FanDuel Price: $9,900
Tonight’s FanDuel main slate isn’t the best slate for stud pitchers, so as a -200 Vegas favorite at home, Cole Hamels is the best option we have.
In 2016, Hamels has elevated his groundball rate to 52.2 percent after a couple of seasons below the 50 percent mark. This groundball tilt is important for any pitcher, but even more so for Rangers pitchers as we enter the humid, low-density summer months when the ball can fly out of Globe Life Park.
Hamels has maintained an above-average swinging strike percentage at 12.7 percent, keeping his strikeouts per nine innings mark sitting right above his career rate at 8.64. The one downside for Hamels, however, is his walk rate that is currently hovering above 3.0 per nine innings.
But his walk issues shouldn’t be a problem tonight against the Reds, who are 26th in the MLB against left-handed pitching with a measly 6.9 percent walk rate.
As the highest priced pitcher at $9,900, Hamels is also tonight’s top high-priced pitching option.