FanDuel Price: $8,300
With a 24.4% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate across 258 2/3 career innings, Kenta Maeda is unquestionably good at pitching -- that's not the issue.
The problem, at least for us from a DFS perspective -- is that the Los Angeles Dodgers are keeping him on an incredibly short leash, which makes it very hard for him to rack up fantasy points. Maeda has made 15 starts this season, and he's only worked past the fifth inning three times.
His last two starts -- both of which went five innings -- display just where his ceiling is, even when he pitches well.
| Opponent | Innings | Earned Runs | Strikeouts | FanDuel Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royals | 5 | 1 | 5 | 33 |
| White Sox | 5 | 1 | 3 | 27 |
Maeda turned in solid fantasy days in each outing, but the quick hook prevented him from getting quality start points and really racking up a difference-making total. And those are two starts in which Maeda threw well. If he hit a few more speed bumps in either outing, we're looking at a lowly FanDuel point total.
Maeda is really good, and a home matchup with the Minnesota Twins is a decent enough matchup. But unless the Dodgers start lengthening him out, he's going to be difficult to trust in DFS.