3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 4/23/19

Patrick Corbin, P, Washington Nationals

Price: $8,400

This might not look like a day to pay up at pitcher. Two of the three highest-priced arms on the slate are slight underdogs, and the third is pitching at Coors Field.

However, Patrick Corbin offers elite upside despite pitching in Denver tonight, and his strikeout potential is enough to give him a reasonable floor.

He really came into his own in 2018, turning in a career-best 2.91 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) with a 30.8% strikeout rate (coming on an elite 15.6% swinging-strike rate) and a 6.0% walk rate.

So far, 2019 has largely been more of the same. Through four games, he's got a 2.98 SIERA and has improved both his strikeout rate (32.4%) and walk rate (4.9%). His swinging-strike rate is down to 13.5%, but it's still a terrific mark. It's not unrealistic to expect him to keep up a strikeout rate north of 30% again this campaign.

A matchup with the Colorado Rockies should give him a boost in that area, too, as they strike out at the fifth-highest rate (25.8%) in the majors, and despite their hitter-friendly home field, their .290 team wOBA ranks only 25th.

The Rockies' 4.70 implied total is quite low for a Coors game, and Corbin and the Washington Nationals are -138 favorites tonight.