13

Corbin Burnes: MIL vs. STL — DraftKings $10,600; FanDuel $10,800

Corbin Burnes resumes his remarkable season with a start against division rival St. Louis. Smoking batters for a 45.4% strikeout rate, Burnes is averaging 30.1 DraftKings and 49.6 FanDuel points in five starts. His MLB DFS projections of 24.95 DraftKings and 41.10 FanDuel points mark some of the best on the early slate. However, MLB daily fantasy ownership projections of 48.1% on DraftKings and 34.9% on FanDuel show the field is on him as well.

The Cardinals will have seven righties and two switch-hitters, which plays directly into Burnes’ strengths, as he’s striking out a whopping 56.6% of right-handed hitters. The middle of the St. Louis batting order could provide some hiccups, with Nolan Arenado (fourth) hitting for a .217 ISO against right-handed pitching and Tyler O’Neill‘s (sixth) 130 wRC+ against the split. St. Louis collectively has a .220 batting average and 24% strikeout rate, earning an 86 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this year. With a ceiling for fantasy production unlike the other offerings on the early slate, Burnes is in a category of his own.

Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value B

Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value A

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Cristian Javier: HOU vs. TEX — DraftKings $10,000; FanDuel $9,200

Cristian Javier is averaging 19.6 DraftKings and 33.16 FanDuel points with a 30.6% strikeout rate over six starts. Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Javier a 38% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and 15.9% chance of landing top pitcher on FanDuel. Provided his excellent MLB DFS projections and a fair cost, Javier has a 20.4% chance of being a top-two value on DraftKings and an 8% chance of being the top value on FanDuel. MLB daily fantasy ownership projections forecast Javier as a popular play, especially on FanDuel where he has a four-digit salary.

The Rangers will have five righties and four lefties, and Javier is striking out right-handed opposition at a 37.3% rate. The early middle of the Rangers order lurks as a threat, with Nate Lowe’s (third) .315 batting average and Adolis Garcia’s (fifth) .308 ISO against right-handed pitchers this season. Texas has a moderate 107 wRC+ against righty pitchers, yet they are striking out against them at a league-high 28.1%. On any other slate, Javier would be considered slightly expensive, but with few options anywhere near his ceiling in this matchup, he is a perfect fit on Thursday’s main slate.

Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points A, Value D

Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points A, Value B

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Jameson Taillon: NYY at TB — DraftKings $7,700; FanDuel $7,700

Jameson Taillon will close out the Yankees’ series with the division rival Rays. He has recently gained steam in fantasy production, with five or more strikeouts in each of his past four starts. Awesemo’s MLB Top Pitchers Tool gives Taillon a 30.1% chance of being a top-two pitcher on DraftKings and a 12.7% chance of being the top pitcher on FanDuel. His fiscally friendly salary on both sites put his top-value projections in almost the exact same range. Taillon’s MLB daily fantasy ownership projections of 29.3% on DraftKings and 15.5% are fairly high, though he is not the top chalk on either site.

Tampa will use five righties and four left-handed hitters, and Taillon is striking out lefties at a 36.4% clip and has a 0.76 WHIP against righties. The Rays’ Austin Meadows (second) and Brandon Lowe (fourth) have a .283 and .262 ISO, respectively, against right-handed pitching. Tampa as a whole has a .219 batting average, 25.4% strikeout rate and 97 wRC+ against righty pitchers this season. While Taillon’s 17.9% HR/FB rate raises a red flag, Tampa is only converting 10% of fly balls. At his asking price, Taillon is a superb value for Thursday’s main slate.

Awesemo’s FanDuel Grades: Points B, Value A

Awesemo’s DraftKings Grades: Points B, Value A

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Author

Chris Giordani

Once a man of 12-team teaser parlays and an abundance of season-long fantasy leagues, Chris "TopherSquints" Giordani gradually honed his fascination for sports and plus-money wagers toward Daily Fantasy Sports. A homegrown Awesemo student from the early stages of the site's inception, he became infatuated with the contrarian DFS mindset and eventually combined his passion for writing with Daily Fantasy at the Sports Gambling Podcast's website blog. Currently, Chris Giordani resides in Orange County, California, enjoys binging on stand-up comedy, and long strolls through the DraftKings lobby.