FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Saturday 7/24/21

The beauty of daily fantasy baseball is that the top targets are different each and every day. Whether it's the right-handed catcher who destroys left-handed pitching or the mid-range hurler facing a depleted lineup, you're not going to find yourself using the same assets time after time.

While this breaks up the monotony, it can make it hard to decide which players are primed to succeed on a given day. We can help bridge that gap.

In addition to our custom optimal lineups, you can check out our batting and pitching heat maps, which show the pieces in the best spot to succeed on that slate. Put on the finishing touches with our games and lineups page to see who's hitting where and what the weather looks like, and you'll have yourself a snazzy-looking team to put up some big point totals.

If you need help getting started on that trek, here are some of the top options on the board today. We'll be focusing exclusively on the main slate.

Pitching Breakdown

We've got some fun pitching options on this slate, but Kevin Gausman ($11,000 on FanDuel) stands out from the pack for me.

Gausman has been excellent this season, pitching to a 3.38 SIERA and 30.5% strikeout rate. He's scored at least 43 FanDuel points in four of his last six starts, with the two exceptions being a pair of 18-point outings versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not the Dodgers as Pittsburgh sits 27th in wOBA for the year (.298). The Pirates' 3.13 implied total is a slate-low clip. Gausman checks all the boxes.

After Gausman, there are several other quality choices, including Corbin Burnes ($11,200), Chris Bassitt ($9,700), Framber Valdez ($8,200) and Carlos Rodon ($10,800).

Given Valdez's salary and a friendly matchup with the Texas Rangers, he may wind up being the slate's most popular hurler. While Valdez is definitely a good play, I want to touch on Rodon, who offers massive upside against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have been better offensively as the year has progressed, but they still strike out 25.7% of the time, the sixth-highest rate. Rodon sports a superb 2.74 SIERA and 36.6% strikeout rate, and he could rack up punchouts.

If you want an under-the-radar pitcher, Luis Castillo ($8,600) is worth a look. Castillo is up against a St. Louis Cardinals offense that is only 26th in wOBA (.299), so the matchup is there. Castillo has rebounded from his slow start. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in an outing since May 23rd, and he's permitted only two earned runs across his past three starts (18 1/3 innings).

Stacks to Target

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are super appealing in a date with righty Jake Woodford, who has given up 2.08 dingers per nine in his career. Not only do the Reds hold the slate's top implied total (5.31), they are pretty easy to get to as they have only one bat with a salary above $3,300, so they're a great stack to pair with one of the slate's top pitchers.

That one high-salary hitter is Jesse Winker ($3,600), who owns a massive .397 wOBA and 41.7% hard-hit rate against right-handers this season. He's obviously a top-tier play.

Jonathan India ($3,300) will likely be leading off, and Joey Votto ($3,100) boasts a .409 wOBA with the platoon advantage. Tyler Naquin ($2,700) has a 41.8% hard-hit rate against righties, and I'll be heavy on him. Tucker Barnhart ($2,400) and Shogo Akiyama ($2,000) are decent low-salary dart throws if they're in the lineup.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have to be on the stacking radar in a clash with Kyle Freeland, who has just a 16.6% strikeout rate this year along with a 5.01 SIERA. I'm surprised the Dodgers' 4.98 implied total isn't higher -- even with LA a bit short-handed at the moment.

Chris Taylor ($3,800) and Justin Turner ($3,700) will be core pieces for me. Taylor is our model's top overall hitter and has mauled lefties this year to the tune of a .431 wOBA. Turner -- our algorithm's number-three stick -- has put up a .379 wOBA and 44.7% hard-hit rate in the split.

Mookie Betts ($4,300) is a fun stacking piece if he returns from his hip ailment. Will Smith ($3,600) and A.J. Pollock ($2,600) will also have the platoon advantage and should be in the meat of the order. Albert Pujols ($2,300) makes a lot of sense at his salary as he's got a .399 wOBA versus southpaws.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants carry a 4.87 implied total tonight in a matchup with Wil Crowe. Crowe has struggled to a 5.06 SIERA and 19.3% strikeout rate this campaign, and he should have a rough evening against one of the game's top offenses.

A righty, Crowe is showing some reverse splits this year (albeit in a small sample), and that is reflected in our projections, which rank Wilmer Flores ($3,000) as the slate's number-two hitter and the third-best point-per-dollar play. Righties have a .425 wOBA versus Crowe, and Flores has a .349 wOBA against right-handers.

Our model reallllllly likes San Fran's value bats as we slot Steven Duggar ($2,200), Donovan Solano ($2,200) and LaMonte Wade Jr ($2,700) as top-six point-per-dollar bats alongside Flores, so this is a stack you can easily use with a stud arm.

If you have the coin, Mike Yastrzemski ($3,800) is a great target as he's tagged righties for a .369 wOBA and 51.3% fly-ball rate.