FanDuel Price: $11,700
After Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner is the next best option, but he’s a much better tournament play than a cash-game play.
Vegas lists Bumgarner as a -185 favorite at home, where he’s been much better over the course of his career. He’s struck out 9.34 batters per nine at AT&T Park (versus 8.23 per nine on the road), and his xFIP is lowered to 3.07 (down from 3.40 away from home).
This year has been interesting for Bumgarner, as he’s enjoyed a career-best 11.36 strikeouts per nine innings while also being plagued by a 12.5 percent home run-to-fly ball ratio, his highest since 2009.
He’ll face the Rockies tonight, who also have extreme totals in the strikeout and power departments. Versus left-handed pitching, the Rockies are 25th in the MLB in strikeout rate at 24.6 percent. However, they’re first in ISO at .241.
So they strike out a lot while still posting good power numbers -- this is essentially what Bumgarner’s opposing batters have done so far this season.
The other factor working in Bumgarner’s favor tonight is the weather. Daily Baseball Data lists San Francisco as having the highest Air Density Index tonight (tied with San Diego -- another positive for Syndergaard). The higher the Air Density Index, the harder it is for the ball to travel through the air.
It’ll also be about five degrees colder than in San Diego, giving the ultimate weather edge to Bumgarner.
With Syndergaard being $500 less on FanDuel and having a better matchup than Bumgarner, he’ll be higher owned in tournaments. Thus, getting Bumgarner at an ownership discount when he’s pitching at home makes for an excellent GPP play.